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

by KT Shears

  Erik stared at her.

  ‘What?’

  Anna nodded, angrily.

  ‘And what’s it to do with you anyway, Erik? You made your choice and you were quite clear about it. You broke my heart, Erik, and you have no right to stand there and demand answers from me.’

  Erik’s mind was spinning.

  ‘Devlin assaulted you?’ he asked, his voice dangerously low. His parents had sensed something and had left their seats, coming over to stand beside Anna.

  Anna sighed.

  ‘Yes I suppose he did,’ she said. ‘But Erik, I have spent the last few months barely living. I can barely eat, sleep, I don’t leave the house, I can’t turn on the TV because I don’t want to see the man I love with another woman or getting on with his life without me. So please, just leave me alone.’

  Somewhere in Erik’s brain, the words ‘the man I love’ pinged around, but all he could think of was Devlin. Devlin pushing his way into Anna’s room. His Anna. Wrapping his arms around her, trying to force his tongue in her mouth.

  He reeled round and in one smooth movement, punched Devlin clean in the face. He went down without a sound.

  Anna squealed and suddenly there was pandemonium. Alfred came rushing over to hold his son back as Erik tried to reach the prone Devlin. Some of the mechanics, hearing the commotion, rushed over and helped. Erik was a big guy and they were struggling to hold him.

  ‘I’ll kill you Devlin,’ Erik shouted, ‘I will kill you. How dare you lay a hand on her?’

  Devlin lay on the ground, blood pouring from his nose.

  ‘What the hell man?’ he shouted, angrily, hauling himself to his feet. ‘You’re the one who let her go, she’s a free agent.’

  ‘She is not a free agent,’ Erik shouted, still struggling.

  ‘Come on, Erik,’ his dad said, panting.

  Erik caught sight of Anna and his mother, standing side by side, both looking stricken. He had to calm down.

  At that moment, Gary entered the room. He took in the gathering, and Devlin’s bloody nose.

  ‘Oh for god’s sake,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘The race is about to begin and you’re fighting like schoolchildren. Devlin go and get cleaned up and then get in your car.’

  Devlin shot Erik a murderous look but did as Gary asked. Erik stopped struggling as he left and his dad and the mechanics released their grip.

  ‘Erik, get in your car,’ Gary said and when Erik started to speak, he shouted, ‘Now!’

  Erik shot Anna an agonised look. He wanted to tell her that he loved her too, that he was sorry, that he had made the worst mistake of his life, that he would walk out of the building with her right now… But how could he, in the middle of all these people? He climbed into his car, miserable and still furious.

  As he pulled away, he shot a last desperate glance at Anna. She was scribbling something on a piece of paper and he squinted through his visor. His heart leapt.

  ‘Go get ‘em. I’ll be waiting for you.’

  Chapter thirty-five

  Anna couldn’t believe what had just happened. One minute she was entering the garage, stealthily as to avoid Erik, and the next Erik was punching Devlin in the face and looking at her with sheer agony on his face. She’d wanted to run right over to him and hold him. The anger in his face when she had told him what Devlin had done had been like nothing she had ever seen. Her calm, collected Erik was suddenly as furious as a rabid Viking, and she thanked God that his dad and the mechanics had been able to hold him back. She thought he would have done some serious damage to Devlin if he could.

  She had wanted to scribble ‘I love you,’ on the banner, but she still wasn’t sure what Erik was thinking about them. He obviously cared for her, that much was obvious by his display of anger, and the way he looked at her before he got in his car. No one had ever looked at her with so much longing and pain before, and it made her want to weep just thinking about it.

  After Erik had driven off, his mother had hugged Anna, hard.

  ‘My son has been an idiot,’ she said, and Anna couldn’t help but smile and nod. ‘But I know he loves you. I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. And he’s been a mess the last few months. He came to visit us and barely left the house, didn’t he Alfred?’

  Alfred nodded.

  Anna sighed.

  ‘He broke my heart,’ she said, sadly. ‘I don’t know how to start getting over that. And how to trust it won’t happen again.’

  Helena patted her on the shoulder.

