“Now we’re talking,” her father said, looking proud. “See, I told you she loved him.”
“No, I told you,” Anton said, shaking his head.
“Would you people get out of here?” she said, glaring at their fathers. “So I can tell him I love him?”
“Apologies accepted,” Kane said, never taking his gaze from Lexie’s. “Bye.”
Within seconds she and Kane were alone, and he was kissing her.
“You wanna run that last part by me again?” he asked when he came up for air.
“I love you.”
“And always will?”
She smiled. “Always. And you—”
“Did you see Cheryl?”
Where was he going with this? Where was the big declaration of love from him? “Ah, yeah.”
“Did she tell you about the plan?”
“Uh-huh.”
“She’s crazy.” He shook his head. “She had me doing all this deep breathing.”
“And you had some terrible finishes.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “You gotta keep your head in the race at all times.”
Wait a second. This was going somewhere. “You risked championship points for me?”
“I’d do anything for you.” He cupped her cheek. “You should know that by now.”
Okay, that was really flattering and gave her all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings. But at the same time…
“Are you crazy?” She fought the urge to pull her hair out, then his. “We’ve got a championship to win. Races to run. Not to mention the safety of—”
“I had more important things on my mind.”
“No kidding?”
His gaze smoky, he kissed her. “Like telling Cheryl of course I loved you, and she should go home and quit bugging me.”
Her stomach fluttered. “You do, huh? When did you realize that?”
“About twenty seconds after I met you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “And the last twelve years, you’ve been…”
“Stupid. I guess I should confess that more recently I knew I loved you when, at every race since you walked out of my house, I haven’t wanted to get in the car. I wanted to stay with you. I didn’t give a damn what lap we were on or where we stood in the points. If I can’t be with you, race with you, I don’t want to race at all.”
The fluttering in her stomach blossomed, sending tingles of happiness through the rest of her body. It was a feeling she knew would last a lifetime—for both of them. “You don’t have to pick between me and racing.”
“I don’t?”
“You can have us both.”
“Mmm.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Can I have you first?”
“You bet. And just so we’re clear, I didn’t choose the team over you. I chose to protect myself rather than risking my heart again.”
His gaze searched hers. “You won’t be sorry if you do.”
“No, I don’t think I will,” she said, and pressed her lips to his.
They shared a kiss full of hunger and need, healing and hope. She absorbed his excitement and relief. His hope and promise.
There would be hard days ahead, working together and loving together, but she had faith in their commitment to each other. A love this challenging to win would be all the more precious.
The alarm on her watch beeped. She pulled away from Kane and glared at her wrist. “Oh, crap. We’ve got to head to the airport. We’ll miss the plane.”
Grinning, he pulled her back to him. “I was thinking about staying the night.”
“CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING?” Harry asked, hovering impatiently behind the taller man in front of him.
“They’re kissing,” Anton said, turning away from the window with a broad smile on his face.
“Again?”
“In fact, I don’t imagine we’ll see them on the plane.”
Harry sagged with relief. “Hallelujah.”
Anton dropped his arm across Harry’s shoulders as they walked away from the coach. “Not a bad plan, Mercer.”
“Not bad? It worked perfectly.”
“I think they would have gotten back together without us fighting.”
“Eventually, I guess. But it was taking too dang long. I’ve got a championship to win.”
“Did I ever tell you about that touchdown I made in Super Bowl—”
“If you don’t finish that sentence, I’ll buy you a beer.”
Anton nodded. “Deal.”
EPILOGUE
KANE WON THE RACES in Charlotte and Martinsville. He came in second in Atlanta and third in Texas. So, by the time they reached Phoenix, they were in first place.
Tonight, with a fifth-place finish at Homestead, they locked up the championship—and Lexie gained a fiancé.
Kane refused to hoist the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup trophy until Lexie accepted his marriage proposal. As soon as he climbed out of the race car he went down on bended knee in their pit box in front of their family, entire crew and millions of TV viewers, and asked the woman he loved to be his wife.
Of course she said yes.
Two celebrations began.
Lexie knew she’d leave the wedding to the experts—Cheryl and James—and simply be grateful for what she had. A man she loved more every day and whose devotion she felt constantly in return, a father who supported her both on and off the track, future in-laws who had amazing perspective and class and a championship they’d all won together.
“When do we get to escape all this attention?” Kane whispered in her ear in the alternate Victory Lane NASCAR had set up for their championship celebration.
“I told you to finish below twentieth, then we could have run off to a hotel on the beach.”
“A beach hotel with my lovely car chief or win the championship?” He angled his head in consideration. “It was a touch choice.”
“Next hat!” the photographer shouted, so everyone on the team moved to the next sponsor’s hat.
“But you’re getting both.”
“I am?”
“I made reservations. A week at a resort in the Bahamas. We leave the moment I can pull you away from the congratulations brigade.”
“I love you.”
“I know. I love you, too. Smile for the camera.”
During the break between pictures, James leaned across her to ask Kane, “I get to be best man, don’t I?”
“Who else?”
“No wild bachelor parties,” Lexie said sternly. “Our champion has to say in fighting shape. We defend our title in thirteen weeks.”
Exchanging a smile, Kane and James upended a bottle of champagne over her head.