Race to the Top: Book one in the Racing to Find Love series

by KT Shears

  ‘Hey there, beautiful.’

  She groaned. Devlin Carter. She had managed to avoid him yesterday – he had looked furious when Erik had beaten him to the top position, and had stormed off, not even pausing to leer at her. He looked like he was back to his usual cocky self, though.

  ‘Hi, Devlin.’

  She carried on writing, hoping he would go away, but she felt him sit down next to her. She sighed and put her notepad back in her bag.

  ‘Looking forward to seeing me win? Maybe I’ll split my champagne with you. You’d look good covered in champagne.’

  Anna shook her head in disbelief. Devlin Carter really was unbelievable.

  ‘Last I saw,’ she said, ‘you weren’t starting first.’

  Devlin shrugged.

  ‘It’s no biggie,’ he said. ‘I’ve overtaken Erik before, I’ll do it again. How about if I overtake him you promise to come to my hotel room for a little fun after?’

  Anna scoffed.

  ‘In your dreams,’ she said, shaking her head.

  ‘In my wet dreams, sure,’ Devlin said, winking.

  Eurgh, he really was gross. Anna was about to tell him to go away when a shadow fell over them and she looked up to see Erik standing there. He looked annoyed, and she wondered how much of the conversation he had heard.

  ‘Rob’s looking for you,’ he said simply to Devlin. Rob was Devlin’s race engineer, and he stood up.

  ‘See you later, Anna. My room number’s 698, I’ll provide the champagne.’

  She shook her head as she walked away.

  ‘Eurgh he is such a creep,’ she said, as Erik sat down next to her.

  ‘He’s used to getting his own way with women,’ Erik said.

  ‘I can’t imagine why,’ she said. ‘He’s awful.’

  She thought she detected a smile flash on Erik’s serious-looking face.

  ‘Are you ready for the race?’

  He shrugged.

  ‘Ready as ever. I have to go and get changed in a second and be weighed and stuff.’

  They sat in silence for a few moments. Anna wanted to say how much she’d enjoyed last night, but Erik spoke before she had formulated a sentence.

  ‘I had fun last night,’ he said, looking at her intently.

  ‘So did I,’ she said. ‘Perhaps we can do it again sometime?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Erik said, and he stood up. ‘I have to go and get changed now. I’ll see you after the race, no doubt. Don’t forget to look out for those celebrities.’

  ‘Be safe,’ Anna called after him as headed into the back.

  She didn’t know what to make of that conversation.

  Chapter sixteen

  Erik walked out onto the podium. This never got old, he thought, as he basked in the deafening screams and cheers. He clambered onto the top spot. He had won, beaten Devlin soundly. He needn’t have worried about his start – it had been perfect, and he’d kept the lead the whole way round. Devlin had got more and more frustrated, trying increasingly risky overtakes, but Erik had kept his nerve and Devlin had eventually dropped back, unable to get past his rival.

  The atmosphere in the small room where they waited to go out on the stage had been tense. Erik always felt sorry for whoever the third driver on the podium was when he and Devlin were in there. Today it had been Felipe Gotteri, who had valiantly attempted to make awkward conversation with them both as they waited to go out and claim their trophies. Devlin was clearly furious, and he had cornered Erik, accusing him of pulling a dangerous block on the first corner. He had got right in Erik’s face, and Erik had wondered if he was about to be punched.

  As always, though, Devlin regained his cocky arrogance as he took to the podium, gesturing and posing as he lifted his trophy up and sprayed the champagne. He turned to Erik and sprayed it directly in his face – and Erik responded in kind. He was reminded of what he had overheard just before the race, when he’d walked in to see Devlin sitting next to Anna. He had wanted to hit him and, for a long, horrible moment, he wondered if Anna might take him up on his offer. Of course she hadn’t, and he had felt guilty for thinking of it. But Devlin had a way with women, and Erik had seen first-hand how he could charm them into bed at the drop of a hat.

