Page 156 of Downforce

I swallow the lump in my throat.

“We’re so proud of you,” she says again.

“This is a very big weekend for you, neto,” my grandfather adds.

We’re in Sao Paulo for the Grand Prix. This weekend is big for so many reasons. Not only is it one of the final races of the season, but if Travis and I rack up enough points this weekend, we could pull out the win for the Constructor’s Championship.

“And your girlfriend is so beautiful,” my grandmother adds, glancing over at Annalise who’s on the other side of the living room playing with my younger cousins. Tomorrow is when most of the rest of my team will arrive to set up for race weekend. Annalise agreed to come with me a day early to spend time with my family.

This is one of the first times that I’ve come early to visit them before a race. For many years my mother had me convinced that they didn’t want much to do with me after my father’s death.

I hate that I believed her for so long.

“When are you going to marry her?” my grandfather asks.

“Soon,” I reply in English.

“Soon, what?” Annalise asks, sidling up beside me.

I wrap my arm around her. “I’m going to make you my wife.”

She cocks her head sideways.

“That’s not really what you’re talking about.”

My grandfather chuckles, understanding our conversation.

“It is, princess. Soon as I win the championship, I plan on convincing you to be my wife.” I decided this not long ago.

“Neto, I think you’re scaring her,” my grandfather says with a smirk that reminds me so much of mine when I’m teasing someone. The same smile my father had when he teased me.

“Why didn’t you bring your teammate?” my cousin, Valentina asks, approaching us with a glass of lemonade for my grandfather.

He takes it, kissing her cheek.

“He chose not to come,” I say flatly.

Annalise elbows me.

I give her a look. “He didn’t.”

“I’m not sure he invited him,” she tells Valentina, which makes my cousin laugh.

“Are you two still not getting along?”

“He’s pissed because I’m on the verge of snatching the title from him,” I gloat.

My relationship with Travis has improved in the past few months. We’re no longer at one another’s throats, and we manage to get through a dinner together when either Annalise or Alyssia insist we go out for a double date. But we’re still competitors, and as it stands, we’re tied in points for the championship.

A competition I have every intention of beating.

But I respect Travis’ drive to win, and I’ve gotten a sense that he respects mine. More so he’s come around to the fact that I’m deeply, utterly, and irrevocably in love with his sister. That seems to have won me a begrudging friendship that neither of us expected.

“Dance with me,” Annalise says when the music gets turned up and those around us start dancing to the upbeat tempo.

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”

I take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor … that’s really just the grassy backyard of my grandparents’ home. When I pull her body against mine, our hips sway but not at all in time with the music. We move to our own beat. I look down into her eyes and see my entire future.