Podium Perfect

Prologue

LOS ANGELES, CA

Silver Racing Headquarters

“What was my time?” she asked, as she crossed the finish line.

She braced the steering wheel again, nodded to herself as much as to Teddy and focused, pressing the balls of her foot into the pedal, doubly glad that she hadn’t worn heels today.

Wouldn’t have been able to do this, that’s for sure.

She pushed down on the accelerator even harder, easing up a tad as she rounded turn one.

Crunch. The car whipped back. Into the gravel it went.

“Shit,” she shook her head, looking back to Teddy to see his reaction.

“It’s alright, bella. Happens to the best of us, go again,” he nodded.

Bella. He’d called her that in Italy too.

“Try steering into the turn using a wide racing line,” Alan coached her through the radio.

“Yes, again,” she took a deep breath.

She started up the hill, again. “NOW, steer left now,” Alan shouted through the headset. Crunch. Gravel. Again.

“Damn it,” she took her fingers off the wheel and exhaled. Frustrating.

Teddy had a coy smirk on his face.

“Here, let me show you,” Teddy offered from his spot on the wall, striding up to the left side of the fake car setup. “Like this,” he leaned over, and put his hands on top of hers.

Avery felt heat rush up her neck at his touch. His hands felt warm and strong, steadying hers which had involuntarily begun to shake.

“Okay, start accelerating,” he instructed her.

She pushed down on the pedal.

“More,” his voice was deep, commanding.

Avery pushed down again, nearly bringing it to full throttle as the car zipped up the hill.

“Okay, now don’t let up but put your other foot on the break,” he explained. His face was so close to hers she could feel the breath from his words, like a tickle, a very serious tickle. There was no lightness when it came to Teddy Ross and mastering a race corner.

He pressed down harder on her hands, generating an almost electric heat between them.

Did he feel it too? That chemistry she felt with his hands splayed out above hers?

What would it feel like to have the rest of his capable body pressed up against hers?

Her crush, her body, momentarily distracting her from the task at hand, while Teddy took control, firmly, but quickly whipping the wheel to the left, before allowing it to straighten itself back out.

“Ohhh,” Avery breathed. “So that’s how it feels?”

Teddy smiled satisfactorily, and leaned in closer, his lips almost grazing her earlobe.

Avery’s pulse quickened. If she turned her head, their lips would be a mere inch apart.

She didn’t dare, there’s no way she’d be able to resist the temptation of leaning in even closer, seeing if he was feeling that same magnetic pull.

“That’s how it feels when you don’t hold back. When you take control,” he whispered into her ear, before letting go of her hands and pulling back, his eyes assessing her as if he had just really seen her for the first time.

“Now try it again, by yourself,” he nodded, resuming his coaching stance by the wall.

Avery remembered that they weren’t alone, her cheeks warmed at the thought that Alan and a handful of engineers had witnessed that moment on their screens, and had probably thought Teddy was whispering something much more risqué in her ear.

Not that what Teddy had said, hadn’t affected her. Like a bolt of lightning down my spine.

Avery shook off the remaining heat from Teddy’s hands, tried to free her mind from thoughts of Teddy’s lips, his hands, and felt the oxygen return to her lungs as she took a deep steadying breath.

I’ve got this.