  Mind you, Erik had never had any problem finding women willing to take their clothes off for him. When he had first hit the big-time, he had been overwhelmed by the sudden rush in female attention, and looking back, he could see that he had perhaps overindulged. Not now, though. He tended to avoid all that; it was often more trouble than it was worth.

  He realised with a start that he wouldn’t see Anna for a while. She wasn’t due to join them again for a few months – in Germany. That took the shine off his win a little bit, and he was a bit more subdued than usual during the round of television and newspaper interviews that followed.

  He made it back to the hotel at about 9pm. He had been looking about for Anna but he hadn’t seen her. He hoped to God she wasn’t currently in Devlin’s hotel room, being covered in champagne.

  His mind wandered slightly as he imagined what she would look like drenched in champagne, the liquid running down her body, over those perfect breasts that he had so nearly caught sight of through those pyjamas. He imagined licking the alcohol off her, and her moaning in pleasure.

  He had to stop himself before he got too worked up.

  He decided to call his parents. They had watched the race, and they babbled excitedly down the line. His dad loved to go over every single little detail, and he was on the phone for a while as they discussed the team’s tyre choice, and Devlin’s aggressive driving.

  ‘Just be careful, son’ Alfred said. ‘I get the feeling Devlin wouldn’t care if you ended up in some horrible crash, as long as he won.’

  ‘He’s not as bad as that,’ Erik said, although he wasn’t sure he quite believed that himself.

  Eventually, he managed to extricate himself from the phone call, promising he would be in touch to arrange their trip to see him race in Germany. It was still a few months away, but Helena Jonasson liked to be organised.

  He lay on the bed for a few minutes, reliving the race and trying to keep his mind off a champagne-covered Anna.

  There was a knock on the door and his heart leapt. Surely it couldn’t be her? He hurried over to the door, smoothing his hair down before opening it.

  It was her.

  ‘I didn’t know if you’d be around’ Anna said, smiling at him. She was holding something behind her back.

  ‘I’m here,’ he said, then feeling stupid for the obvious statement.

  Anna brought her hand round from behind her back – she was holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Erik wondered if he was dreaming.

  ‘I know you probably have plans with rock stars or Hollywood actors or catwalk models, but I thought it might be nice just have a little toast to your win. After all, I’m sure my banner had something to do with it.’

  Erik was touched. It was a small gesture, but one no one had done before. He thought back to Nikki – beautiful, exquisite, self-absorbed Nikki. The thought would never even have crossed her mind.

  ‘I think I can squeeze you in,’ he said, standing back as she entered.

  He took the bottle from her and popped it upon, Anna squealing at the noise. He laughed.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said, looking embarrassed. ‘Even though I was expecting it, it always gives me a fright.’

  He poured them each a glass and they sat on the large sofa by the window, which looked out across the Melbourne skyline.

  ‘Cheers,’ Anna said, lifting up her glass. ‘Here’s to many more podiums. That’s the correct terminology, right?’

  ‘Right,’ Erik said, clinking his glass off hers and taking a sip. He didn’t think he would ever get bored of champagne. He wondered if it was possible to be a racing driver and not like champagne – surely it was a prerequisite. He had to resist the urge to tip the bottle and pour it all over Anna.

  ‘How did you enjoy
your first race?’ he asked, watching Anna as she swallowed a mouthful of the alcohol. Her throat was so delicate, and he had an urge to kiss it, gently. They were close, sitting side-by-side on the sofa, and if he just reached over a little bit, he could take her head in his hands and kiss her.

  ‘It was good,’ she said, oblivious to his thoughts. ‘I really enjoyed it, actually. It was quite exciting, although I found some of it a little scary. I thought at one point Devlin was going to push you off the track.’

  Erik sat back, getting his emotions under control. No women until he won the championship. He could look, but not touch.

  ‘Me too,’ he admitted. ‘He can be pretty aggressive out there. He was furious afterwards, but he’ll be out now getting drunk at some party.’

  ‘And leering at anything in a skirt I’ll bet,’ Anna said, shaking her head.

