Page 95 of Downforce

Not only does she have a head full of knowledge, but a keen sense of career direction, easily discussing what brands or sponsors would best suit which driver and why.

It makes me wonder why she’s Travis’ assistant and not something more.

As soon as the question pops into my mind, she glances up and our eyes lock. Her gaze softens, or perhaps that’s my hoping that’s what I see in her light green eyes.

She’s so damn beautiful.

It makes my chest ache.

“Did you get that, Max?”

I look over at Drake and nod.

“Right. Hard tires to start out, and if the rain holds out, we’ll finish on the soft,” I recite, not missing a beat of the conversation.

My team principal nods in approval before going back to the clipboard in his hand.

I go to look over to where Annalise was, but instead of meeting her hazels, my gaze collides with her brother’s much darker one. Not necessarily darker in color but darker in emotion.

He glares at me over his sister’s shoulder.

I send a cheeky grin and wink his way, to which he responds with a scowl before going back to listening to his sister.

Once the meeting with my team ends, I seek to grab Annalise for a moment of alone time. A part of me craves to be near her, alone with her.

Who am I kidding?

All of me craves it.

Two days without hanging out in her apartment, watching the movies she loves while she finds time to recite a line either from Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or one of her films in between laughs is too much.

I don’t know how she stuffs all of the knowledge she has inside of her, but it fascinates me and I want to be in her presence more than anyone else’s. This should scare me … but it only draws me to her.

“Hey,” I say, when I finally corner her in one of the hallways of the paddock. She’s alone.

“Hi,” she says in a high-pitched voice, her gaze going over my shoulder.

I glance behind me but find no one standing there.

“I’ve missed you,” I say honestly, low enough only for her to hear me.

Her eyes widen when I take a step closer. My gaze drops to her parted mouth and the need to kiss it becomes overwhelming. I think about how it’s been more than two days since I’ve tasted her lips, heard her laugh, held her in my arms as she told me about some random fact her professor told her about Shakespeare in uni, and that’s just too much time.

“I—” She stops. “Mom,” she squeaks out.

I turn to find a petite, beautiful Black woman standing at the end of the hallway, carefully watching us. After years of racing and competing against Travis, I’m aware that this is his and Annalise’s mother, Mrs. Destiny Townsend.

“D-Did you need something?” Annalise asks, slipping past me.

The ache in my chest grows with each step she takes away from me.

“Looking for you so we can grab something to eat,” Mrs. Townsend says, her gaze still moving between her daughter and me. “Have you eaten anything today?”

Annalise shakes her head.

Glancing at the time on my phone, I frown just as her mother does. It’s almost five o’clock in the evening. She should’ve eaten by now.

“How are you, Max?” Mrs. Townsend greets with a warm smile. We’ve been introduced plenty of times over the years.