Page 49 of Until The Lights Go Out

She laughed. “No, seriously—Maise, that was good. Like…really good.”

Something warm settled in my chest.

“Thanks,” I said, softer now.

She tilted her head, studying me. “You’re doing it.”

“Doing what?”

“This,” she said, gesturing vaguely. “Being exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

I swallowed, glancing back toward the garage.

“Yeah,” I said. “I just… I want to make sure I stay here.”

“You will,” Serena said without hesitation. “You’re the most stubborn person I know.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Miss ‘I’m Going to Drag Myself Into F1 If It Kills Me.’”

“It won’t kill me,” she said, “but it might kill everyone who underestimates me.”

“That’s my girl.”

She grinned, then her expression shifted—mischievous now.

“So,” she said slowly, “I heard a rumor.”

Oh no.

“What rumor?” I asked while shuffling into a hallway and out of the way.

“That a certain very broody, very hot driver may or may not have had an accidental sleepover situation with you.”

I choked. “Who told you that?”

“Sources.”

“Fucking Sebastian,” I muttered. “Of course you two still talk.”

“Mm, possibly.”

I groaned, dragging a hand over my face. “It wasn’t—nothing happened.”

“Uh huh.”

“Seriously,” I insisted. “I got sick, he didn’t let me sleep on the floor, we talked, and then we slept. End of story.”

Serena leaned closer to the camera. “You talked?”

I hesitated.

Because that part… That part wasn’t nothing.

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

Her eyes softened instantly. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” I repeated.