Page 101 of Downforce

I almost whine when his hold loosens until his hands break apart, allowing me to step out of the embrace. There’s no time to dwell on everything going on inside of me, or how wonderful it felt to fall asleep in his arms last night right after we spent an hour talking about any and everything.

Max opened up about his memories of racing in Monaco both as a kid and watching his father. I mentally lock up that memory to review another time, like when I don’t have to rush out to meet my family before a very busy workday.

But Max’s voice stops me right as I get to the door.

“Are you trying to steal my clothes now?”

I glance down at what I’m wearing and cringe. It’s bad enough I never made it back to my apartment last night where Chloe was waiting for me. Now, showing up dressed in what are obviously not my clothes will open me up to all sorts of questions from my little sister. Questions I’m not ready to answer.

In a hurry, I step around Max to seek out the blouse and long skirt I’d worn last night to find them neatly folded in the navy chair lounge in the corner of the bedroom. Without looking at Max, I change clothes, grab my purse and tablet, and head to the door in a blur, but the second my hand touches the doorknob I pause.

My head is telling me to turn the knob and get back to my apartment to slip in before anyone notices. But my heart holds me hostage.

I feel Max standing behind me. He hasn’t said a word as he’s watched me change. When I turn to him, my thoughts are confirmed. He eyes me with a raised eyebrow.

Within the blink of an eye, I’m standing before him. I press a hand to his bare chest, and both of our breaths hitch. I lift to my tiptoes and kiss the corner of his mouth.

“Good luck today,” I tell him just above a whisper.

An almost imperceptible smile flutters across his lips.

He covers my hand with his own, holding me to him, his gaze searing me from the inside out.

Without warning he moves his hand, wrapping it around my waist and pulling me flush against his body. He lowers his lips so close to my ear that they touch my earlobe as he tells me, “When I win today, just know that it’s for you.”

He releases me.

My mind fails to wrap the appropriate words around everything I’m feeling so I pull my gaze away from his lips and turn for the door, his gaze watching me as I leave.

* * *

“Welcome home.”

I pull up short just outside of my bedroom door at the sound of my mother’s voice. My heartbeat picks up and I’m suddenly feeling like sixteen-year-old Annalise who got caught sneaking back to her bedroom in the middle of the night after hours of intrusive thoughts followed by compulsive behaviors led me to staying up at all hours of the night.

My mother had thought I’d been sneaking out of the house to meet a boy or something normal sixteen-year-olds do. If only it were that simple.

Now that that is the case, it’s hard for me to remember that I’m standing in the middle of my own apartment and I’m no longer a teenager.

“Hey, Mom,” I turn and greet with a huge smile. “I thought you were staying at your place last night.” My eyes wander over her shoulder toward the hallway hoping I don’t see my father emerge from the second bedroom. That’s all I need right now.

My mom, dressed in a pair of jeans, a V-neck white top and navy blue blazer folds her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow. I don’t even think to ask why she’s up and dressed so early.

“Since we had Lucky last night and I had a conference call with a client based in Asia this morning, I came over here to take the call in your spare bedroom for some quiet,” she explains.

“Chloe …” I trail off when she moves closer.

“Stayed with us last night.” She stops. “Or rather she came over pretty late to hang out with us when her big sister didn’t return home to watch the movie like they had planned.”

Her statement is very much an accusation and a question all at once, but it’s said in such a breezy manner that it’s almost difficult to pick up on at first.

Guilt wells up in the pit of my stomach. I had promised Chloe a night together. We get so few given that we live across the ocean from one another.

“Close your mouth, baby,” my mom says.

I snap my jaw closed since no words were coming out anyway. I’m not ashamed of spending the night with Max, but I also can’t come right out and tell my mother that I’ve just wished my brother’s biggest competition good luck before one of the most important races of the season.

And I meant it.