“How did you get back here?” I ask, glancing around and finding my team all busy on my car, paying us no attention.
Lena giggles the sweetest sound. “Fish kinda helped me,” she says with a blush.
My fingers twitch to touch her skin, but I hold myself back. I’m not exactly sure why she’s here, though I do take it as a good thing. “Well, I’m glad you came.”
Her smile is genuine as she slides her hands into her pockets and rocks back on her heels. “So can I ask what you were just talking about with my dad?”
“Oh, that,” I respond, clearing my throat. “I was just telling him I didn’t renew my contract with CDE.”
Shock fills her features as her mouth gapes open. “What?”
“No, it’s okay. I think it’s time to make a change, you know? Maybe settle down a bit? I have Oliver to consider now.”
“But… you can’t quit, Mack! This is your dream.”
I take a step forward, invading her personal space. Her familiar scent wraps around me like a warm blanket, soft and alluring. “Actually, it’s not. You’re my dream, Lean.” My hand goes to her face, cupping her cheek. She doesn’t shake me off or tell me to stop, so I move even closer and place my other hand on her lower back. “I want to be where you are.”
Her eyes fill with tears, but she blinks them away. “What if I’m here? With you? What if that’s where I want to be?” Her hands wrap around my shoulders, her fingers sliding into my hair.
“Is it?”
She nods quickly. “Yeah. I don’t need to be in Brenton, Mack. Brenton isn’t my home. My home is where you are. You and Oliver.”
My lips move fast, claiming hers in a searing kiss. I feel the way her fingers grip my neck, and she opens her mouth, my tongue delving inside to taste her. She’s like a homecoming. Off in the distance, I hear cheering, but don’t have to look to know who it is. My team, the ones who have been beside me from day one. My family.
With Herculean strength, I pull my lips from hers. “Are you sure, Lean? I mean, really fucking sure? Because if not, we can go back to Brenton, together. I don’t want you to settle for anything less than what you want and deserve.”
She smiles up at me, her finger swiping away the remnants of whatever lip gloss she was wearing. “The only way I’d be settling is if I went back home without you.”
Grinning like a loon, I kiss her again, this time, allowing myself to savor the feel of her lips against mine. “I love you,” I whisper, my lips sliding along her full bottom lip and down her chin.
“I love you too.” She meets my gaze. “And this is where I want to be.”
I throw my arms around her and pick her up, swinging her around like in those cheesy rom-com movies she used to make me watch. I don’t care how it looks. I have the girl. My girl.
When I set her down, she gazes up at me. “You better call Colton. Tell him you’ve reconsidered the offer.”
I laugh and hug her tight. “You sure?”
“Definitely. We have a championship to win,” she sasses.
“You two done making out over there?” Fish hollers, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Not even close,” I tell my best friend before dipping Lena and planting another one on her lips to the echo of cheers around me.
“We’re just getting started.”
Epilogue
Lena
“You better hurry up or we’re gonna be late,” Mack hollers through the open door of our home in Brenton.
We actually have two, one in Los Angeles and a beautiful new one back home in Kansas, and we split our time as best we can between the two. During the racing season, we stay close to LA, close to Mack’s team, but in the winter and during breaks, we’re here.
It’s a Saturday night in July, and since there’s no IndyCar race over the Independence Day weekend, we decided to come home and help Dad at the track. Mack’s going to race Dad’s old car, the one he ran before that fateful call from Colton Donavan.
As soon as I step into the foyer, I see my guys standing on the opposite side of the door. Both wear matching grins, Oliver’s arms reaching out. “Mama!” he hollers, his toothy little smile melting my heart.
“Hey, baby boy,” I coo, taking him from his father the moment I step outside. “Ready to