Race to the Top: Book one in the Racing to Find Love series (8 page)

Erik walked out onto the podium. This never got old, he
thought, as he basked in the deafening screams and cheers. He clambered onto the
top spot. He had won, beaten Devlin soundly. He needn’t have worried about his
start – it had been perfect, and he’d kept the lead the whole way round. Devlin
had got more and more frustrated, trying increasingly risky overtakes, but Erik
had kept his nerve and Devlin had eventually dropped back, unable to get past
his rival.

The atmosphere in the small room where they waited to go out
on the stage had been tense. Erik always felt sorry for whoever the third
driver on the podium was when he and Devlin were in there. Today it had been
Felipe Gotteri, who had valiantly attempted to make awkward conversation with
them both as they waited to go out and claim their trophies. Devlin was clearly
furious, and he had cornered Erik, accusing him of pulling a dangerous block on
the first corner. He had got right in Erik’s face, and Erik had wondered if he
was about to be punched.

As always, though, Devlin regained his cocky arrogance as he
took to the podium, gesturing and posing as he lifted his trophy up and sprayed
the champagne. He turned to Erik and sprayed it directly in his face – and Erik
responded in kind. He was reminded of what he had overheard just before the
race, when he’d walked in to see Devlin sitting next to Anna. He had wanted to
hit him and, for a long, horrible moment, he wondered if Anna might take him up
on his offer. Of course she hadn’t, and he had felt guilty for thinking of it.
But Devlin had a way with women, and Erik had seen first-hand how he could
charm them into bed at the drop of a hat.

Mind you, Erik had never had any problem finding women
willing to take their clothes off for him. When he had first hit the big-time,
he had been overwhelmed by the sudden rush in female attention, and looking
back, he could see that he had perhaps overindulged. Not now, though. He tended
to avoid all that; it was often more trouble than it was worth.

He realised with a start that he wouldn’t see Anna for a
while. She wasn’t due to join them again for a few months – in Germany. That
took the shine off his win a little bit, and he was a bit more subdued than
usual during the round of television and newspaper interviews that followed.

He made it back to the hotel at about 9pm. He had been
looking about for Anna but he hadn’t seen her. He hoped to God she wasn’t currently
in Devlin’s hotel room, being covered in champagne.

His mind wandered slightly as he imagined what she would
look like drenched in champagne, the liquid running down her body, over those
perfect breasts that he had so nearly caught sight of through those pyjamas. He
imagined licking the alcohol off her, and her moaning in pleasure.

He had to stop himself before he got too worked up.

He decided to call his parents. They had watched the race,
and they babbled excitedly down the line. His dad loved to go over every single
little detail, and he was on the phone for a while as they discussed the team’s
tyre choice, and Devlin’s aggressive driving.

‘Just be careful, son’ Alfred said. ‘I get the feeling
Devlin wouldn’t care if you ended up in some horrible crash, as long as he
won.’

‘He’s not as bad as that,’ Erik said, although he wasn’t
sure he quite believed that himself.

Eventually, he managed to extricate himself from the phone
call, promising he would be in touch to arrange their trip to see him race in
Germany. It was still a few months away, but Helena Jonasson liked to be
organised.

He lay on the bed for a few minutes, reliving the race and
trying to keep his mind off a champagne-covered Anna.

There was a knock on the door and his heart leapt. Surely it
couldn’t be her? He hurried over to the door, smoothing his hair down before
opening it.

It
was
her.

‘I didn’t know if you’d be around’ Anna said, smiling at
him. She was holding something behind her back.

‘I’m here,’ he said, then feeling stupid for the obvious
statement.

Anna brought her hand round from behind her back – she was
holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Erik wondered if he was
dreaming.

‘I know you probably have plans with rock stars or Hollywood
actors or catwalk models, but I thought it might be nice just have a little
toast to your win. After all, I’m sure my banner had something to do with it.’

Erik was touched. It was a small gesture, but one no one had
done before. He thought back to Nikki – beautiful, exquisite, self-absorbed
Nikki. The thought would never even have crossed her mind.

‘I think I can squeeze you in,’ he said, standing back as
she entered.

He took the bottle from her and popped it upon, Anna
squealing at the noise. He laughed.

‘Sorry,’ she said, looking embarrassed. ‘Even though I was
expecting it, it always gives me a fright.’

