Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
“I’m lost.”
“You were my pivotal moment, Wade.” At his blank expression, I took a breath and tried again. “You’ve read my books.”
He nodded, even though it wasn’t a question.
“Well, in every book, there’s that pivotal moment where the main character is given the chance to bow out. To give up their quest or stated goal. It’s the test before the ordeal part of the hero’s journey. Not that I see this car race as a monster I need to slay or anything.” But I sort of did. Somewhere in my mind I must have.
“What I’m trying to say is, you gave me my out. With no judgment, total support and the promise of more orgasms, the way you always do. But you didn’t offer it because you didn’t think I could do it, like before. That made the difference.”
“I’ve never had anyone turn me down with an excuse that creative before.”
“I will never turn you down, to be clear. I’m only postponing.”
When he smiled, I kept going. “Anyway, when you helped me stop worrying about letting everyone else down, I knew I needed to do it. Not for the team or my sister. Not even for Mom. But because I said I was going to, and I need to go slay that racetrack in the face.”
“In the face, huh?”
I dipped back into the car to kiss him on the cheek, dancing away from his strong, roving hands. “I have to leave before I change my mind again.”
Tossing him my keys and the water bottle, I started fast-walking back to the paddock/pit/base, not looking back, even when he called my name, sounding frustrated.
I dazzled him.
It was out there now. He couldn’t take it back and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Sam Retta had been a dazzler. I’d seen men of all ages and professions tumble head over heels for my mother. Stumble over themselves to pump her gas or show up at an airport with a mariachi band and a drunken minister (The last was a true story. That really happened. And it did not have a happy ending for him).
Don’t even get me started on Morgan, who dazzled without even trying. She actively didn’t try and men still lined up to be her bffs or love interests. Until she found the one guy who was more dazzled by what she had to say than what she looked like.
Never tell me online dating doesn’t work out.
And then there was me.
My breasts had gotten an inordinate amount of attention in days of yore, my career was interesting and I could be considered a step above cute now, since I’d been doing all this yoga and weightlifting. But more than that? I didn’t see it.
That lady bait was my boyfriend, and he thought I was dazzling.
I was still dining off the compliment when I walked into the tent to find Lucy waiting for me. He was sitting at his NASA control center, which was the only way a normal person could describe his three monitors, half a dozen radios and the octopussian tangle of wires that looked as if they were about to swallow him whole.
“Where is everyone?” I asked calmly, pretending I hadn’t started implementing my escape plan less than an hour ago.
“They left to help Gene strap in. Now they’re cheering him on as he heads out under the double yellow.”
Double yell—“Oh, the flags. I remember this. Double yellow, slow my fellow. Green means fast, start hauling ass,” I recited.
“You’re a poet,” Lucy said with a sideways grin as he typed on his keyboard.
“There were so many flags, I had to make up something easy to remember them all. And when you write about witches on a regular basis, you get pretty good at rhyming. For the spells,” I added, though I wasn’t sure he was paying attention.
Charming Lucy was focused on his setup.
“I should leave you alone with your toys and join the others.”
“You don’t need to.” He pointed to one of his monitors. “You see that map?”
“Yes?”
“That’s our racing app. It’s going to give us live updates on our car’s location for the duration of the race.” He hit something on his keyboard and the other monitor turned into six sections of live video feeds. “And that’s going to show us everything Gene is seeing and experiencing at any given time.”
“Whoa.” In one view, I could see Gene in his helmet and fire suit, crammed into the tiny car, and in another, the dozens of cars surrounding him. That wasn’t terrifying at all.
“Whoa indeed. We always had a few cheap GoPros, but I’m not sure why we didn’t think of getting all this coverage until now. It’s the shit.”
It must have been Kingston’s idea.
“Happy fifth Lemons anniversary, huh?”
Lucy snapped his fingers. “I can use that to add those babies to my collection. Thank him for the gift, right? It’s the least he can do, since we’re about to make him famous.”