“Oh, Max.” I reach for him, as best as I can in this stupid harness, and he releases the catch so he can hold me. The tears roll down my face. I thought he was a bad boy racer, but I’ve been wrong about him all this time. He holds me tighter, arms wrapped around me in the same way as he’s wrapped himself around my heart. Gingerly, I take it from him and slide it onto my finger.
“I want you to have it, even if you don’t stay.” He cradles my face, tilting it up to look at him and brushes a kiss over my lips. “Let’s go; you need to get some sleep. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” I nod, and he releases me so I can drive us home.
We swap cars at the garage and lock the Camaro inside. Max drives me home and I reach for him before I get out of the car.
“Thank you.” I press a kiss to his lips and climb out the car. He waits until I close the door before I hear the GTO rumble down the drive and take off down the street.
Deep down, I know what I want; I’ve known for a while but the worry about my dad and this race has consumed my every thought. Once it’s over, I will tell him. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I type out a quick email and hit send before I turn it off and drag my weary body to bed. Time to start tying up lose ends.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The bed feels empty without Max when I wake the next morning. With a groan, I pull the covers over my head in a bid to go back to sleep but someone has other plans. The front door slams and heavy footsteps make their way up the stairs. Who the fuck is making all that noise? Then my door swings open and Max’s large frame fills the doorway, a frantic look in his eyes.
“Why the hell aren’t you up yet?”
“I’m tired.” I rub my eyes and lie back down.
“You look like crap.” He pushes off the doorframe and stalks over to the sit down on the bed.
“Thanks.”
“I thought I told you to get some sleep.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” I stifle another yawn.
“Why not?”
I shrug and roll over onto my side, pulling the covers up around my ears.
“No, no, no, Storm, you need to get up. We have to be at the track in an hour.” He reaches for the bed covers and I sit upright and struggle to get out of bed. Max groans loudly and drops his head in his hands.
“Seriously, do you need to walk around dressed like that?”
I look down at my tank top and panties. “What? I was in bed.”
“I know and now all I want to do is take you back to bed.” He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends in frustration.
“I’d like that, too.” I straddle his lap and press my body flush against his. Bringing my lips crashing down on his, I let my tongue explore his mouth.
He lets out another groan, deep in my mouth. It rumbles through me and he stands, dropping me onto my feet.
“We’ve got a race to win.” He smacks me on the ass and walks toward the door. Pausing in the doorway, he turns around. “You’ve got five minutes. See you downstairs.” He winks and closes the door behind him.
Once I’ve found clean underwear, I grab my jeans that are lying on the floor at the bottom of my bed and pull on a shirt that is lying on the chair. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I wash my face and brush my teeth before running downstairs. Dad and Max are in the kitchen, talking tactics and strategy. I tune them out because it makes me too nervous to think about.
“Breakfast?” Dad offers.
“Nuh-uh.” The butterflies are having a fit inside my stomach, and I wouldn’t be able to keep anything down. But I take a banana and pour myself a cup of coffee. Too restless to sit down, I hover at the kitchen counter as they continue to talk strategies.
“We’ll see you at the track.” Max rises from his chair and looks expectantly at me. “We’re meeting Aaron to pick up the Camaro and drive it to the drag strip.” I nod and dump the last of my coffee down the sink.
“See you there.” I lean down and hug my dad. He grips me tighter and hugs me longer than he usually would.
“Good luck, Storm.”
“Thanks,” I whisper back, feeling choked with emotion, and follow Max out.
• • •
Aaron is already at the garage when we arrive; the car is ready and waiting. Beth is in the passenger seat of his truck but climbs down when she sees me and pulls me into a hug. It takes me by surprise when she squeezes me tightly, but I return it with a tight squeeze of my own.
“Be careful,” she says sternly, but I hear the quiver in her voice. “Zach is crazy. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and pull some kind of stunt. His dad was there when your uncle was killed and when Hank had his accident. Just promise me that you’ll be careful.” Getting all worked up in her condition is not good, but I hold her tighter as I promise.