“You guys know each other?” I ask, quirking my eyebrow.
“She’s my sister,” Bristol says, surprising me.
“Interesting,” I mumble as the girl’s hug.
“Austin, you did it. Second place. I am so proud of you,” she says, laughing. They jump up and down.
“You and Tex, huh?” Austin questions.
“You and Rowe? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“It’s new,” Austin replies shrugging. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“The whole world knows now,” I say earning a glare from Rowe.
“What? You should have told me,” I say.
“Tex. Let’s get a picture of you with the trophy,” a racing exec says pulling me away from the unfolding scene.
“Sure thing, Mr. Renway,” I say turning back to my car. A camera is shoved in my face.
“What are you going to do now, Tex?” Stacy Carmichael of AllSports Network asks.
“Get ready for Birmingham, of course,” I say as champagne is shaken over me and the car.
“Anything else?” she continues.
“I’m gonna get married,” I say reaching my hand out for Bristol, finding her. I turn her towards me in dance spin and lean down and kiss her. Her eyes are wide, but I can see the laughter behind them.
“And how long have you two been engaged?” Her tone has changed from completely professional to snarky and I feel the need to tell her off.
“Ain’t asked her yet,” I drawl, earning more than a few chuckles. “Thank you for such a professional question and
“Mighty bold, Mr. Johnston,” Bristol says winking at me, and I know I have her. Fuck, she’s beautiful. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to cover it.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Ms. Talbot,” I respond with a wink of my own.
We pose for a few pictures. She’s a natural in front of the cameras and the press. After that Austin and I do as well, though we stand far apart with the trophy. This is a huge deal for Wellington. It’s the first time that the first and second place winners are their drivers. There will be parties tonight for sure. Wednesday, it’ll be back to the drawing board getting ready for next month’s race. It dawns on me that if Austin and Bristol are sisters, they share the same father.
Their mother is notorious for being a widow who can’t move on. I know all about her father dying on the track. I was there in the stands that day. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. The very track we are going to next month. I make a point to talk to her about it later. Much later. I am pretty sure there was a TV movie about it back in the day. I think she was played by Reese Witherspoon.
Tonight, I am going to claim her. I have to. Nothing else makes sense to me. There’s a driving need in me to breed her. Kids are not something I’ve ever thought about, but one look at her has me imagining a fuck ton of kids with her. Only her.
After fumbling my way through press interviews, during which I don’t let Bristol leave my side, we get in my rental car and head out. Away from the chaos. She was quiet throughout the interviews and I didn’t like that. I want to hear what her laughter sounds like and so much more. So. Much. More.
“You got a man?” I blurt. It wouldn’t matter one way or the other, but I’d like to know what I am up against.
“No, I certainly do not have a man,” she says with a bit of an attitude. I smile and change the subject.
“Where should we go eat?” I ask. I am starving. Sweating in my flame-retardant jumpsuit all day long will do that to you. My first thought is food, but I am simultaneously thinking of her spread out on my bed eating her out, but first things first.
“Eat? Um, I haven’t thought about that at all,” she says looking down at her hands in her lap. Her practically matching fire suit looks entirely different on her. She’s somehow the cutest and sinfully sexy woman I have ever seen. I grab her left hand in my right one. She gasps and I groan. That sizzle of electricity between us makes me crazy. What the fuck is this? Not for the first time, I wonder that, but shake it off. Who fucking cares? She’s mine now.
“There is no reason to be nervous, babe,” I say chuckling. “You are in good hands with me,” I promise.
I know that it’s absolutely insane the lengths I’ll go to in order to make her happy. To make her stay.
Chapter Four
Bristol
Food? Nervous? Is he serious? I am so beyond nervous it’s not
even funny. There is no fucking way I can eat. My act earlier for the cameras was just that, an act. Oh, I want him, but he’s making me want more than tonight. I want forever. I want what my heart is telling me is possible. I want it all. Somehow, my heart and my body just know that Tex Johnston is the man for me. I knew it instantly and I let my body react to him, to the overwhelming sensation of rightness that being near him brought me.