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“You’re not leaving me. You’ve said it a zillion times. This isn’t like last time,” I interrupted. I looked at my hand, playing with the ring on my finger. “We’ll be fine. You get to drive,” I breathed in awe. “ForTroy Pressure!How cool is that? You’re idol!”
“Can’t even believe it. I feel like I’m dreaming. My career was done then—”
“Your career was never done. You’re too good for that.”
“You just love me.”
“Stop with the false modesty. You finished second in the series last year. Yeah, I love you, but it’s way more than that. You know it. I’m kinda surprised you haven’t gotten a call before now.”
He pulled his lip between his teeth, smiling and shaking his head before he stopped moving and his eyes honed in like me, a predator to his prey. “Bristol…”
“I’ll miss you, but I’ll be here waiting. I can fly to where you are, too. We talked about that,” I hurried to assure him.
“No.” He shook his head, but spoke again before I could panic. “I know it’s a big ask, but… Come with me to Daytona.”
“I… Come with you?”
“Yeah. And not just to Daytona. Everywhere on the schedule. We can handle the move and payments and whatever from the road—even if our condo is vacant for a little bit. You can work on your book while you’re with me. We can work on that baby—which might already be cooking inside you. I don’t want to be without you ever again. It’s Brixel forever, right?”
“You know, this town will probably have a dang parade when they find out Brixel is alive and well,” I joked.
“Can you blame them? Greatest love story ever told.”
“I think there are a ton of couples around here who’d disagree with you. But I don’t.”
“So…will you? Will you come with me?”
I nodded. “I want to be with you, Axel. Wherever the road takes us. You better cancel those reservations with Barke, now. It looks like we have other reservations to make—and packing to do.”
* * *
Our night turned from a romantic outing to a surreal panic. On the way back to our apartment, Axel got a text from Troy. When I read it, we found he’d had his assistant book us redeye tickets out of Grand Rapids, leaving in just a few hours. The smart man had known without being told that I would be traveling with his new driver. That had definitely earned points in his favor with Axel, proving in another way that Troy was not like Darius.
Axel had never really unpacked, and most of his stuff was in his motorhome, so he’d been ready to go in minutes. On the other hand, I had had about an hour to pack enough to last me through the middle of June, the first one-week break in the schedule.
“Just pack everything,” Axel said. Reaching up into my closet, he pulled down my nested suitcases. “What do you need help with?”
“My laptop is in its case in the living room. Put my chargers and my tablet in with it and put it by the door, so I don’t forget it. Call your mom and dad. I’ll call the library, my parents and Sutton on the way. She’ll come over and take care of the stuff in the fridge—but if you could make sure there are no dishes in the sink. How many suitcases can I take?” I asked feeling on the edge of panic as I threw underwear in one. Thank God, I did laundry yesterday.
“As much as you need. I can make room in my bag for you, too.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me breathless. “You can buy anything else you need on the road. Don’t worry. I’ll go take care of the stuff you asked me to do.”
“What about your truck?” I exclaimed.
He stroked his hands over my upper arms to calm me. “Baby, it’s okay. When I call home, I’ll ask Aston and Van to pick it up from the airport’s parking garage.”
Miraculously, I was ready to go in under forty-five minutes, but there had been no finesse to the jumble I’d stuffed into the cases, and I was sweating. And I’d managed to only have two suitcases, a small carryon I was making Axel bring for me, and my laptop.
The drive to Grand Rapids took almost two hours, and the snow had gotten heavier. I checked our flight several times, but it hadn’t been canceled. We ended up with an hour delay, though, while they de-iced the wings, but we were onboard and secure in our first class seats.
Since it was the middle of the night and Axel didn’t know if he’d have to drive later that day, he’d fallen off to sleep. While I sat beside him, cuddled in the airline blanket I’d been given, I marveled at how easily he’d dropped off. Apparently, the years on the road had trained him to sleep anytime anywhere.
My fingers tapped soundlessly on my tablet, and I glanced over at him. As if sensing me, his dark-brown eyes popped open. “You’re awake.”
“Can’t sleep. I’m not sure how you can.”
He shrugged. “I’d help you, introduce you to the mile-high club, but I hear you can get in trouble for that and I just got a car back.”
“I’d be mortified if we got caught anyway,” I confessed. “I’d rather wait and christen your motorhome.”
