Starbright by Alexandra Richland Page B

an effort to maintain their cover story, Beth extended her hand and said loudly enough for the press to hear, “Excellent race, Mr. Evans.”
    Aidan hesitated before shaking her hand, as though it took him a moment to determine why she was acting so formal.
    “I couldn’t have done it without your support, Beth.” His expression matched his tone, soft and yielding.
    She was surprised he spoke so frankly in front of the reporters.
    “Your talent and dedication to racing is what got you here, Aidan,” she said quietly. “Not me.”
    He responded with a shake of his head, his eyes intense with admiration.
    Matthew stepped forward and clapped a hand on Aidan’s shoulder, breaking their moment. “What a race! Some of the moves you made out there were incredible—stupid, but incredible.”
    Aidan chuckled. “Thanks, man. I just did what I had to do in order to win.”
    Nathan and Olivia offered additional congratulations.
    Even Connie remarked, “Nice job.”
    “How about a photograph of Mr. Evans’ support team?” a reporter called.
    Nathan didn’t see the harm, so they all agreed. After Connie removed her headscarf and got hair approval from Olivia, the six of them moved to the open area next to Aidan’s Porsche and lined up.
    Olivia and Connie stood on the ends next to their beaux, and Beth and Aidan stood in the middle. The group posed for the photographers, drawing attention from everyone in the vicinity, and also answered questions as to why they were at the race today and how they knew Aidan. Beth stuck to the tale she told the Los Angeles Times reporter earlier. Once the press was satisfied, they dispersed and the drivers were able to pack up and leave.
    Aidan’s mechanic came by and explained that before he left Santa Barbara in his station wagon tonight, he would tow the Porsche to a local garage to restore it for Aidan’s drive back to L.A. tomorrow. Although Aidan was fully competent to fix the car himself, he told Beth that he’d asked Ralph to do it so they could spend Saturday evening and all day Sunday together without interruption before returning home.
    Aidan instructed Ralph on specific jobs he wanted done that were at his discretion and not essential to make the car run smoothly, like the reinstallation of the windshield. He mentioned the modifications he wanted to keep, such as the reinforced seatbelt, which he would need in order to compete in future races. He also spoke of upgrading his Porsche when a newer, faster model became available, so he could race in the class events for cars with bigger, more powerful engines.
    Beth was unnerved by the thought. Aidan might have won today, but he’d only narrowly avoided crashing during his spinout. She’d learned this afternoon that car racing wasn’t principally about speed. Speed was a factor, yes, but this kind of racing was primarily a test of a driver’s skill — about maneuvering a car at high speeds in and out of the pack of other cars, all against other drivers attempting exactly the same thing.
    In contrast, Aidan had the attitude of a straightaway driver, and he lost his head easily in pursuit of victory. Beth’s only solace was that as part of his Golden Gloves agreement with Kazan, he was not allowed to race during filming. It bided her some time to get more comfortable with the idea of him competing again.
    Aidan and Ralph parted on a promise to meet up next week at Competition Motors in L.A. to discuss upgrades that needed to be made on the Porsche to improve its performance according to Aidan’s experience driving it in today’s race. Then Aidan packed up his racing gear and left to change his clothes.
    When he rejoined Beth, Olivia, Connie, Nathan, and Matthew in the visitor parking lot, he wore blue jeans, a V-necked navy blue sweater, and different black boots. He carried his racing duffel bag and trophy, but his smile was his greatest accessory.
    The group crowded into Matthew’s Bentley and drove to a nearby restaurant