Page 103 of Handle Me

“It’s good to hear that.” Wilkes gestured to the pit wall. “My men will show you some more of the data if you like.”

“I don’t need to see any more to tell you I’m still in,” he said, “but the kid in me wants to see it.”

He followed the engineer over to the monitors, and we all stared at each other for a minute before we collapsed into relieved laughter.

“We did it,” Anders said, hugging me tightly.

“You did it,” I corrected him.

“We.” He shook his head. “You were right, boss. McKinnon doesn’t determine my worth because this isn’t just about me. It’s about all of us. I couldn’t do this without my crew.” He met my eyes. “I couldn’t do this without you. You were the missing piece of my team.”

Wilkes cleared his throat, and we jumped apart. “Sorry,” he said with a grin, “but I was starting to get worried you were going to mount her on the spot.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Anders warned him.

“We have some stuff to discuss,” Wilkes said. “Like how we keep you driving like that.”

They shared a look that told me they needed to talk. I squeezed Anders’ hand.

“I’ll see you back at your house to celebrate.”

He nodded as Wilkes began spewing technical information. I made it a few steps before he called out. “Hey, boss, just make sure rule number 5 is still in play when I get home.”

I flashed him a wicked smile and headed out.

CHAPTER FORTY

ANDERS

The world looked different on the other side of that track time when Brex dropped me off a few hours later. I paused outside my front door and smiled. Lola’s McLaren was parked in the drive. She was inside. Everything was right.

At least it would be. Just as soon as I handled one more matter.

The door was unlocked, and I couldn’t resist the urge to call out, “Honey, I’m home.”

Lola appeared, wearing a grin and a black silk dress that skirted a very fine line between underwear and apparel. She held up a bottle of champagne and smiled wider when she saw the pink roses I was carrying.

“I thought we should celebrate,” she said.

I walked to her and hooked an arm around her waist, dragging her to me. “My thoughts exactly.”

“Anders, you were incredible today.” She stared up at me, love shining in her eyes, and I knew what I had to do.

“You’re incredible every day.” I kissed her softly and sighed. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

The smile fell from her face, but she pinned it back on quickly. “Before or after champagne?”

“Before.” I’d been going over this in my head since I left the track. Hell, I’d been thinking about it while Wilkes went over the engineering report from the day. It couldn’t wait any longer.

She swallowed. “You’re scaring me.”

“What?” I blinked, realizing I’d been caught in my own head for too long. “No, boss, don’t be scared. It’s a good thing. I think.”

“You think?” she repeated. “Maybe I should open the champagne.”

She twisted in my arms, but I tightened them around her. “Wilkes and I talked. Securing McKinnons was a start, but I’m going to need to perform like that all the time. He says I need to keep a clear head, stay away from all my family bullshit.”

“Oh.” Her voice was small. Looking down, I noticed her lower lip trembling slightly.