“I’m so sorry,” I said by way of answering the phone. “I’m on my way.”
“Maya?” Lindsey asked. “Where are you on your way to? Why are you sorry?”
“Work because I’m late?”
She laughed. “I’m the one who’s sorry. You must have been asleep.”
“A little bit,” I said.
“Well, you didn’t oversleep. It’s only 9:30 in the morning. You most definitely are not late for work. And there’s no way you’re going to be late for work today, because we’re not going into the bar today,” she said.
I sat in confused silence for a few seconds. “We’re not?”
“No,” she said. “That’s why I’m calling you. I wanted to invite you to go see the guys ride today. The race is local, so we can drive over there together and watch them. What do you think?”
I was still somewhat hesitant to watch Greg, but I figured I couldn’t actually avoid it forever. There was going to come a time when I was going to run out of excuses, and it would just seem rude that I didn’t come to a race. I remembered what Greg had said when I dove into the pool. No fear, no hesitation.
“Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll pick you up. That way I can drive Greg back home rather than somebody having to bring him all the way to the complex to pick up his car.”
“Great,” Lindsey said. “I’ll see you in about an hour?”
“Sure. Text me your address so I can put it in the GPS. And don’t tell anybody I’m coming. I don’t want Greg to know. I want it to be a surprise,” I said.
“No problem,” she said with a hint of something in her voice.
Without acknowledging that something, I got off the phone and got out of bed.
I didn’t have much time, so after getting dressed, I was rushing to get to Lindsey’s house. Another massive home greeted me, and I realized she must live with Vince already. His house was distinctly different than his brother Quentin’s, but no less impressive.
Lindsey wasn’t waiting outside, so I took out my phone and called her to let her know I was there. She sounded rushed and a little bit frazzled when she answered. She apologized several times and promised she would be right out. I felt better for being in so much of a hurry and cutting it close getting to her house.
A few minutes after I arrived, the door opened, and Lindsey stepped out with a little boy. She held tight to his hand as she locked the door, then gently guided him over to the side of the stairs leading down from the porch and wrapped his hand around the handrail. She took hold of the other hand, and they slowly made their way down the steps. I noticed she was talking to him as they went, but his head didn’t move to look at her.
That was when I realized her son was blind. It wasn’t something that she or anyone else had mentioned to me when talking about him. He was just Remy, the almost four-year-old boy with too much personality for his tiny size, who was going to give the world a run for its money when he grew up.
Watching him get down to the bottom of the steps and skip happily along the sidewalk made my heart swell. I loved that they didn’t mention his disability. It just wasn’t something that they figured defined him, and it obviously didn’t. Lindsey was careful and cautious with him, just as any parent would be with a young child going down steep brick steps. But the little boy seemed unfazed and just eager to keep going.
When they were close to the car, Lindsey smiled at me and waved. She held up a finger to ask me to wait, then walked over to her car. She said something to Remy, and he put one hand on the car and stood still. By his shuffling little feet and bouncing, I could tell he didn’t particularly like standing still. He wanted to be jumping and playing, but he did as his mother asked.
She reached into the car and pulled out a car seat. She brought it over to the truck and not for the first time since my father left it to me, I was thankful that he had chosen an extended cab that had a back seat.
She was able to fit the car seat into the middle of the back and secure it firmly in place. Remy scrambled up and sat down so she could secure his harness. When he was in place, she backed out of the car and climbed into the front seat. Letting out a sigh, she turned to me with a smile.
“Hi,” she said.
I laughed. “Hi. How are you doing?”
“It’s been one of those mornings,” she said. “But we are very excited to be going to the race, aren’t we, Remy?” The little boy let out a cheer and threw his arms up in the air. “Remy, this is Miss Maya. She’s friends with Mr. Greg. Maya, this is my son, Remy. You didn’t get to meet him at the dinner at Quentin’s house because he was with his father that night.”
“Hi, Remy. It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“Hi, Miss Maya,” he said. “I like Mr. Greg. He’s nice.”
I smiled into the rearview mirror even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “I like Mr. Greg, too. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
She gave me directions to the racetrack, and we got there just in time. We made our way to the stands, and she pointed down to the pit row. We were several rows up, but I was still able to clearly see Greg and the others from that vantage point. I watched him for a few moments. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking out over the track and occasionally turning to Darren at his side and saying something. Darren pointed to the other side, and both men nodded.
Greg must have sensed someone watching him, because he turned around and scanned the crowd. He spotted me, and his face lit up. I grinned and waved, my heart trembling slightly in my chest as I realized I couldn’t remember anyone ever being that happy to see me.
Lindsey’s elbow dug into my side, and I looked over at her. She grinned and made kissy faces at me. It was the embodiment of the note in her voice that I heard when she called to ask if I wanted to go to the race with her that day. I laughed and shook my head.
“It’s not like that,” I said.
“Are you sure? Greg was pretty damn happy to see you here.”