He poured them each a glass and they sat on the large sofa
by the window, which looked out across the Melbourne skyline.

‘Cheers,’ Anna said, lifting up her glass. ‘Here’s to many
more podiums. That’s the correct terminology, right?’

‘Right,’ Erik said, clinking his glass off hers and taking a
sip. He didn’t think he would ever get bored of champagne. He wondered if it
was possible to be a racing driver and not like champagne – surely it was a
prerequisite. He had to resist the urge to tip the bottle and pour it all over
Anna.

‘How did you enjoy your first race?’ he asked, watching Anna
as she swallowed a mouthful of the alcohol. Her throat was so delicate, and he
had an urge to kiss it, gently. They were close, sitting side-by-side on the
sofa, and if he just reached over a little bit, he could take her head in his
hands and kiss her.

‘It was good,’ she said, oblivious to his thoughts. ‘I
really enjoyed it, actually. It was quite exciting, although I found some of it
a little scary. I thought at one point Devlin was going to push you off the
track.’

Erik sat back, getting his emotions under control. No women
until he won the championship. He could look, but not touch.

‘Me too,’ he admitted. ‘He can be pretty aggressive out
there. He was furious afterwards, but he’ll be out now getting drunk at some
party.’

‘And leering at anything in a skirt I’ll bet,’ Anna said,
shaking her head.

‘Probably,’ Erik said. ‘So, is Germany your next race?’

He felt sad he wouldn’t see her for a few months, but
perhaps that was for the best. She had wormed her way inside his head, and he
certainly didn’t need the distraction. He thought about how much he’d enjoyed
having her around, though, and thought the races in the meantime would be very
boring without her.

‘Yes,’ she said, pouting at him dramatically. ‘It’s funny –
when I first got handed this assignment, I was dreading having to go to just
one race, never mind three of them. But now I’m actually disappointed I won’t
get to go to them all.’

‘You can watch them on TV,’ Erik pointed out. ‘Although
sometimes they’re on at weird times because of time differences.’

‘It’s not the same though,’ Anna said, sighing as she
twirled the stem of her glass in her hand. ‘It’s the atmosphere that makes it
here, I think. I’ll still watch though, just to see you beating Devlin.’

‘Maybe I won’t be able to without your banner.’

‘I’ll sit waving it at home.’

‘That might work.’

Erik thought for a moment.

‘If you’re coming to Germany, you’ll probably meet my
parents.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep, they like to get to know
everyone
. I apologise
in advance, they’ll be incredibly nosey.’

Anna laughed.

‘They sound like lovely people,’ she said. ‘I look forward
to it.’

They finished the bottle, chatting about books and music.
Erik was enjoying having someone around who could, what was it his mother had
said? String a sentence together, that had been it. Oh and of course, Anna was
incredibly hot, too.

He was disappointed when she got to her feet, yawning.

‘I’d better get to bed,’ she said. ‘My flight is pretty
early tomorrow.’

Erik was annoyed with himself that he had decided to fly to
Monaco instead to see some old friends. Another 21-hour flight sitting next to
Anna didn’t seem like a chore in the slightest.

He followed her to the door.

‘Thanks for this,’ he said,
gesturing to the empty bottle of champagne and the glasses. ‘It was very
thoughtful.’

She smiled up at him.

‘I’ll see you in three months,’ she
said. ‘Try not to crash.’

And as Erik was about to close the
door, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek, before turning and hurrying
away down the corridor.

‘You
kissed
him?’

Anna was sitting in Dan and Jules’ kitchen, nursing a glass
of red wine.

‘Only on the cheek,’ she said, indignantly.

‘You kissed a multi-millionaire, incredibly gorgeous racing
driver on the cheek! This is huge,’ Jules gushed, waving her glass around so
wildly Anna saw Dan braced to grab it, should it fly out of her hand.

‘I suppose,’ Anna said. ‘I don’t know what he made of it. I
just turned and fled down the corridor.’

‘When will you see him again?’ Jules asked, setting the wine
down on the table to the evident relief of her husband.

‘Not for three months,’ Anna said, miserably. ‘Germany.’

‘Three months? That’s ages,’ Jules said, looking glum.

‘It’s not that long,’ Dan said, shaking his head. ‘Great
track, Hockenheim, too.’

