Page 114 of Downforce

She shakes her head, a few of the curls she’s left out of the tight bun moving as she does. Lucky spots the movement and latches onto it with a chubby fist.

“No,” she blurts, trying to extricate her hair from her nephew's fist. “Lucky, we’ve been over this. You can’t eat my hair.”

He fights her as she tries to pry his fingers away.

Laughter fills the room.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Edwin look my way, but I ignore him as I stroll closer to Annalise and Lucky.

“Hey there,” I coo with a finger to Lucky’s round tummy.

He loses focus on his aunt’s hair and looks at me. He pauses as if trying to figure me out.

“I don’t think hair is the treat you want, little guy.”

He narrows his eyebrows suspiciously and it’s not lost on me how much he looks like his father. That said, I also see some of his aunt in his features. The shape of his eyes, similar nose. My smile broadens at the same time his does.

He holds out a hand in my direction, and I give him my finger. Something slightly dizzying winds around my chest when he wraps a fist around it.

“You remember me,” I say. Lucky is a regular around the pit during race weekends. Along with his mother and Travis’ entire family. Though his father isn’t my biggest fan, Alyssia, Travis’ wife, has never been anything but kind and inviting toward me.

“No, not his finger either,” Annalise suddenly says when Lucky tries to tug my finger into his mouth.

I gently pull my finger away.

“He’s teething,” Annalise looks up and says, something sparkling in her eyes.

“I know.”

The space between her eyebrows narrows.

“Alyssia told me a few weeks ago in Barcelona when he wouldn’t stop crying,” I explain.

“Teeth giving you trouble, mate?” I ask Lucky.

A line of drool drips from his wet lips when he grins up at me.

“Aw man, Lucky, you’re a real charmer,” Annalise teases, hoisting him up higher on her side. “Remember what I said about all of this drool? It’s not cool.”

“I doubt he cares about your definition of cool.”

She raises her brows at me. “He should. I’m the coolest aunt he’s got.”

“I suspect Chloe would beg to differ.”

Her lips part, but then she closes them, shrugging. “As much as I want to argue, it’s probably true. Chloe is cooler than me. It’s true,” she says as she tickles Lucky’s belly.

Lucky’s giggles bounce off of the walls of the conference room, and alight the space with the type of infectious joy only a baby’s laughter can bring. Annalise’s gaze catches on mine as we both grin from ear to ear.

Just that quickly the laughter inside of my head fades to the background, leaving only her smiling features behind. It reminds me of why it’d felt so urgent to speak with her alone earlier.

“Right,” Edwin says, making Annalise break eye contact with me.

I frown at the intrusion.

“Anyway, the next time they call I’ll tell them to bugger off.”

For a beat, I’m confused as to what the hell he’s talking about. Then I recall the conversation we were in the middle of right before Annalise walked in.