Page 104 of The Attraction

6 Weeks Later

HARPER

It took a while for my fear to settle and for me to believe that I was safe to travel back to America, the place I was born and will always have a connection to. Forrest, Ashton, and the Chicago Police Department assured me the case against Chester was very strong and that he would be convicted and stay behind bars for many more years. Once I could process it all, I decided I wanted to confront that fear head-on and basically invited myself on the boys’ trip that was planned for the Grand Prix in Las Vegas. The girls wanted to be here for support, so St. Tropez was postponed, and here we are.

“I can’t believe the guys were going to come to Las Vegas without us. I have never been a Formula One fan, but seriously, this is awesome,” I declare as we stand on the balcony above the McLaren team pit area.

“Right. I mean, holy shit, this is like a buffet of hot men. Everywhere you look there is eye candy,” Tori replies louder than she should have, looking all around us while holding her fresh glass of champagne in her hand.

“Victoria!” The growl from Nic lets her know he heard her.

“Oh what, you know I’m right, and you can’t deny you aren’t doing the same. I can look, I’m just not interested in touching.” Her laugh just makes him roll his eyes at her and turn back to chatting with the guys who are pointing out different things that are happening with the cars in the pits below us.

“I’d be happy to touch for you.” Cherie winks at Tori and starts laughing with her.

“Ignore Nic, because I agree, it’s a sausage fest everywhere you look.” Tori and I clink our glasses together.

The more I get to know Tori, I’ve come to see that she and I are similar. We say what we think and don’t hold back with our sense of humor.

“Oh my God, you can’t say that here.” Elouise slaps her hand on her forehead and shakes her head at us as we all burst out laughing.

“Of course you can, it’s not like we know anyone here.” Tori puts her arm around Elouise and gives her a side hug. “Besides, we still need to find Cherie a man, and here would be the perfect place. Well, except if he was American, of course. We need him to live in the UK because we aren’t losing her from our friend group.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m just busy people watching and looking at the fashion and thinking of the amount of money in this one spot. It’s probably enough to feed a small nation for a year. Seriously, this is a whole other world from where I grew up.” Cherie is wide-eyed and observing one of the drivers’ girlfriends walking past, dripping with gold and diamonds.

Felisha places her arm around Cherie’s waist. “Maybe so, but look at where you are now, and you will always be able to look back and know that you got yourself here and be damn proud of that. That’s priceless.” We all reach over and squeeze her arm or hands.

We all have such a deep connection now, and I absolutely love every single woman in my circle. They each bring something unique to our friendship, and it’s why we all connect so well. We don’t overpower each other; instead, we just slot into our spot in the puzzle of our friendship. It’s exactly what every one of us needs, support from the women on our team. We share compassion, but more importantly, honesty, and sometimes you need someone you trust to tell you to suck it up, get your shit together, and get on with it.

The beauty of this mix of women standing around me is that they will all do that, but in different ways. Elouise is my gentle motherly advice and the softness that helps when I need to wipe away the tears. Tori is my kind of crazy, so she gets me when I’m heading off on a tangent in a crisis, because she has already been on the same cliff. Cherie has become my confidante and will push me through the hard things, even if I don’t want to go there. She never takes no for an answer. But Felisha has always been my ride-or-die for most of my life and still is. She will protect me with everything she has, but she also won’t take any shit from me. All these pieces are what have me standing here feeling like my life is almost perfect.

I never thought I would get this, but as I look over at Forrest who winks at me and then turns back to the guys’ conversation, I know it’s all because of him. He brought me happiness and the feeling of being safe to be myself. He gave me love and taught me to accept it in return.

And that’s all I need. Not any of the glitz and glamour around me. Just love and friendships.

The night race started, and this place is off the charts. The volume of the cars, the lights, the atmosphere, and I can see why it’s addictive to the supporters. I mean, it helps that we are in the corporate area for the winning team. Nic is jumping for joy, as the lead driver for the team is Australian and has just taken the win. We are all swept up in the euphoria when Flynn, who is now Team McLaren all the way and apparently loves the color orange now, suggests we head back to The Bellagio Hotel where we are staying to get changed and hit the town to continue the party, but I have another idea.

As we all disperse out of the elevator heading back to our rooms, it’s agreed we’ll meet back at the elevator in thirty minutes.

Forrest unlocks the door, and holding it open for me as usual, I walk straight into the room which isn’t the highest-grade room like we would usually stay in, because by the time we booked, of course most of Las Vegas was full. Luckily, we all know a few people in the industry who were able to pull some strings and get us these rooms. The room is still beautiful and all we need for a few nights.

“I’m just going to have a quick shower to wash off the dirt from the racetrack, care to join me?” Forrest asks, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at me.

“Not a chance, we don’t have time for that.” I stand with one hand on my hip and the other motioning for him to get moving toward the bathroom.

“That’s where you’re wrong. We always have time for sex, you know how quick I can have you quivering when I go down on you,” he replies with a deeper voice now.

And my body knows exactly what he’s talking about, already reacting to the thought of his mouth on my pussy, causing tingles to race through me.

“Stop it, I’m trying hard to resist you, and that’s not helping. Go!” I yell at him to go and shower.

“Your loss, baby.” He stands there, lifting his orange team shirt over his head, giving me a clear view of his chest. “Guess I’ll have to take matters into my own hands then.” He undoes the button on his jeans and starts to push them down his hips.

Not letting him get any further with his striptease, I rush toward him, spinning his body, and push him toward the bathroom while his deep laugh fills the room.

Pulling the door closed after I give him a shove through it, I walk toward the bed and just sit for a moment as I hear the water start in the shower. My breathing gets a little faster as I question in my head if I’m ready for this. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for my head and my heart to be on the same page.

I change into the dress I want to wear, ensure my makeup and hair still look fresh, then I lay out the clothes I brought for Forrest to wear on the bed. I hear the sound of the shower stopping, and his humming to himself in the bathroom has me smiling. It’s almost like the grumpy man I first met is gone and only raises his ugly head occasionally now.

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