Anna couldn’t really muster up much enthusiasm for the
track, great as it may be. Three months without seeing Erik, except on TV,
wasn’t going to be much fun. She wished she had been brave enough to ask for
his phone number, or maybe his e-mail address. Then they could at least have
exchanged a few messages.

***

She was back at work the next day. Eleanor had pumped her
for information within minutes of her sitting down at her desk, and Anna had
told her
most
of what had happened, leaving out the stuff about her date
(if it
had
been a date) with Erik. Eleanor squealed when Anna reeled off
the names of some of the celebrities she had spotted trackside.

‘Oh I
love
him,’ Eleanor said, dreamily. ‘Did you
speak to him?’

Anna shook her head.

‘Just ogled from afar,’ she said. ‘Now I need to try and
come up with 600 words to describe it all.’

She wrestled with her column for most of the morning. When she
had accepted this assignment, she had imagined it would be a breeze. After all,
she was used to writing much longer pieces about much more controversial and
hard-hitting topics. But every time she tried to write a line, she thought of
Erik.

By lunchtime, she had finally strung something together. She
wasn’t entirely happy with it, and she decided to take a break from it all and
check her emails to see if there were any good story tips in there. She could
do with something really meaty to take her mind off the whole Erik situation.
She was browsing through, jotting down ideas on her notepad next to her, when a
new e-mail popped up at the bottom right of the screen. She clicked on it, and
it felt like her heart almost stopped as she read.

‘
Hi Anna,

This is Erik Jonasson. I got your e-mail address from
Gary – I had to lie and pretend I wanted to ask you something about your column
as he got a bit suspicious, so if he asks, I wanted you to put in a line about
how dashing I look, or something like that. I thought it might be nice to keep
in contact a little before Germany, if you like. I’m sure you still have plenty
of questions, and I’m not sure I trust those books of yours. Anyway, hope to
hear from you.

Erik.’

Eleanor’s head popped up over her computer.

‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ she observed,
curiously.

Anna shook her head.

‘Just an e-mail I wasn’t expecting,’ she said, and after a
few seconds, Eleanor’s head disappeared. She had clearly been hoping for more
information.

Anna’s mind reeled. She had got an email from Erik! He had
written to her, entirely of his own accord. Should she reply right now? Did
that look desperate? She texted Jules.

‘Erik has e-mailed me!!!! Do I reply? Or play hard to get?
HELP.’

A few seconds later her phone buzzed.

‘Reply, you idiot.’

Anna started typing, and then stopped. This had been harder
than writing that blasted column. What should she say? She wanted just to type
the letter ‘e’ repeatedly, with lots of exclamation marks, but she figured that
probably wouldn’t be the greatest idea she’d ever had.

‘
Hi Erik,

It’s nice to hear from you! Roger that re: Gary, I’ll be
prepared if he comes sniffing around. It would be nice to keep in touch – I
enjoyed our chats and three months seems a long way away. Are you partying away
in Monaco? I’m back at work, and missing the glitz and glam already. Maybe I
could become team mascot – surely there must be some horrific costume I can
wear? Maybe I could just wear my bear pyjamas.’

You’re rambling, Anna, wind it up.

‘
Anyway it was great to hear from you, and I’m looking
forward to watching your next race on TV. I’ve even paid to get some sort of
sports package to get “premium coverage” whatever that is. Me! A sports
package! I know, it’s absurd.

Anna x’

She had debated long and hard about that kiss, typing it and
deleting it numerous times. Eventually she typed it and hit send before she
could change her mind.

Erik read the email from Anna, smiling as he did so. She
wrote just like she spoke, he thought, and it was incredibly cute. He laughed
outloud at the bear pyjamas section. She had signed off with a kiss, too.

He was in Monaco, having spent the last few days with good
friends of his – a driver he had once raced against, but who had switched to
touring cars, and his wife. Jack and Elena were a great couple, and Erik
enjoyed their company. They were proof, for him, that you could be a successful
racing driver
and
be in a happy relationship. They adored one another,
and Elena followed Jack across the world. She also had her own successful
business, and he wondered how on earth she juggled the two.

‘What was it you said in that magazine interview recently,’
Elena had said, smiling at him. ‘Passion, hard work, and utter dedication?
Well, that doesn’t just apply to racing drivers.’

