“It must be a surreal feeling,” I say, concern flickering through me as I watch him unmoving in his car. “I bet he’s soaking it all in.”
Matt nods. “Let’s try to get down there.”
Now that the race is done and won, along with the Championship title, I’m right behind him. Every part of me wants to be close to Nicky, to tell him I love him, to celebrate this victory with him.
“Okay.”
We move through the traffic created by the jubilant crowd, the sponsors enjoying backing the winning team, and head down to theVortex Motorsgarage.
“Cherry?”
Serena’s face flashes before me, her perfect eyebrows up at her hairline, her curls flying as she screeches to a halt a few steps in front of me.
“Hi.” I pull her to me in a fierce hug. “I missed you!”
“How are you here?”
“It’s a long story, but I’m here for Nicky.”
Her answering smile is dazzling. “Then let’s go see him.”
She links her arm through mine and with Matt following closely behind us, we make our way down to the track and as close to the podium as the heaving crowd will allow.
“He’s pretty low energy for someone who just won his fifth world title, hey?” Serena comments as we watch Nicky finally, slowly make his way out of his car. His head is hung low as he congratulates Nate, who came home in a distant second.
“He must be exhausted.” There’s a twinge in my chest and I rub it as I watch him hug his team of mechanics, all of whom arealmost delirious with excitement. The level of their energy compared to Nicky’s is stark in contrast. “That race must have taken it out of him.”
“Hmmm,” Serena mutters. “Except he’s been this way for weeks now.”
I flush at her pointed look, clearing the emotion from my throat as Nicky steps up to be interviewed.
“Nicky, you are the World Champion for the fifth time. How does it feel to be part of an elite group of drivers to achieve this?” Max Duvall asks.
“It’s unbelievable, Max,” he replies, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. “I have to thank my team for making this happen. For all the people back at the factory who worked incredibly hard to get the car ready for this year and get it back on track after that little stumble.”
The crowd fromVortex Motorsgoes crazy, including Serena next to me. Her high-pitched screech is close to deafening me.
“Speaking of that stumble, what do you have to say to those people who doubted you’d get here? Who said you were going to fumble this title win?”
Nicky’s expression darkens; he holds his body still, but a muscle jumps in his jaw. “Those people were wrong.”
Serena yells “Heck yeah!” next to me.
“I never doubted we’d get the car right again. I was never distracted. I was never not focussed. I just wish everyone could have been as confident as me.”
My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. He’s talking about me. He’s wishing I’d trusted in him—in us—as much as he did. What he doesn’t know is that the person I couldn’t trust was me.
Max thumps him on the arm. “Well, my friend. This is a big day for you. For the team. Do you have anything else you want to say?”
Nicky rubs his thumb over his jaw in his oh-so-familiar ‘I’m thinking’ gesture. “There’s one last person I have to thank.” He turns to look out at the crowd and it feels like he’s looking at me. “Cherry, if you’re watching this back home. I won the whole thing. Just like you told me to.”
My vision blurs and I feel rather than see a hand yanking me forward.
“Get up here,” James growls over the buzz of the crowd.
I’m pushed to the front of the crowd as Nicky’s teammates and friends make way for me.
“Yeah, you did,” I yell out before I can think better of it.
