A girl chasing her dream. A boy looking for the light.
When Florence Nyx started her internship at a Formula 1 paddock, she expected a lot. Fast cars. Exclusive impressions most people could only dream of. An entire array of skills she'd acquire...
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I'd known Phoenix would fit right in with my family. He was nowhere near as extroverted as the rest of us, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a part of the Nyx clan.
The way my dad had integrated him into house work showed just that, his trust in him obvious when he'd sent him up the roof. Phoenix had been climbing around there all day, exposing himself to the July heat while doing all kinds of work Dad hadn't gotten around to.
He was shirtless, wearing a black overall that did all kinds of things to my body with the way it clung to his glistening muscles. It wasn't fair having to watch him work and sweat and getting dirty all day, when all I wanted to do was get that dirt on me ASAP.
Adjusting the cap on his head, he looked so much more like his juvenile self that I had to do a double take at first. I blinked a few times to make sure this was actually my thirty-year-old Phoenix. His gaze found my own from several feet away as he ran his arm over his forehead, flexing his tattooed bicep with ease.
The wink he shot me short-circuited my brain.
Fuck me.
"He's doing good work." My mother appeared by my side, a palm raised to shield her from the sun.
"Yeah." I cleared my throat when Phoenix grabbed the electric drill to get back to work on the roof window. His muscles flexed as he pressed himself against the drill, using his weight to get the screw in place.
It took all of my self-restraint to not start fanning my face from the mere sight of him. Why were men with tools so irresistibly hot?
"Do you need something to drink?" The amused tone of my mom's voice made me turn to look at her. She had a brow raised at me, a smirk playing on her lips as she handed me the pitcher of homemade lemonade.
"I'm not thirsty."
Her trademark mother-knowing grin appeared on her lips. "Sure you aren't."
I rolled my eyes in response, but couldn't deny that my mouth had been as dry as the desert the second Phoenix got up on that rooftop. Shame on them for making me endure this beautiful torture all day...
"Give me that," I muttered, grabbing the pitcher and an empty glass from my mom's hands. She kept throwing me sly glances as I downed a whole glass, desperately needing to refill my juices.
"Need more?"
"Ma!" Slapping her arm, I couldn't help but laugh. She never minced her words, so I couldn't expect her to do so now.
"Just saying..." She grinned and raised her hands in defeat, slowly backing away from me.
"Yeah, you better run."
"No, I think you better do that." Ma nodded to the house behind me, where Phoenix now emerged from the backyard, looking sinful as ever. I could practically feel the drool coming from my lips when he raised the cap from his head and ruffled his wet hair like he was the protagonist of a perfume commercial, the sun hitting him in a way that his dark strands appeared almost bronze.
