I hop out of the Black Sheep and point with a trembling finger to Ryan. “Did you know about this?” I turn my hand around and flash my new pretty.
Ryan cackles and scoops me into a hug. “Of course we did. Who do you think helped him pick that ring? Marny, of course. Good job out there tonight, you did us proud.”
“I can’t get the Black Sheep into the trailer. It’s all hitting me and I’m a shaking mess. It’s on you, secret keeper.” Ryan laughs again and heads over to the idling car to pull it onto the trailer for me.
“Nice job, sweet thing. That’s some rock,” Wyatt says, grabbing my hand and then wincing as if the sparkles are too bright.
“You knew, fucker, don’t play like you haven’t see it.” I snatch my hand out of his and stalk by him. “But you can tell me what a badass I am for kicking Griffin’s ass tonight. And you can walk with me to the podium.” Wyatt laughs and follows me.
Griffin catches up and steps between us to put an arm around each of our shoulders. “This is it. We’re living the fucking dream. How did we get this lucky?”
He’s obviously still on the high of our freshly minted engagement and the competition. He’s not normally this jubilant. It still makes me smile and rest my head against his shoulder. He places a kiss against my hair and squeezes me to his side.
“We worked our asses off and went through hell, that’s how,” Wyatt responds, fake one-two punching Griffin in the ribs.
“It’s so much better this way. We earned everything we have by giving our blood, sweat and slaying tires. Now get out of here, Wyatt, I want to kiss my fiancée before she climbs a step above me on the podium she so rightly deserves.”
“Fine, cast away the unwanted third wheel when you have no use for me, I see how it is. Don’t get too far behind, they like to start these things right away and I’m not covering for your ungrateful asses.” Wyatt pulls me into a quick hug and kisses my cheek. “I’m really happy for you, sweetness. You deserve this and so much more.” He winks at me from behind his black frames and pops those dimples before he lengthens his stride and heads away from us.
“You happy, baby?”
“Of course I am. How could I be anything but happy right now?” I look at him in confusion, unsure how he could even ask. “You have made me happier than I could ever imagine was possible. I can’t wait to start the rest of our lives together, married to my best friend.” I run my hand along his cheek and scratch his stubble with my fingernails.
“Good, because you saying yes made me stupidly happy. I’m gonna blame carrying that ring in my suit for what made me nervous and why I lost to you tonight, though.” His shit eating grin tells me he doesn’t believe a word of that, but wants to poke at my competitive nature. I’ve learned to read him pretty well over the years, but this isn’t even hidden.
“I’ll beat you in any race you want, ring or not, and you know it. Don’t blame an inanimate object for how much you sucked out there.” Yup, I’ll give it right back.
“That’s my girl,” he says, pulling me against his hard body. “But if something is gonna suck tonight, it’s gonna be you.” The wicked gleam in his eyes is raw and so Griffin.
“Maybe if you play your cards right your wishes can be made reality. I am feeling rather generous, after all.” I reach between us and stroke him once before stepping away. “Now, let’s get on that podium and get the hell out of here. We have plans.”
“Mmm, I like it when you’re generous and giving,” he says as we make our way to the podium presentation and wait to get called to our places.
I climb the giant steps and stand at the top as the announcer calls my name, camera flashes lighting up the night and people talking over each other. It keeps seeming unreal and then hitting me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know which is better, winning my first race as a pro or getting engaged to the love of my life. It doesn’t really matter because it’s all happening together. There will never be a repeat of this night to top it. I hold this thought in my heart as Griffin sprays me with Mas Boost from the second place step below me.
I’m following my dreams to greatness, chasing what matters most and working damn hard for it every step of the way.
“I love you, baby,” I say to Griffin as fizzy energy drink drips off of my face onto his.
“I love you back,” he responds before kissing me deeply.
The End
TO MY READERS
Thank you so much for reading Drift Heat! I would love to hear what you thought of this novel and hope you’ll consider leaving a review where you purchased this novel and on Goodreads. If you would like to receive an email when I release future titles and get sneak peeks, please sign up HERE.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have been told that books are like babies and it takes a village to raise a child, which means I have a lot of thanks to give now that this baby has made it into the world.
To my amazing husband, whose support and love means more to me than anything. You are my rock and the peaceful quiet to my crazy storm. Thank you for understanding, for listening, for trusting, and believing in me. Thank you for your encyclopedic knowledge of cars and your never-ending enthusiasm to share with me. You are such a wonderful enabler of my growing passions!
