Chapter 41
SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND
“ So, what was that about?”
Miles finished drying his hair with a towel as his father entered his room. It had been a good Saturday. What better than setting the fastest lap on one of his favourite tracks and starting the British Grand Prix on pole position? After qualifying under the beaming sun, attending numerous interviews, and participating in the debrief, he was looking forward to tomorrow’s race, but also to head home and relax.
He loved racing at Silverstone because it was his home Grand Prix and because the track was iconic. He’d always spend a couple of days at his dad’s townhouse after the race—to catch up, disconnect.
“The booing?” he asked, tossing the towel aside. “It’s not the first time.”
“Yeah, but it’s not okay, man.” Henry sat down at the small desk. “Just because you and Valencia did the same lap time, but you finished your lap first meaning you got pole, doesn’t make it okay to just boo in your face.”
“Let it go, Dad. You know that the hate doesn’t get to me.”
“Don’t do this. Not to me.”
Miles sighed and sat across from him.“The hate is just going to push me to do better. Prove them wrong. And to be honest, I just feel numb. Like, I don’t even care anymore.”
Henry observed Miles for a few beats, then nodded. “It takes a lot of strength to be able to shrug off this kind of behaviour towards you. I’ve always admired your resilience.”
“Learned from the best,” Miles quipped.
Henry tutted. “I had nothing to do with the man you’ve become.”
Miles threw his head back. “Come on, Dad. Didn’t you raise me? You’re the strongest man I know. That shit you went through? It taught me not to let the bad things tear me down.”
Emotion swamped at Henry’s eyes as he released a shaky breath. He simply nodded, blinking. He cleared his throat, then said, “Indy defended you on live TV.”
Miles swore he could feel his heart expanding at the thought. This fierce girl who always had his back. This lively girl who wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. This sensational woman who was his. As a kid, he loved watching her from afar, admiring and wishing for a future by her side. Today, he was insanely in awe of the woman she’d become—a queen claiming her throne in this high octane world. He couldn’t be more proud to be hers.
“Well, she said ‘and remember, booing isn’t the way to do it. Please respect every driver. Make this a safe space for them, too.’”
“She said that? On live TV?”
“Verbatim.” He glanced at the wall closest to them where three photos were displayed: one of Miles and Henry after his maiden win; one of Miles standing with Kai, Romeo, and Ezra in skiing gear; and one of Indy and him grinning at the camera under the setting sun. “Are you happy?”
Miles smiled, nodding, his racing heart solely beating for the blonde beauty. “Yeah. Yeah. I really am. I’ve never been happier.”
“Good. You deserve it. You and Indy deserve each other. I always knew you two were meant to be.”
“Really?”
“First day you met at that karting race? You were so mesmerised by the fact that she liked cars. By her. You two just made sense from the moment you met.”
He’d once thought happiness came with trophies and a maximum of wins under his belt, but true happiness was finding love with Indigo Bailey.
??MONTE CARLO, MONACO
The penthouse was annoyingly empty without Indy.
Without her contagious laugh, her infectious, good spirit.
Hell, Miles even missed her goddamn mess, the shoes she’d leave in the foyer and the purse she’d throw on the sofa. He missed seeing her snuggled in blankets while watching reruns of her favourite show. Making her a matcha latte every morning. Eating dinner with her on the patio. Taking her to the closest French town to spend a morning at the farmers market.
And instead of tidying the flat and cleaning up the scattered chaos, he had left everything as it was. Because this place was only lively because of Indy. Because she had turned a dull house into a vibrant home.
Miles felt incomplete without her. Like he’d been thrown into shallow waters and was drowning, unable to swim to the surface and catch a breath.
Whilst Miles had gone back to Monaco after spending a few days with his father in London, Indy had decided to stay to catch up with Kamari and her own family.
It had been a week without her.
And Miles felt like dying.
Obviously, he’d called her everyday. But he just missed her.
“Fucking hell. I’m pathetic,” he muttered under his breath. Rosie’s ears perked as she peered up at him from the carpet. “Stop judging me, Rosie. You miss your mama, too.”
For the fourth time, he replayed the video Indy had posted on her social media this afternoon. A compilation of little videos of them dancing in the kitchen, painting, cooking. Videos of him playing the guitar, or holding onto Rosie’s leash as they strode on the windy shore, smiling at her. She’d captioned the post with “ to the love of my life, thank you for making me the happiest.”, and the video had already generated over one million likes.
His phone rang, and his pulse quickened as he saw Indy’s caller ID flash on the screen. “Hey, baby,” he said softly. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. I’m boarding the plane in a few. Are you ready for me to be back home?”
“Fuck, no,” he mocked, smiling widely. He looked around, nerves starting to rattle through his body. He’d spent hours on her homecoming surprise.“I love how quiet it is when you’re not here.”
She laughed, knowing damn well that it was a lie. “I don’t blame you. I’m such a mess.”
“You’re my mess.”
Indy chuckled. “Stop hitting on me.”
“What are you going to do about it?” A grin took over as he imagined the challenging gleam in her eyes. “Get some rest because I have something fun planned for us tonight.”
“Is that so? Aren’t you full of surprises?”
Tonight was the night he’d show Indy how deep his affection for her was. If this didn’t seal his promise to wanting to spend his life with her, then he didn’t know anything about love.