It made perfect sense why Lila would want to comfort Liam, but Brian didn’t like it. He felt some kind of way that Liam was getting the attention that he craved. “Can I have a word with you privately?”
Lila’s smile faded. She pasted on a fake one, not knowing why Brian would want to talk with her. “Um . . . sure. Of course.” When Lila faced Brian, Liam made eye contact with his brother. His expression clearly said, handle your business.
They stole away to a quiet corner of the room. Brian started. “I had plans to speak with you after the race, but I guess now is as good a time as any.”
“Okay.” It was all Lila could say. She was happy that Brian was even speaking to her but couldn’t imagine what he wanted to say.
Brian held her gaze. “I owe you an apology.”
Lila was not expecting that. She gave her head a little shake. “What?”
“I owe you an apology,” he repeated.
Lila was taken aback. She couldn’t hold his gaze and let her eyes wander. “Brian, whatever you’re apologizing for happened a long time ago and is not necessary.”
“It’s necessary since I haven’t been able to get it, or you, out of my mind.” He took the tip of his finger placing it underneath Lila’s chin and gently lifted her head so that her eyes would meet his.
Lila swallowed hard. She whispered as the words tumbled from her lips. “I never betrayed you. I did not sleep with Anthony.”
“I know,” Brian said quietly. “If I had given you a chance to explain, I wouldn’t have been a dick, and it would never have taken all of these years to apologize.”
Lila glanced away. “You reacted exactly the way a person would if they found their girlfriend naked and in bed with someone else.”
“I reacted the way Anthony figured I would. Colby told me the truth. I know you didn’t sleep with him, and that he drugged you. It’s about as unforgivable an act as it can get.”
Lila felt like she had been waiting a lifetime to exhale. “As I said, it was a long time ago.”
There was not enough time in infinity to let some shit like that go, Brian thought. He knew very soon that Anthony would pay for everything he’d done. He decided to keep that information to himself. “I can’t believe I’ve allowed Anthony to occupy so much of my headspace, up to and including buying this team.”
Confused, Lila frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s a long story. One I hope you’ll allow me to tell after the race and maybe over dinner—just the two of us.”
There was a long stretch of silence. Lila slowly tilted her head to the side. “Are you saying that you’re finally done?”
“Done?” Brian was puzzled.
“Done as in finished. Are the games between you and Anthony over? Because I can’t ever be a part of something like that again.”
Brian stepped into Lila’s personal space and looked down into a pair of eyes full of pain. “I can promise you that I will never allow that man to ever manipulate me or hurt the people I care about again. So, yeah. The games are over.” Brian wanted so badly to touch her. He lifted his hand to caress the side of her face but froze at the words that came through the loudspeaker.
Even though Brian’s plan to buy Lockwood racing had moved at warped speed, it felt as if this day was a long time coming. They were all more than ready. Finally, loud and clear, there it was. “Boys, have at it!”
Brian's hands dropped slightly, and instead of feeling the smoothness of her skin, he extended his hand, palm up. Lila linked her fingers with his. Together, they walked back over to where Liam stood.
For the first time in a long time, Lila had hope. The future was looking bright for everyone. But for now, those thoughts had to be put on hold.
It was time to watch her cousin make history.
Chapter 30
Colby’s car felt good. It was performing well. Then again, she had only completed one lap. Time would tell how good her design was. She would need her engine to perform at its optimum. Smart drivers were still feeling each other out, but she knew that was eventually going to change. It was only a matter of time before teams began to execute their plans.
As Colby rounded lap fifteen, she spoke into her headset. “Not sure what’s going on with Team Romani’s car. Suspension or something. I can take him in the first turn of the next lap.” Colby was cruising at close to 150 mph. Her car could easily top out at 225.
“Stay put,” Cyrus instructed forcefully. “Stick to the game plan.”
Colby knew she could get by that car, but Cyrus was her chief. For now, she was going to do as told.
After an hour, she pulled her car over into pit road like everyone else. Stage one was over, and she was still in thirty-fourth place, meaning she hadn’t earned any points.
She let her team do what they do best. Quickly they checked and replaced her tires, inspected the engine, and gassed her up.
She heard Cyrus through her headset. “We survived the first stage.”
Colby’s eyebrows lifted almost to her hairline. “I’ve got to do more