Jack had beamed, looking proud.

‘She’s incredible,’ he said to Erik as Elena looked slightly
embarrassed. ‘I moan about travelling all over and getting to race cars for a
living, and Elena follows me about, spending every second she can on her laptop
dealing with her business, as well as putting up with my tantrums when
something goes wrong.’

Erik smiled.

‘You’re lucky to have each other,’ he said, feeling envious.
He wondered about Anna. Would she follow him around the world? She had her own
career – he liked that about her, liked that she had her own passions. He
couldn’t expect someone like that to jack it all in to be with him. But if
Elena managed to juggle it…

‘I keep hoping you’ll bring a girl here one day,’ Elena
said. ‘It’s been a while since, what was her name, the blonde, boring one.’

‘Nikki,’ Jack said, roaring with laughter. ‘Dazzling but
deadly dull Nikki. Do you ever see her anymore?’

Erik shook his head fervently.

‘Nope,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen her
around a couple of races but believe me, that ship has sailed.’

Elena was looking at him
interestedly.

‘Is there someone else?’

His moment of hesitation was fatal.
Elena pounced.

‘There
is
someone else! Who
is she? Model? Singer?’

‘Porn star?’ Jack piped up, causing
Erik to glare at him.

‘There isn’t anyone else,’ Erik
said, not even believing himself. ‘Or, well, there’s this girl…’

Elena clapped her hands together.

‘I knew it,’ she said. ‘You’ve got a
glow about you, doesn’t he have a glow, Jack?’

Jack snorted with laughter and Erik
rolled his eyes at Elena.

‘I don’t have a glow,’ he said. ‘I’m
just sweating at the Spanish inquisition here.’

Elena shrugged, vaguely
apologetically.

‘Come on, then. Who is she?’

Erik sighed. He wasn’t going to get
out of this one.

‘Her name is Anna. Anna Sawyer,’ he
said. ‘And she’s a magazine writer.’

Elena and Jack stared at him.

‘You mean, she’s not a model? Or
full-time racing groupie? She’s actually got a normal, everyday career?’ Elena
asked, clearly astounded.

Erik nodded, feeling a bit proud of
this.

‘This is a turn-up for the books,’
Elena said, excitedly. ‘What magazine does she write for?’

‘Er, something called
Stylish
magazine I think.’

‘Ooh I have an online subscription to
Stylish
.’ Elena vanished out of the room.

‘So,’ Jack said ‘Is she a hottie?’

Erik nodded slowly.

‘She’s gorgeous,’ he said. ‘But
she’s not my usual type. She’s brunette, for a start, and she’s got some
curves.’

He thought of those mouth-watering
curves.

‘Calm down,’ Jack said, laughing.
Clearly Erik hadn’t disguised his thoughts very well.

Elena came back into the room with
her laptop and set it down on the table, tapping away.

‘Here,’ she said. ‘I thought I
recognised the name. I just finished an article she wrote in the latest issue
about the sex trade. It was really, really well written.’

She passed the laptop across the
table to him and Erik scanned the story. Wow, Elena was right. It was great
writing.

‘So she’s got brains,’ Jack said.
‘What does she see in you?’

Erik threw a bottle cap at him and
Elena tutted.

‘If you boys are going to mess about,
you can do it outside,’ she said, pointing to the patio doors.

Erik and Jack carried their drinks
outside and sat in the evening sun, overlooking the sparkling blue swimming
pool. Maybe he should buy a house in Monaco, Erik thought.  Everyone else had
one, and it was really something out here.

‘So, this girl,’ Jack said, taking a
swig of beer. ‘How far have you got?’

‘Not far at all,’ Erik said. ‘We
went for dinner after qualifying, that’s about it. We talked a lot, though. We
sat together on the plane.’

‘Dinner? And nothing else?’ Jack was
surprised.

‘Yep,’ Erik said, and then sighed.

‘What’s bothering you?’

‘It’s just not the right time.’ Erik
said. ‘I really have to focus 100%. Any distraction at all and Devlin will have
me. You know what it’s like.’

Jack nodded.

‘I do,’ he said. ‘And I totally know
where you’re coming from. But all I’m going to say is – sometimes you can’t
stop something if it’s right.’ And he looked through the doors, smiling as
Elena busied herself clearing up the dinner things.