“He didn’t know I was coming,” I said. “He did ask me to go to that first race, but I said no. So, he didn’t think I was coming to this one. He’s just happy that I’m here to see him ride. It’s been a long time since we hung out, that’s all.”
“Sure. Have you ever seen him ride?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, obviously nothing like this. But he used to tinker around with bikes when we were back in Shelby. We were just kids, but he was still amazing at mechanical things like that. He could take a broken-down old bike that nobody had ridden in decades and turn it into something incredible. And when he was done, he always brought me out to this old, abandoned school and rode around.
She looked at me suspiciously. “But there was never anything between you? Nothing at all?”
“Nothing but friendship,” I said. “We’ve always been just friends. He is the absolute best friend I have ever had. But that’s it.”
Even saying it brought a slight twist to my stomach. It made me think about the last couple of weeks that Greg lived in Shelby. We had graduated from high school and were trying to figure out life. Greg couldn’t stand living at home anymore. His father was a drunk and was getting worse by the day. He hated seeing the way he treated his mother, but she wouldn’t leave him.
In the middle of senior year, Greg had gotten into a brawl with his father. To protect him, his mother sent him off to live with his aunt. She was sweet, but he didn’t want to be there, either. That was when he started talking about moving to Charlotte. He wanted me to go with him. He said we could have such an amazing life here.
But I didn’t go. I told him I had gotten into college and was thinking about my future. It was just a small local college, not any sort of high-powered university or anything, but it was an achievement for me. I didn’t want to just leave that behind, and I thought maybe he would change his mind. Or at least wait for a little while.
He showed up at my house drunk, talking about how I didn’t need to go to college, that he w
ould make sure I was okay. He would take care of me. I told him to stop. I didn’t want to hear what I knew he was going to say. It had been building up in me for years, and I never made a move. I never said a single word or let on what I was feeling. I didn’t want to hear it from him, either.
We couldn’t do that. We couldn’t cross that line. His friendship was far too precious to me for me to be willing to throw it away for something we didn’t even know would work. So, I tried desperately to get him to stop talking. But he didn’t. And that night, he admitted he thought about us being together. Maybe if we moved to Charlotte, he said. Maybe we could start something new.
I sent him away, telling him to sober up. When he did, he acted like he had never even said it. I never mentioned it again, and neither did he. To that day, I didn’t know if he even remembered that conversation. A few weeks later, he was gone. We kept up with phone calls and emails, but far too soon, those petered out as we both got busy, and before I knew it, we had completely lost touch.
It was devastating, but I forced myself to put it aside. Maybe he and I had gotten from each other all we needed to—all we were supposed to. Now it was time for us to live our lives. Finding Marshall helped distract me. It reminded me of the types of relationships I should have been looking for. My friendship with Greg had kept me from finding a serious boyfriend. Now I had him.
Looking back, I was sad I ever let us grow apart. I was sad I did the exact thing he said I never did. I hesitated.
Shaking off the melancholy, I threw myself into the experience of the race. I was no longer afraid of watching him. I was excited to see him do his thing and absolutely crush it.
16
Greg
Soaring over that finish line with the rest of the riders behind me was a moment I would never forget. It wasn’t the first time I’d won a race, but it definitely felt like it was. I was grinning so hard my face hurt, and I could barely control myself long enough to bring the bike to a safe stop before I wanted to jump off and leap into the air in celebration. I let out a cheer of excitement before I even took my helmet off. By the time I got it off and it was hanging from the handlebar of my bike, I could see the wall of people rushing toward me.
Darren got to me first. He’d come in second and was only a few feet away. We grab each other in a tight embrace, pounding each other’s backs and congratulating one another in overlapping voices. Though we were in direct competition with each other, we were also friends and actually did want each other to succeed. Plus, a win for Freeman Racing was a win, no matter which of us brought it home.
There wasn’t a single question in my mind that Darren never held back. He never let me win or cut me any slack so that I could boost my record. There would be no benefit to that. It would damage his own career, and if I found out about it, he knew I would be furious.
So, his excitement and happiness for my win was absolutely genuine. As was the same sentiment from the rest of the crew. We hugged and cheered, then headed for the official celebration area near the finish line. As I was walking toward it, Maya came running toward me. I opened up my arms, and she jumped into them. I swung her around as she laughed and squealed.
“You were amazing,” she said. “Seriously, that was incredible to watch.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Come on, come with me.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To let people fawn on me and present me with my winnings,” I said with dramatic flair. She laughed, and I reached for her hand. “Come on. I want you to come with me.”
She took my hand and let me guide her through the crowd pressing in around us to the small platform erected next to the track. I helped her up onto it with me, and she stood close by my side as the race organizers handed me my check and trophy. I held the trophy up high above my head as photographers took pictures from every angle.
A couple of times, I glanced at Maya out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to make sure she was doing alright. She looked slightly overwhelmed, but not in a way that I worried about her. More just like she was trying to take it all in, absorb every single second so she could remember it.
