Stick Shift by Lissa Matthews

his lips grazed her cheek. Cam wasn't having any of that. He put his hand on her neck with his thumb under her chin and held her 8
head still, placing a solid, lip-to-lip kiss on her mouth. When he pulled back, he smiled and hugged her. “Don't turn away like that. I'm not embarrassed, and you shouldn't be either. I'm glad you're here.”
    “People will talk,” she whispered against his neck but wrapped her arms around him just the same.
    It felt good to hold her. “I don't care if they talk. Let them. You're here, and I'm happy.”
    “Break it up, boys and girls. We have a race to run.”
    “Yeah yeah yeah.” Cam pulled back and winked at her, then looked over her shoulder at her friend, Alli, if he remembered the name correctly. She was staring at him and Lily as though she'd never seen a public display of affection before. But then, maybe she hadn't seen Lily in one so blatant. “Hey,” he said to her, holding out his hand in greeting. She was wearing the shirt he'd autographed for her, and took his hand.
    “Hi.”
    A low whistle came from behind him, and he turned to see Grant, his jack man, staring straight at Alli. The woman, in turn, grinned brightly. Damn. Just like that, Grant was going to get lucky after the race. Women didn't turn him down.
    Ever.
    He leaned over and pecked Lily on the lips again, then turned and walked over to the car, playfully bumping into Grant on the way. “You dog.”
    “Woof, woof.”
    Cam laughed and climbed in through the window, settling down into his seat.
    His safety belts and harnesses were summarily latched before he took his helmet from the hook in the roof of the car and put it on. Ronnie climbed up on the pit box, and Lily followed. Alli stayed on the ground, Grant whispering to her, making her blush and laugh.
    “You got me, Cam?”
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    Ronnie's voice in his ear brought him back to the task at hand. “Yeah, I got ya.”
    “Good. Your girl is here, so let's concentrate on the race now.”
    “I know. You got her a headset?” Cam could hardly contain his excitement.
    “You act like I've never done this before.”
    “You haven't. Not like this. She's important.”
    “I know. I'll make sure she's all taken care of.”
    Time to get down to it. “I hope these guys around us are on top of things tonight. I don't want anyone getting hurt like down in Atlanta, and I don't want to have to show them we mean business.”
    “I'm sure they know, and I'm sure they're just as nervous about being around you as anyone else generally is.”
    “You make it sound like I strike fear in them.”
    “You? Nah. You're as calm and tame as a pussycat.”
    “Kiss my ass.”
    “Exactly. And hey, let's keep it clean tonight. We don't want the powers that be on us for something as dumb as our language. Watch your pit speed. It's forty-five at this track. Under caution is fifty-five. Don't cross the commitment cone unless you intend to come down pit road. Let's keep the mistakes to a minimum tonight.”
    Ronnie delivered the same speech before each and every race. It helped focus everyone, put them in the right frame of mind, and brought them all down to earth.
    He turned his head and saw Ronnie hand headsets to both Lily and Allison, instructing them on how to use them to hear him, Ronnie, and his spotter, H.J.
    Something about her being there, watching and hearing him, settled him in a way he hadn't felt before. He liked it. Was that the same way the other guys felt when their wives and girlfriends joined them? He'd never had a serious girl at the races.
    He'd always known racing was going to be his life, but since meeting Lily, well, she was going to be his life too. She wouldn't ask him to give it up; she wouldn't ask 8
him to put her above it either. He knew the travel and the hectic schedule could be a bitch, but he wanted her with him. He'd been serious when he'd told her he wanted to take her on the road. They wouldn't be leaving until the beginning of June, and he was