To my favorite Cs, my soul sisters, my confidantes, my besties. Casey, you just get me without me ever having to explain my crazy. Cristy, sometimes I think you are me. Both of you ladies are the best girlfriends a woman could have and always make me feel loved, appreciated, and understood. I am so thankful for friends like you! Thank you for loving my characters and my stories as much as I do and for being my cheerleaders. Thanks for letting me glean from your real life experiences and steal pieces of your personalities to give life to my characters! My life would be a lot darker and far too plain without your sunshine and spice.
To the incredible ladies who formed Adrian’s Army, always full of support and encouragement—or stalker memes telling me to write, dammit! I love you so much! You were my first pre-orders, my first fangirls, my first taste of what being a beloved author could be like. I write sexy bad boys and adorable nice guys for you!
To the bloggers and readers who took a chance on a new author and then checked in with me when I took a hiatus from writing because you wanted more, thank you! Knowing my characters had carved out a spot in your hearts with their stories and you couldn’t wait to read more pulled me back into the game. I hope it was worth the wait!
So much love and appreciation goes to my amazing author friends. To the goddess that is Rachel Robinson, who has been there from the very beginning, way back to my first novel that never saw the light of day. You encouraged me to keep writing and to make every story better. Thank you for your insights into the gladiator arena of self-publishing, for helping me choose awesome people to take my story and turn it into a presentable novel, and for your hilariously witty texts and conversations that made me feel like I wasn’t alone on this journey. To the amazing Heidi Joy Tretheway, you are an angel and such a wonderful friend. I appreciate all of your feedback and for throwing me a rope when I got stuck in my self-doubt and the quicksand of inexperience. To Meghan March, who I’m kind of in awe of and yet treated me like an equal from the moment we met. Thanks for always having time for my questions and having sassy, perfect answers. Sybil Bartel, who took my rambling synopsis and killed me with her awesome blurb creation. You gave me so much insight and information that I clung to during this process, thank you! Reader, I want you to immediately go download all of these ladies’ books. They contain your next book boyfriends and will give you epic book hangovers you won’t want to get over, trust me. To the fantastic authors of Romance Authors Unite and Indie Authors Unite, thank you for always responding to my cries for feedback and for providing invaluable answers when I had questions that only your collective experience could handle.
My gratitude forever to Emily A. Lawrence of Lawrence Editing for taking my precious though imperfect manuscript and turning it into
a readable story! You zealously scratched out my abundant comma usage, made sense of my rather nonsensical phrasing, and educated me with so many ‘duh’ moments that left me slapping my forehead in shame while allowing my voice to stay true and my characters to remain themselves. Thank you for loving this story and giving me the confidence to know this book was actually a good read, and not just to me because I love my own characters. I am bowing down before your red pen and I swear I will cry if you ever say you can’t work on my future projects. I can’t lose you!
To Josh Baker of AzulOx Visuals, my creative bestie with the power of the camera on his side. You once again knocked my cover and promo images out of the park with your skill and badassery. Thank you, sir, for not just seeing my vision, but for making it better. It’s all about creating art and beauty with your inventive vision. Thanks for having me along for the sensational ride!
Many thanks to Caitlin Ting and OMGdrift for the fantastic drifting car photos! Your ability to capture these beasts in the wild and enthusiasm to share the movement of the cars and talent of the drivers in a still photo is unrivaled.
To my crazy family, spread across the country but always supportive, y’all rock! Mom, you are the best for fostering my creativity from a young age and teaching me that no matter what my dreams were I was capable of achieving them. You taught me to aim high, then claw my way up without fear. Your devotion, work ethic, and realness have inspired me my entire life. Thanks for not sugarcoating anything and for giving me the tools to overcome my obstacles. I love you to pieces!
Last but far from least, all my love and thanks to you, dear reader, for picking up this novel and giving my story a chance! Without you, my characters would remain in my head where they would pick on me relentlessly. So, thanks for keeping me sane! You allow me to live my passions, for which I am forever grateful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adrian R. Hale is a whirlwind of energy and optimism, just as ready to tell you about her books as she is to invite you over for cookies. She is a big dreamer and believes in chasing them down with speed and enthusiasm, much like the characters she writes. You can find her cycling Central Texas roads, running trails, baking gourmet cupcakes, beautifying people for weddings and photo shoots, and traveling all over the country in pursuit of those interests. Once upon a time, Adrian went to college thinking she would be a journalist, but dropped out to go to beauty school. She then wrote a novel about a hair and makeup artist. It looks like things have come full circle. She loves hearing from her readers at [email protected].
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES
Visit Adrian R. Hale on her website or facebook page. Feel free to stalk her on Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram as well.
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