  ‘You’ll find a way,’ she said. ‘You both will.’

  ‘Come on,’ Alfred said, beckoning them back to the seating area. ‘It’s about to start.’

  ***

  The three of them sat, clutching onto each other. Erik had started second, and hadn’t been able to overtake Devlin off the start. He had been trailing him the whole race, and now they were down to the last couple of laps.

  Please, please, please, Anna thought, crossing her fingers so tightly it hurt.

  ‘He’s going to try to get him here,’ Alfred said, his voice excited. Anna and Helena exchanged glances - Anna knew they were both reliving that awful moment in Belgium.

  ‘YES,’ Alfred shouted, standing up and punching the air as Erik nipped round the inside of Devlin and took the lead. Anna and Helena screamed and jumped up too, and they all hugged each other.

  ‘Now he just needs to hold it together,’ Alfred said. ‘Just for two more laps.’

  Anna thought those few minutes were the longest of her life. Devlin clearly wasn’t ready to give up on his championship dream, and he was pushing Erik, hard. But it wasn’t enough. As Erik crossed the finishing line, the chequered flag waving, Anna felt herself being picked up. She squealed and was amazed when she realised that it was Gary, a look of absolute delight on his face.

  Alfred and Helena were hugging onto each other, and Anna saw both of them had tears streaming down their face. She felt herself crying then too, with mingled joy and sadness. Gary set her down and she ran over to the Jonassons, who included her in their hug.

  ‘He did it,’ Helena said, weeping. ‘He did it.’

  ‘Of course he did,’ Alfred choked.

  ‘Come on,’ Gary said, pulling at Anna’s arm. ‘The three of you should be right at the front so he can see you.’

  In a daze, Anna was pulled through the hordes of cheering team members, the mechanics dancing around the garage. Sergei, Erik’s race engineer, was in tears too, and she could hear him talking to Erik on the team radio.

  ‘We did it, we fucking did it E.’

  Gary led them to the front of the crowd, shouting and elbowing people aside as he went. The cameras followed him and Anna realised she was going to be on TV. She thought of Jules and Dan sitting at home watching and stifled a laugh.

  ‘Here,’ Gary said, planting Anna and the Jonassons right at the front, the massive podium stretching out above them. ‘You’ll get a good view here.’

  Anna briefly wondered what was going on backstage, and hoped Erik wasn’t punching the living daylights out of Devlin again.

  Felipe Gotteri strode out first, smiling and waving. Devlin was next, he looked furious and the crowd booed to see him being such a bad loser. Helena squeezed Anna’s arm.

  ‘Here he comes!’

  The roars were deafening, and Anna joined in, screaming as Erik came out of the tunnel. He was wearing a baseball cap and the biggest grin she had ever seen. He climbed onto the top of the podium and she noticed his eyes scanning the crowd.

  ‘He’s looking for you,’ Helena said, nudging Anna.

  Anna was just about to say she doubted it, when Erik’s eyes met hers. She didn’t think his grin could get any bigger but it did, and he pointed at her, mouthing something.

  Anna shook her head.

  ‘I can’t hear what he’s saying,’ she said.

  Alfred turned, smiling to her.

  ‘He said “That one was for you.”’

  Ann
a felt giddy.

  After the presentation of the winners’ trophies, the usual post-race interviews on the podium took place. Felipe Gotteri made everyone gasp and laugh by accidentally swearing during his. Devlin was surly and the boos drowned out his answers.

  When Erik was handed the microphone, he had to wait for a good 30 seconds for the cheering to die down.

  ‘I have wanted this since I was five years’ old,’ he said, speaking loudly and clearly. ‘Since I saw the late, great Ayrton Senna lift his championship trophy.

  The crowd cheered, respectful and appreciating this mention of the tragic legend.

  ‘And now I’m here,’ Erik continued, smiling. ‘And it’s everything I ever hoped it would be.’ He paused for a second, and Anna saw him look at her.

  ‘But it’s also made me realise something,’ he said. ‘While I have wanted this trophy for more than 20 years, there is something now that I want even more. Someone.’

