I’m shattered the next morning. I’ve only had four hours sleep as the night was long. We were delayed again before we could complete the pack-up, but the spring in my step after Elliott’s visit meant that waiting for more parts no longer felt like a problem. Elliott is at least with me.

“El, I don’t want to go to Barcelona on the private jet with you. I know you say it means you’re fresh, but it’s...it’s important for me to fit in with the team. I have to go with them.” I said a few nights earlier.

He stops, as though this is the first time we’ve discussed it, his eyes rolling to the left as he considers what I’ve said. “OK, I’ll come with you then.”

“Really?” This is a one for the books. Elliott Judd on a bus and then a standard flight. “You know we fly economy right?”

“Sure, why not? It’ll be fun, plus with you being on the night shift when we get over there, I won’t be seeing as much of you as I’d like, so I have to grab every opportunity.”

Whoa, well, I’m not turning this chance down. And the guys will love him for it too. “Ah, thanks.” I brush my lips over his.

His eyes shoot up and meet mine. “I’m not staying in a camper with everyone else though. The only person I want to share my sleeping space with is you.” He grins that adorable grin that I love so much, the one that tells me how happy I make him and how much he’s willing to give to be in my space with me. I wrap my arms around him but perhaps with a little too much emotion behind my gesture. Squeezing him tight, something surges through me and I feel like this could be the last time I’ll ever have the chance.

“Hey, watch out.” He frees himself from my grasp by pushing against my abs.

I nod. “Sure,” and pull him back in.

“Hey, you OK?” His voice is soft, but he’s unable to move as I crush him within my biceps.

“Sure. I just love you that’s all. It’s a big deal you traveling with the boys. They'll appreciate it. You being with us more often is breaking down your enigma, and garnering you more respect within the team. The more they get to know you, the less they mind having to put in the unsociable hours it takes to prepare the car for the race you get all the glory for winning.”

I feel his head nod, hear a muffled, “I guess you're right.”

“And it’s great for me because that allows me to nip off and spend time with you without being ridiculed for having special treatment. This is important to me. So, thank you.”

“I’m not sure what my security detail will have to say about it, but we’ll make it work.” He rests his hands on my hips, finally breaking loose from my clutch and landing a kiss on my chest.

We’re shivering in the pitch black at six o’clock in the morning, shoving our luggage in the hold under the bus, ready to depart for the airport as a collective.

“That’s it, everyone is aboard.” Chase finishes his head count and the driver closes the door to the coach.

“It’s like a school trip,” Elliott jokes.

“Let the season commence,” someone, probably Ryan, shouts from the back row.

I clasp Elliott’s hand in mine. “We’re off.”