Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
My eyes cut over to the board, see Lex hasn’t come out yet and then back to her. “Um… I think it’s a bit more than that.”
Maeve’s eyes round and then she smiles with absolute joy. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Tell me everything.”
I don’t have time to tell her how things progressed, but I give her the nutshell version that we’ve just grown closer and that we want to try to keep seeing each other.
Hands over her heart, she sighs. “That’s a love story in the making.”
That hits a little too close to home since she’s still not aware of my secret identity. I laugh off such a claim. “We simply want to see where this goes, but it’ll be tough with how much he travels.”
Maeve nods, her eyes catching on the board behind my head and she nods that way. “Look… Ronan’s out. This is the fun part. Watching them push for those final tenths of a second.”
“Fun for you,” I mutter, taking a sip of water. “I’m going to have a heart attack.”
On the screen, Ronan’s car flies by in a blur of silver, green and black, and I watch, holding my breath. He’s fast—there’s no denying that—but when his time comes up, he’s just a hair behind Stefan.
“Come on, Lex,” I whisper under my breath, willing him to take the pole.
And then, he’s on the track. The roar of the engine is deafening as he accelerates down the straight, the car gleaming in the afternoon sun. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch him navigate the corners, the car hugging the track.
“He’s looking good,” Maeve says.
I nod, barely breathing as I watch the big screen. The final sector is crucial, and I know Lex is going to push the car to its absolute limit. When he comes out of the last corner, his car seems to surge and the moment he crosses the line, I hold my breath, eyes glued to the screen. The numbers flash up, and for a split second, I can’t process what I’m seeing.
First. Lex Hamilton. Pole position.
“He did it!” I shout, my voice cracking with excitement. Maeve cheers beside me, and I feel like I could burst with pride. Lex did it. He’s on pole.
I watch as the cars slow on the cool-down lap, and I can’t wait to see him, to congratulate him. He’ll be over the moon, and I’ll be right there to celebrate with him.
For the time being, my nerves are quelled as far as Lex is concerned, but not where Maeve is.
“Let’s go to the garage so we can congratulate him,” Maeve says, turning away from me.
I put my hand on her arm. “Maeve… there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
She faces me, smile slipping a little as concern fills her eyes. “What is it?”
Hands a little clammy, I wipe them on my jeans. “First thing… please don’t say anything about me and Lex. We want to tell Harley first.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “Of course.” Then she almost cackles. “But I can’t wait to see how women react when they realize he’s off the market.”
That should make me want to laugh too, but my nerves are firing on overdrive for what I must tell her next.
“I’m not who you think I am,” I say.
Her eyebrows draw inward as she frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not a reporter. I’m actually a romance author.” I lay it out to her, the entire story and my insidious plan to infiltrate Crown Velocity for my romance book. The more I unveil to her, the more uneasy I become as I can see disapproval etched on her face. “I’m sorry for deceiving you and everyone. After the race, I’ll come clean to Harley and beg her forgiveness. And if it matters to you, I am going to write an article and submit it as a freelancer to sports magazines. It’s going to be a positive piece geared toward women to get them interested in the sport.”
That last little bit has Maeve’s hard expression softening. “You know that a story like this could get blown out of proportion if it got out,” she says pointedly.
“I know and so far, you’re the only one who knows, other than Lex’s parents. I promise though, we’re going to Harley after the race to come clean and—”
“You put me in a bad spot by telling me this,” Maeve says, and I hold my breath to see what she does. “I’m obligated to report something like this up the chain since it could become bad press. If I don’t, my job could be in jeopardy.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. If you feel you need to, I’ll pivot and take ownership. But I’m asking you to consider to not do it because it will detract from the race. It will distract Lex. I promise we are going to Harley as soon as the race is over, so if you can just… I don’t know… hold this secret one more day and then it won’t be a secret anymore.”