Page 84 of Hot Lap
Is this what normal couples do? Is this what he's been missing?
"Stop thinking so loud."
"Can't help it." He kisses her neck. "You married a professional overthinker."
She turns in his arms, pressing against him, all warm skin and lingering notes of hotel shampoo. "What does your schedule look like today?"
"Gym with Ona at nine hundred. Garage at twelve hundred. Sprint at seventeen hundred. Race quali three hours after." He traces the curve of her spine with his fingertips. "Media in between."
Her eyes narrow. "Media?"
"Always." He hesitates, then adds, "Do you want to be part of it?"
Her head tips, gaze dropping to the right. It’s her thinking pose. "That depends."
"On?"
"Whether you're asking me to hide in the shadows or stand in the spotlight."
He cups her face and holds her gaze steady. "No more shadows, Mai. No more leaving you behind. You decide where you want to be."
That earns him a soft smile. "Okay."
They eat breakfast in the room, then dress with the casual intimacy of people who’ve done this a hundred times, though it's all still new. Maiken hums as she sits and applies makeup, and Reece pulls on his team polo and watches her transform. She’s not becoming a different person, just enhancing the power she already has.
He finally reads his text messages. There’s one from Claudia.
Interview confirmed. 19:30. Luca and photog locked in.
The Doha skyline shimmers under the morning sun, glass towers reflecting cloudless blue sky. Below, vehicles crawl along the highways like insects. His world has always been movement, speed, and calculated trajectories. Until Maiken crashed into it with glitter and velvet and this terrifying kind of clarity.
He turns toward her, this woman who’s both sin and sanctuary all at once.
"I asked Claudia to schedule an interview with both of us, so I can show the world I'm not bloody embarrassed by my brilliant wife and that the only people she's distracting are not part of my team."
Mai pauses in applying eyeliner, one eye perfectly outlined, the other waiting. "Seriously?"
"I want you beside me. Not as a statement. Not because the media's got a narrative. This is my life, and I want you in it."
Surprise flits across her face, followed by pleasure. “An interview? As your wife?”
“No, as my schoolteacher.”
Her lips curl into a sinful smile. “I can teach you a few things.”
He laughs. “You already have.”
Maiken turns back to her eyeliner. "Mrs. Pritchard will be joining her husband at the track today."
He crosses the room and stands behind her, hands resting lightly on her shoulders. When she finishes lining her eye, he kisses her neck, right behind her ear in the spot he learned all about last night. As he’d hoped, she softens and presses against him.
He hums. He loves this spot.
With a giggle, Maiken shakes him off. “Stop that, if you want to get out of here on time.”
Reece laughs. He doesn’t want to stop, but he will, because he has a job to do.
Their preparation moves with the efficiency of race day. Reece answers emails while Maiken finishes getting ready. This time, she's not the Cherry Bomb from last night or the casual, tousled woman from breakfast. She's elegant, poised, and still absolutely herself.