  The crowd went wild, and the cameras panned around wildly, trying to find who this someone was.

  ‘I was an idiot,’ Erik continued. ‘And I almost lost something that means more to me than a trophy ever will. Anna...’

  Anna stared up at him, in shock, Erik’s parents standing grinning beside her.

  ‘I love you,’ he said. ‘And I will always love you.’

  He patted his racing suit and smiled sheepishly.

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t have it with me,’ he said, ‘No pockets.’ And the crowd roared with laughter. Anna was puzzled. Have what with him?

  ‘But what would make this day utterly perfect, the best day of my life, would be,’ he said, stepping forward slightly and looking intently at her. The cameras had found her now and were trained on her face. ‘If you agreed to be my wife.’

  The screams were deafening. Anna felt like she was about to faint. She heard Helena gasp beside her.

  She nodded mutely, and as the realisation hit her, she started beaming, nodding increasingly enthusiastically.

  Suddenly she felt Gary’s hand on hers.

  ‘Let’s get you up there,’ he said, and pushed his way through the cordon, waving away the security guards. Anna followed, in shock.

  Erik reached down and took her hand, helping her climb up to the podium.

  ‘Well?’ he said.

  Anna stared up into his piercing blue eyes. She took the microphone from him.

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  And the crowd went wild.

  Epilogue

  Anna stood, watching Erik coo over the newborn baby. Elena lay in bed smiling indulgently, not looking at all like she had just given birth.

  ‘I can’t believe you cut your honeymoon short to come and see me,’ she said, shaking her head.

  ‘Hey,’ Erik said, rocking the baby in his arms. ‘It’s not you we’ve come to see – it’s this little guy here.’

  Jack was standing beside his wife’s bed, beaming with pride.

  ‘So, have you got a name yet?’ Anna asked.

  They had been a week in to their luxury honeymoon in the Caribbean when Erik had received a frantic phone-call from Jack to say Elena had gone into labour a month early. There had been no discussion, Erik had got on the phone to book a flight and Anna had started chucking their stuff into their suitcases.

  Elena and Jack exchanged a glance.

  ‘We were thinking,’ Elena said, looking at Erik. ‘Fabio Erik Morello.’

  Anna saw Erik beam with delight and she smiled too.

  ‘Really?’ Erik said, staring down at the bundle in his arms.

  ‘Really,’ Elena said, laughing.

  She was starting to look tired, so Anna nudged Erik and he reluctantly placed the baby back in its crib.

  ‘We’ll leave you to get some sleep,’ Erik said. ‘Our new house should be ready by now so we can stay there too.’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘I checked in there the other day like you asked, it’s looking great. Anna’s office was finished.’

  Anna was glad. She had handed in her notice at the magazine, and was looking forward to her career as a freelance writer. But, there was something that might delay that a little…

  She and Erik left the hospital, promising to return the next day. Erik drove them to their new house, and Anna was overwhelmed by its size. She had forgotten how big it was.

  Erik unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Anna gazed around.

  ‘Well?’ Erik asked, sounding uncertain.

  ‘It’s perfect,’ Anna cried, jumping on him. He hugged her tightly.

  They sat on the sofa together, and Anna snuggled into Erik.

  ‘You’ll be able to get started on your writing right away,’ Erik said.

  Anna smiled up at him.

  ‘I might need to take a break from that,’ she said.

  Erik looked at her, puzzled.

  ‘Why? You were so keen.’

  Anna giggled and took Erik’s hand, placing it on her stomach.

  ‘Because we’re going to have our own little Erik or Erikina.’

  The look of utter joy on Erik’s face was one Anna knew she would never forget.

  THE END

  Race for the Heart

  After an incredible night with a gorgeous man she met in a bar, Mariana is shocked when she turns on the television to find out he is a famous racing driver. Thinking she had a lucky escape, she is even more shocked when he turns up at her door a few days later, begging her to go to dinner with him. Can Asher Carter convince her that he’s not like the rest, and that he’s looking for a serious relationship? And can Mariana rid herself of her own demons still haunting her from a failed relationship with a sports star five years previously?

  Due for release August, 2015