  ‘Probably,’ Erik said. ‘So, is Germany your next race?’

  He felt sad he wouldn’t see her for a few months, but perhaps that was for the best. She had wormed her way inside his head, and he certainly didn’t need the distraction. He thought about how much he’d enjoyed having her around, though, and thought the races in the meantime would be very boring without her.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, pouting at him dramatically. ‘It’s funny – when I first got handed this assignment, I was dreading having to go to just one race, never mind three of them. But now I’m actually disappointed I won’t get to go to them all.’

  ‘You can watch them on TV,’ Erik pointed out. ‘Although sometimes they’re on at weird times because of time differences.’

  ‘It’s not the same though,’ Anna said, sighing as she twirled the stem of her glass in her hand. ‘It’s the atmosphere that makes it here, I think. I’ll still watch though, just to see you beating Devlin.’

  ‘Maybe I won’t be able to without your banner.’

  ‘I’ll sit waving it at home.’

  ‘That might work.’

  Erik thought for a moment.

  ‘If you’re coming to Germany, you’ll probably meet my parents.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yep, they like to get to know everyone. I apologise in advance, they’ll be incredibly nosey.’

  Anna laughed.

  ‘They sound like lovely people,’ she said. ‘I look forward to it.’

  They finished the bottle, chatting about books and music. Erik was enjoying having someone around who could, what was it his mother had said? String a sentence together, that had been it. Oh and of course, Anna was incredibly hot, too.

  He was disappointed when she got to her feet, yawning.

  ‘I’d better get to bed,’ she said. ‘My flight is pretty early tomorrow.’

  Erik was annoyed with himself that he had decided to fly to Monaco instead to see some old friends. Another 21-hour flight sitting next to Anna didn’t seem like a chore in the slightest.

  He followed her to the door.

  ‘Thanks for this,’ he said, gesturing to the empty bottle of champagne and the glasses. ‘It was very thoughtful.’

  She smiled up at him.

  ‘I’ll see you in three months,’ she said. ‘Try not to crash.’

  And as Erik was about to close the door, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek, before turning and hurrying away down the corridor.

  Chapter seventeen

  ‘You kissed him?’

  Anna was sitting in Dan and Jules’ kitchen, nursing a glass of red wine.

  ‘Only on the cheek,’ she said, indignantly.

  ‘You kissed a multi-millionaire, incredibly gorgeous racing driver on the cheek! This is huge,’ Jules gushed, waving her glass around so wildly Anna saw Dan braced to grab it, should it fly out of her hand.

  ‘I suppose,’ Anna said. ‘I don’t know what he made of it. I just turned and fled down the corridor.’

  ‘When will you see him again?’ Jules asked, setting the wine down on the table to the evident relief of her husband.

  ‘Not for three months,’ Anna said, miserably. ‘Germany.’

  ‘Three months? That’s ages,’ Jules said, looking glum.

  ‘It’s not that long,’ Dan said, shaking his head. ‘Great track, Hockenheim, too.’

  Anna couldn’t really muster up much enthusiasm for the track, great as it may be. Three months without seeing Erik, except on TV, wasn’t going to be much fun. She wished she had been brave enough to ask for his phone number, or maybe his e-mail address. Then they could at least have exchanged a few messages.

  ***

  She was back at work the next day. Eleanor had pumped her for information within minutes of her sitting down at her desk, and Anna had told her most of what had happened, leaving out the stuff about her date (if it had been a date) with Erik. Eleanor squealed when Anna reeled off the names of some of the celebrities she had spotted trackside.

  ‘Oh I love him,’ Eleanor said, dreamily. ‘Did you speak to him?’

  Anna shook her head.

  ‘Just ogled from afar,’ she said. ‘Now I need to try and come up with 600 words to describe it all.’

  She wrestled with her column for most of the morning. When she had accepted this assignment, she had imagined it would be a breeze. After all, she was used to writing much longer pieces about much more controversial and hard-hitting topics. But every time she tried to write a line, she thought of Erik.