If I had my way, this would be far from the last time she experienced any of this. Now that I had her by my side while I was celebrating a win, I never wanted to be without it. I wanted to have this moment over and over.
Somebody shook up a beer and held it so it sprayed right at me. Maya let out a squeal and curled into me, tucking her face against my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and held her close, laughing with her. A couple of reporters came up to ask questions and get the sound bites and bits of footage they would use in the news over the next couple of days.
When it was finally over, I turned to Maya. Gus had already taken the trophy and the large novelty version of the winnings check so he could bring them back to the compound. He liked to display the checks in the main building because he thought they were hilarious. The trophy would be set on a stand in the main lobby until the next race, then it would go home with me.
He’d started doing the rotation of the race trophies well before I started racing with the team. It was a chance to constantly show off the successes and accomplishments of the team without just having a massive trophy room where no one would ever see the awards.
I took both of Maya’s hands and leaned close so she would be able to hear me talk over the continued shouting and music around us.
“You’ve got to come to the garage with me,” I said.
“The garage?” she asked. “To drop off the equipment?”
“No. We’re having a party,” I said. It looked like she was still struggling to hear me, so I tugged on her hands to pull her over to a quieter area of the track. “I said we’re having a party. Usually after a win at the local track, we go to Lindsey’s bar to celebrate. But it’s closed tonight.”
“She closed the bar?” Maya asked. “I thought she just took the night off so that she could come to the race.”
“She did,” Greg said. “She was going to come whether the bar was open or not. She has staff who has been there since her father ran it. They’re more than capable of handling it on their own. But luck should have it somebody rented it for a private event for the night. So, it’s not available.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well that worked out.”
“Yeah. So, we’re going to go back to the complex and having a party there. Gus is pretty psyched about my win, and the results for the last couple of races. We’ve earned a lot of points this season, and sponsors are basically knocking down our doors trying to get their names associated with Freeman Racing,” I said.
“That’s amazing,” Maya said. She hugged me tight again, and when she stepped back, I noticed her fingertips lingered in mine.
“So, you’ll come with me to the party?” I asked.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” she asked. “They aren’t going to feel like I’m intruding?”
“No,” I said, perhaps with a bit too much emphasis. “I keep telling you. They all like you very much. We would love to have you there to celebrate with us. I know the girls love adding another to their group. You’ll probably even get a chance to meet Nick’s girlfriend, Bryn. She wasn’t at dinner last week.”
“I think I saw her this week at the bar,” Maya said. “At least, there was a girl there with Nick, and they looked pretty friendly. If I wasn’t seeing Bryn, then I just uncovered some massive family drama I should probably keep to myself.”
I laughed. “I’m sure it was Bryn. They go up to the bar together a lot. Will you come with me?”
“Yes,” Maya finally said. “I will come, but I actually have my truck. I can drive, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sounds great. Let’s go.”
The party was already in full swing by the time we got to the compound. Gus had gone on ahead of us and had music blaring and lights shining on the field. What had been just a big grassy stretch in the middle of the complex when I first started working ther
e had gradually transformed into the heart of the entire place.
It started with a couple of picnic tables, then a pavilion. From there, he added lights and a hidden sound system. The initial appearance was that it was still just a normal field with the added features of the pavilion and the picnic tables. Gus had made sure the new details didn’t take away from the original appeal of the space. One of the reasons we all loved it so much was because it was so green and beautiful.
While we all loved racing and being around motorcycles, sometimes getting a break and feeling surrounded by nature rather than just being in a garage or out on a track was refreshing.
I had a feeling the trucks hadn’t even been unpacked and were sitting by the garage waiting for us to get to them. Gus had gone straight into celebration mode. The trophies Darren and I won were sitting on one of the tables, and it looked like a bar’s worth of beer filled multiple large inflatable coolers positioned around the edge of the field.
“How did he do this so fast?” Maya asked as we walked out into the middle of the party in progress.
“I have no idea,” I said. “Sometimes things happen here that defy logic and reason. I have a feeling there is a fairly complex and potentially secretive phone tree that exists for just such purposes.”
“A secret phone tree?” Maya asked. “That’s pretty next-level stuff.”
“You never know what you could be getting into around here,” I said.
Maya shook her head and laughed. I gathered her up in my arms, spinning her around before putting her down so we could dance. It only lasted a few perfect moments before somebody shouted out that the pizza was there.
We stepped away from each other and watched as delivery drivers carried armfuls of pizza boxes onto the field and over to the picnic tables. They spread them out and Merry, Lindsey, Kelly, and Bryn walked over to start opening the boxes up. Vince came up behind Lindsey and leaned down to kiss the side of her neck. He murmured something into her ear, and she nodded. She said something to Kelly beside her, and the other woman looked over to see Remy where he was playing with Nick.
Millionaire Best Friend: A Secret Baby Romance Page 9