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Franco was enchanted, bewitched, and taken. He lifted a hand to her chin, tilting those swimming big blues up to him.
“You are a gift, you know that, right?”
She nibbled on her lower lip, then shook her head, likely trying to loosen the naughty thoughts that had taken hold.
“Stop,” she mused with a grin.
He brought her face to his, and they kissed, slowly and deeply. Reality faded into their fairy-tale world.
She peeled herself from him, looking flustered.
“You need to get to your press conference. I’ll meet you back at the garage, okay?”
Franco was delighted, seeing her so nervous for him. He nodded, then slid his hand down her arm, giving her fingers one final squeeze.
“Thank you.”
Franco went to the press conference with a pep in his step. It helped him not attach himself to any of the questions that were both directly aimed at his pride about the spinout the day before and the subsequent chase of the potential saboteur through the venue grounds.
“How do you think your performance yesterday is going to affect today? Why was blistering such a problem for you?” a reporter bellowed out.
A question like that would have stung if he had been alone. Reporters were always looking to get a rise out of him. Something that three-second news clips could capture. But Violet had mellowed him. He merely smiled, the cameras clicking incessantly to capture his handsome smirk.
“No matter at what level you are, there are going to be problems. Even things like blistering, which seem like a younger driver’s nuisance. Shit happens. But I am feeling good about today. That’s all that matters.”
He answered a few more questions with a bold countenance. All considerations of yesterday’s failure dissipated into the ether, and he knew that he could take on the day.
The press conference ended an hour later, with other drivers who were at his level coming in after him. He moved through the tunnel, nearly floating as he approached his pit crew and garage.
Cornel, Felix, and Samantha were on the ready, greeting him with a bright expression of hope.
“She slept like a dream,” Samantha said, the headpiece balancing like a crown on the top of her head. “Felix and I played some poker, too, and she just slept on through it.”
They were beaming, which eased Franco’s fears even more. All four of them approached the car, Cornel, with his clipboard, and began going through any possible vehicular failure.
“No one but us touched it this morning. The tires were replaced from yesterday’s blistering, and they are brand, spanking new. There is no way someone has had any opportunity to get their hands on it.”
Franco vibrated with excitement. He trusted his team inherently, then went over the car himself with a keen eye. Cornel was right. It was as fresh as a rose and ready to take on the day’s long commitment.
He crouched at the tires, running his fingers over each. It still made him wonder how someone had gotten at them the day before, but he felt reassured that no one was going to on that day. He would have to make up some ground for the positioning he’d lost, but that was an easily remedied issue.
They had about two hours to go before the race was set to begin. The pit crew went through their usual practice run, checking in on the microphone and the flow of the car when it would slide in for its inevitable check-ins. Violet sat the way she had the very first day she had arrived … on a stool next to the monitors, a blazing flower in a field of emerald.
He went to her, standing between her legs and rubbing his hands up and down her thighs. She raised her eyebrows at him.
“Ready to go?” she inquired.
“Yep,” he said cheerfully. “Cornel has gone over everything, and Felix and Samantha stayed with the car all night. I think this is going to go well.”
Violet blinked slowly, placing her hands on his chest again the way she had earlier. It was like they had been together for decades as opposed to a few days.
“Hey, so I was thinking,” Franco said, his voice lowering as he leaned forward into her. “You should go walk around a bit while we set everything up here. You have a few hours, and I know you’ve never seen a big race before. It’s like a fucking festival of events.”
Violet grinned from one side of her face and then nodded enthusiastically.
“That’s a good idea. I’d love to see what all the hubbub is about.”
Franco felt something twitch inside his mind. He genuinely wanted her to explore the racing grounds and the fanfare at her will. But she had agreed so fast that he started to wonder if something else was up.
