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Jameson: I have a problem.

Eden: You starting to believe that media bullshit you’re spouting about the next race?

Jameson: There’s a girl.

Eden: NO. Is this Theo? Did you steal Jamie’s phone again?

Jameson: Try again.

Eden: Big brother, I’m happy for you. What’s she like?

Jameson: Stubborn. Smart. Exploits my limited weaknesses to a painful degree.

Eden: Oooh, sounds promising.

Jameson: It’s not that big a deal.

Eden: With you it is. Theo ties his heart to a rope and drags it behind his car. You guard yours like it’s classified.

Jameson: You’re telling me to be careful.

Eden: I’m telling you if she’s worth it, you should let her in.

It’s raining again.

For the second day straight, streaks of it paint the kitchen windows.

Normally I’d be irritated, because it means I’m skipping my track time. Instead, I’m replaying yesterday afternoon with Shay. Being relaxed doesn’t come naturally to me like it does to Theo, but for Shay, I’m going to try.

It felt good to surprise her, stealing her away from the library like I could claim her. Better still, to take her down to the river, to a place that’s only ever been mine.

“The second race is next weekend. How long did you train today?” Luca asks, taking in my jeans and T-shirt when he comes into the kitchen behind me.

“I didn’t.” I grab a protein drink from the fridge.

His jacket is perfectly pressed, the lines casually elegant. It’s hard to picture him in a fire suit when the wool seems like his eternal uniform.

“You shouldn’t be skipping workouts.” He has a way of delivering the most neutral statement like a pointed critique.

“You shouldn’t have assigned me extra PR duties.” I pop the top on the drink and chug it.

Luca watches steadily until I’m finished. “Get it out of your system.”

“What?” My head snaps up. I know exactly what he means.

“Whatever’s distracting you. Get it out.”

Pressure has amped up around my future, but that’s not what’s on my mind. It’s not even that winning the seat feels less important than it did. More like something else had quietly taken first place when I wasn’t looking.

Shay and I haven’t deliberately kept it a secret, but downplaying spending extra time together made sense for both of us. All I know is that the more time I spend with her, the more I want to.

Touching her makes me feel grounded in a way I never have. And the worst part is it isn’t even about getting off. It’s her. The way she gets under my skin and stays there.

“This race could determine who sits in that second seat,” Luca goes on. “If you do your job this weekend.”

Because he’s always counting. Always calculating.

Shay’s words echo in my head about me being more than a PR stunt—being Luca’s son, and him not treating me that way.