Preview

Lukas stood at the large wooden door of his luxury cabin, pulling up the zip of his thick insulated jacket, then buttoning up the fabric flap that covered the zipper. His feet were already in a pair of black snow-boots. Knowing how cold it could get out there, he made sure to prepare for it.

He placed his hand on the door-handle and inhaled deeply. This publicity stunt was the last thing in the world he wanted to do but here he was. There was no turning back now.

Lukas yanked open the door and stared at the wonderland that was Lapland. There were tall pine trees everywhere. Their barks taking on a greyish hue from the snow caught on every bump and knot. They were topped in white, like nature’s very own dusting of powdered sugar. It was truly beautiful and, were it not for the events planned for that day, Lukas would quite happily have gone snowmobiling or sledding or snowshoeing and then returned to sit at the large window with the fire roaring and something warm clutched in his hands.

But that peaceful fantasy would never happen whilst he was forced to be around Katherine.

Lukas stepped out and shut the door behind him. There was a driver waiting in a dark four-wheel drive SUV. The most efficient way to trek across the snow was the most efficient way to get anywhere: in something with an engine. And at least that made Lukas smile.

‘Good morning, Mr Jäger.’ The driver, who’d donned a thick black jacket with bright splashes of colour, greeted Lukas as he climbed into the front passenger seat.

He was far too cheerful. Especially when Lukas was dreading the next few hours.

Put on your media face, Dominic had begged when Lukas Zoom called him earlier.

‘Morning,’ Lukas grunted. Thankfully the driver caught the hint and said nothing more. Lukas needed to hold on to all of his finite patience if he was to make it through filming with Katherine.

Katherine.

The very thought of her name was like a poker in his frontal lobe. He tried to focus on why he was doing this. To save his career. To make his father’s sacrifices worth something. To get back in an Alpha One car. He never felt so alive as he did when he blasted down the pit straight in his single-seater, at 350 kilometres an hour. The world a blur. A tunnel focussed on one point: turn one. When he got his braking just right and nailed that first apex—he always knew at that point if it was going to be a good lap or not. And then he would put those laps in. Time after time after time.

He never felt more alive, but he also never felt closer to his father. He could feel his father’s pride then, and Lukas could forget for a moment that he was the reason his mother left.

He needed to race. It gave his life meaning, so he would do this. He would grin when he had to, and bear this invasion.

As they approached, Lukas could make out part of a track that had been carved and smoothed in the snow. The closer they got, the more he could see. A simple course that weaved through the trees and back again with a section over the frozen lake.

The SUV came to a stop near a two-door sports car. One that had no affiliation with any of the Alpha One teams on track. So, unlike all the other stunts he had done in his career where the cars had always been linked to his team. Another reminder that Lukas was a driver without a tether. That he needed the day to go well.

The car was bright red. Easily filmed. Dynamic in the monochrome environment. There were cameras fixed to the outside of it in several places, plus three that he could see on the inside. He and Katherine would be on show. Nowhere to hide. He couldn’t allow a single expression to give away his reluctance to be there.

He stepped out of the vehicle and noticed the team of people like little black specks on a white canvas. Equipment everywhere even though he knew they would be invisible in the end result. Every one of these people would be ghosts, and all anyone would see would be him and Katherine.

Then would come the posts that set his teeth on edge. Lukat. He hated the portmanteau. The absurdity of the very idea.

‘This way, Mr Jäger,’ the man who had driven him said.

‘It’s Lukas,’ he replied, looking at the profile of the corners of their track as they walked together. At least that would be fun.

‘Lukas!’ He heard his name being called as they reached a large tent from which the snow track was no longer visible. And, in what felt like a flash, he was surrounded by people. One attacked him with makeup while another affixed a mic to his clothes while a third and fourth briefed him on what he would be doing. For most people this would be too much, but he wasn’t most people. He heard and understood every word being said, felt every swipe of the sponge on his face, was aware of exactly where the mic was clipped and the wire run. And still he felt the air change. Felt her very presence before he even saw her, and despite hating her for the things she’d written about him, for playing a part in him losing his seat, Lukas turned to find the burning blue eyes of Katherine Ward staring back at him. Her red hair, perfectly styled to look effortlessly elegant, hung over her right shoulder. Her skin was like porcelain. And her plump lips, the bottom a little fuller than top, pressed together in a thin line.

