“I ran into the flower guy lugging this up the sidewalk with a forklift,” Hadleigh jokes, her eyes sparkling as she hands me the flowers.
I leap off the bed to take them from her. My hands are shaking as I retrieve the card from the lavish bouquet. I momentarily place the flowers on my nightstand and remove the card from the envelope:
I could say these flowers are congratulations for The Downforce Network, but that would be a lie. These are just because I’m thinking about you. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. X
Ooh! He’s thinking about me. I hand Hadleigh the card and let her read it.
“Oh my God, you got flowers from Caleb freaking Collings!” she yells.
I clasp my hand over her mouth. “Shh! My parents don’t know!”
She laughs. “I feel like we’re teenagers and you’re sneaking around with the bad boy. No. Wait. That would be you sneaking around with that Xavier Williams. Did you hear him on his radio?”
I shoot her a look. “You heard him on his radio?”
“He’s hot, I couldn’t resist,” Hadleigh says, tucking a lock of her long blondish-brown hair behind one ear. “What abadass. He cussed a lot. Said his battery was running out at the end but still kept chasing Caleb—while swearing, which I have to admit I liked. And the fact that he has tattoo sleeves? So hot.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think anything is hotter than that close-up of Caleb drinking from that bottle of water after the race.”
I grow warm as I replay the moment in my head. Caleb is drinking water, and the cameraman got right up in his face for footage showing his piercing blue eyes and long lashes, his dark disheveled hair, the black stubble shading his jawline, and his full lips around the top of that water bottle.
It was better than the straw, and I did NOT think that was possible.
Hadleigh’s eyes light up, and I know she knows what I’m talking about. “Okay. That cameraman should be given an award for achievement in cinema for that shot! Good God!”
I burst out laughing, and she does, too.
“The Downforce Network served after that race,” I say.
“Did you see all the Connectivity Story Shares of it? And TikToks?”
I nod. I might have watched a couple of them.
Or dozens.
Suddenly there’s another knock on my door. “Come in,” I call out.
My mom appears in the doorway, and I smile when I see her. Her auburn hair is very wavy and cut in a chin-length style. She’s dressed in a matching set of yoga pants and a tank top.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says, her hazel eyes sparkling at me and Hadleigh. “But I almost think you’re a mirage, Isla. I’ll blink, and tomorrow you’ll be gone.”
I shoot her a knowing smile. “It’s crazy. I never expected to be working in F1, but here I am.”
“Autumn, don’t worry, I’m here, and if you ever miss Isla and want to do some girl things, I’m all in,” Hadleigh says cheerfully.
My heart warms. Hadleigh isn’t just saying that. Her relationship with her mom isn’t the best, and she spent nearly every Friday night here when we were teens. My mom is her bonus mom, and I love that—for both of them.
“I know you are, and trust me, I will text you,” Mom says affectionately. Then she looks at me with a mixture of sadness and pride. “I always knew you were going to do big things, baby girl, and here you are doing them. I knew we were lucky to get you home after graduation for a bit, but now you’re going to Europe, and I have a hard time getting my head around that.”
I feel my throat grow thick. “I know. I’m going to miss you and Dad so much.”
“Autumn!” my dad calls out from the hall before appearing in the doorway. “Get to the question. Who sent the flowers?”
Dad flashes me a teasing grin, and I gulp. I have never kept anything from my parents, but this is the one time I want to keep something to myself.
“It’s a congratulations bouquet,” I explain.
Both of my parents look at me, waiting for me to expand. I can see their brains working. Was it from my agent? Or one of my friends?