  By lunchtime, she had finally strung something together. She wasn’t entirely happy with it, and she decided to take a break from it all and check her emails to see if there were any good story tips in there. She could do with something really meaty to take her mind off the whole Erik situation. She was browsing through, jotting down ideas on her notepad next to her, when a new e-mail popped up at the bottom right of the screen. She clicked on it, and it felt like her heart almost stopped as she read.

  ‘Hi Anna,

  This is Erik Jonasson. I got your e-mail address from Gary – I had to lie and pretend I wanted to ask you something about your column as he got a bit suspicious, so if he asks, I wanted you to put in a line about how dashing I look, or something like that. I thought it might be nice to keep in contact a little before Germany, if you like. I’m sure you still have plenty of questions, and I’m not sure I trust those books of yours. Anyway, hope to hear from you.

  Erik.’

  Eleanor’s head popped up over her computer.

  ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ she observed, curiously.

  Anna shook her head.

  ‘Just an e-mail I wasn’t expecting,’ she said, and after a few seconds, Eleanor’s head disappeared. She had clearly been hoping for more information.

  Anna’s mind reeled. She had got an email from Erik! He had written to her, entirely of his own accord. Should she reply right now? Did that look desperate? She texted Jules.

  ‘Erik has e-mailed me!!!! Do I reply? Or play hard to get? HELP.’

  A few seconds later her phone buzzed.

  ‘Reply, you idiot.’

  Anna started typing, and then stopped. This had been harder than writing that blasted column. What should she say? She wanted just to type the letter ‘e’ repeatedly, with lots of exclamation marks, but she figured that probably wouldn’t be the greatest idea she’d ever had.

  ‘Hi Erik,

  It’s nice to hear from you! Roger that re: Gary, I’ll be prepared if he comes sniffing around. It would be nice to keep in touch – I enjoyed our chats and three months seems a long way away. Are you partying away in Monaco? I’m back at work, and missing the glitz and glam already. Maybe I could become team mascot – surely there must be some horrific costume I can wear? Maybe I could just wear my bear pyjamas.’

  You’re rambling, Anna, wind it up.

  ‘Anyway it was great to hear from you, and I’m looking forward to watching your next race on TV. I’ve even paid to get some sort of sports package to get “premium coverage” whatever that is. Me! A sports package! I know, it’s absurd.

 
Anna x’

  She had debated long and hard about that kiss, typing it and deleting it numerous times. Eventually she typed it and hit send before she could change her mind.

  Chapter eighteen

  Erik read the email from Anna, smiling as he did so. She wrote just like she spoke, he thought, and it was incredibly cute. He laughed outloud at the bear pyjamas section. She had signed off with a kiss, too.

  He was in Monaco, having spent the last few days with good friends of his – a driver he had once raced against, but who had switched to touring cars, and his wife. Jack and Elena were a great couple, and Erik enjoyed their company. They were proof, for him, that you could be a successful racing driver and be in a happy relationship. They adored one another, and Elena followed Jack across the world. She also had her own successful business, and he wondered how on earth she juggled the two.

  ‘What was it you said in that magazine interview recently,’ Elena had said, smiling at him. ‘Passion, hard work, and utter dedication? Well, that doesn’t just apply to racing drivers.’

  Jack had beamed, looking proud.

  ‘She’s incredible,’ he said to Erik as Elena looked slightly embarrassed. ‘I moan about travelling all over and getting to race cars for a living, and Elena follows me about, spending every second she can on her laptop dealing with her business, as well as putting up with my tantrums when something goes wrong.’

  Erik smiled.

  ‘You’re lucky to have each other,’ he said, feeling envious. He wondered about Anna. Would she follow him around the world? She had her own career – he liked that about her, liked that she had her own passions. He couldn’t expect someone like that to jack it all in to be with him. But if Elena managed to juggle it…

  ‘I keep hoping you’ll bring a girl here one day,’ Elena said. ‘It’s been a while since, what was her name, the blonde, boring one.’