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“Any advice?” he asks, turning those steady blue eyes on me.
I laugh. “Just drive your race. You qualified third.”
“Which means I have a lot of work ahead of me.”
“Qualifying third is the highest debut by a rookie driver in two decades,” I correct, reminding him of the stats.
“It’s not first. I want to win.” His eyes flash with competitiveness.
Damn, he’s sexy. This guy is everything I never knew I wanted.
He makes me proud of being bold, not ashamed of it. He helps me believe in my dreams and push past my limitations. At the same time, he’s there for me in a way that makes me feel like I can lean on him. Like I’m already enough.
It’s like the story my mother used to read me, the one with the prince and the dragon.
Jameson Ashford isn’t the haughty prince at all. He’s the dragon—defiant, dangerous, uncompromising. The path my bravest self would choose every time.
“Before I forget.” He tugs off the ring from around his neck and passes it to me. “Since I can’t race with it.”
“I’ve never had a guy give me a ring before,” I tease as I put it on.
“Don’t give me any ideas.”
My mouth falls open. “I’m twenty-one, Ashford. Slow your roll.”
“Fine.” He reaches for my hand as he hits the gas. “But I’m not going anywhere.”
Jameson is whisked away by PR the second we reach the ARI garage.
“This is for you!” Megan descends on me with coffee, looking utterly at home in her new ARI jacket and staff pass. I expected the grid to be a sea of strangers, but it’s amazing to see familiar faces.
“I figured you’d be too busy to stop for food,” I tease.
“Food, yes. Friends, no.”
My smile widens.
“Anyone seen Raj?” Megan asks.
“He’s been busy all week. He couldn’t be happier. He and Zane are arguing over who’s working harder.”
Raj decided why stop at U of M and started building his dream list of grad schools, and Zane’s had virtual meetings with two teams already, one of which offered to fly him to their headquarters in the summer for an in-person meeting.
Megan scored the ARI internship. I expected to feel jealousy, or disappointment. Instead, all I feel is pride.
That and relief that the dream didn’t vanish for me; it only changed form.
After the holidays, Vogel came to me with an offer—she’d mentor me personally if I stayed another semester at the academy. Plus, she would get me access to work with Keane on the F1 cars under development in the top-secret ARI garage.
Since I was a late transfer in the first place and still felt pressure to catch up, she explained it would give me a chance to absorb the world of experienced techs before I traded it in for the “different country every weekend” pressures of the grid.
I’ll still get unprecedented access to the best teachers, cars, and opportunities. Luca’s influence and methods aside, the company really does recruit and train the best.
I said I’d agree on one condition: that I could fly to Jameson’s races when I wanted. Vogel grudgingly signed off, even mentioning there might be a spot on the company jet as long as I didn’t fall behind in my classes. For now, it’s the best of both worlds.
Eden, who wouldn’t miss her brother’s first F1 race for anything, descends wearing a short dress that probably cost thousands of dollars. The drink in her hand has ice cubes in it.
“That’s not coffee,” Megan observes.