A prickle travelled under Lukas’s skin but he kept looking. Looking at her jacket that appeared warm but Lukas knew it wasn’t. A fashionable piece of apparel designed to look good in pictures and videos. He had seen tourists come to his town, the chilliest in Austria, dressed as she was, ill-equipped for the intense cold of the mountains which attracted thousands each year, only for them to run into trouble and rush back into town or worse, have emergency services rush out to them. The longer he looked at the jacket the more irritated he became, and he knew it was settling into his expression. An expression that was mirrored on hers.

‘We’ll give you two a moment while we get ready,’ the director said. ‘We’ll start shooting with you both putting your helmets on. We only really have about two hours of good light to get everything done so we need to hustle.’

‘Understood,’ Katherine replied, but Lukas said nothing. All he did was cross his arms over his chest.

*

Katherine had watched Lukas keenly as she had approached. He stood maybe two inches shy of six feet. Though hidden in a thick jacket, his body was still clearly in peak physical shape. Light brown hair that was so very nearly blond crowned a head that sat on a thick, muscular neck. This man was an elite athlete. A weapon crafted to withstand the immense forces of an Alpha One race car, and the off-season hadn’t dulled him at all. And when she saw him, she fought a shiver. A knot in her stomach that formed whenever he was close.

You’re no good to us if the reigning champion won’t talk to you. You’re done here.

This man had been the reason she was fired and yet he had the audacity to look at her as if she was some irritation. The gall!

‘Nice of you to join us,’ she sniped.

‘I’m perfectly on time,’ he said, adjusting the cuff of his jacket. It was thick and bulky. Not in any way sexy. Not chosen for the cameras. He looked utterly comfortable in it. Warm. Yet she had to fight off shivers as the wind bit through her jacket. Had to look impeccable for the cameras.

Are you some incredible beauty? Because you’re not getting on camera if you aren’t.

Words from her university lecturer, the man who had given her the incredible reference that led to her job at VelociTV, who had promised to never hide the unspoken side of being a media personality. His words had made her go home and look at herself in the mirror, and make an effort to look good every moment of every day. Because it didn’t matter how much she knew, no one would give her the time of day if she wasn’t also a pretty face. If she didn’t have a beach-ready body throughout the year.

So seeing Lukas’s warm jacket turned that knot in her stomach into a ball of fire.

‘And yet I could find it in me to get here a few minutes early.’

‘That’s your job, not mine.’ His grey eyes looked almost bored. He hadn’t uncrossed his arms. Had barely spoken to the people around him. Katherine had to be ‘on’ at all times. Keep that bubbly, media personality up around everyone she worked with. It was exhausting. But men like Lukas…they got to be grouchy and ill-tempered, and people would find an excuse for his behaviour. She hated it.

Hated him.

‘And what is your job, Lukas? Certainly not racing. Not currently, at least.’ She took great pleasure in the way his eyes narrowed. In the frown on his face. Her pulse galloped as he stalked towards her, knowing she had gotten under his skin. But nothing she said could even remotely make up for the fact that he had gotten her fired. That he had nearly destroyed her and her father’s dream.

‘You must be enjoying this immensely,’ he said through his teeth in his hard accent. ‘This is exactly what you wanted. It’s right there in your little articles. “Lukas Jäger Is Done.” Well, I’m not.’ He stood right in front of her, making her look up into the grey eyes that looked so at home in the icy surroundings.

‘I report the truth, Lukas. If you don’t like it, maybe you need to look at yourself for a solution.’

‘Kat!’

Whatever Lukas was about to say died as they both looked at one of the production assistants, who waved her over. She didn’t bother excusing herself from him. She owed him no politeness. She simply walked away.

But she felt him follow behind. She fought off another shiver.

‘Stupid jacket,’ she mumbled.