I rolled my eyes, choosing not to take the bait. “You know, I was sort of surprised at Georgia today.”
“Surprised that she’s bad at media? I mean, I guess considering Henri’s so good—”
“No,” I cut him off. “I’m surprised that after dating Anthony, she’s moved on to another driver. She doesn’t strike me as someone who’d date a rival.”
“Excuse me, who is Georgia dating?” Now it was Edward’s turn to be overly invested in the gossip.
“Earlier today, I saw Éliott and Georgia come out of her room together; she was practically wrapped around him.”
Edward let out a loud snort. “Really?” He considered me for a moment. “Nah, no chance they’re dating. Henri would have Éliott’s head on a spike if he made the slightest move after his sister… I think.” Edward wagged his finger, adding, “And I suggest you take that advice to heart. Georgia is off limits.”
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I date Georgia Dubois,” I scoffed, although the words didn’t taste as satisfying as I’d imagined them to be. Several years ago, I’d received that same warning from Henri, but that hadn’t stopped me then.
Something else had.
As I placed my empty glass on the counter, I caught sight of a group of women who had managed to sneak into our reserved VIP section. A perfect distraction.
“Well, since I’ve already been scolded by my parents once today, I might as well make the most of a free pass.” Nodding towards the women at the bar, I gave Edward a wink followed by a thumbs up.
“Glad to see you took our talk to heart!” he yelled after me as I made my way over.
I caught the attention of the bartender and ordered another beer, leaning against the counter as I sized up the group of women nearby. Just as I was about to strike up a conversation with a pretty brunette in red, a familiar voice caught my attention.
“I’ll have a gin and tonic, please.” Turning to my left, I noticed Georgia rummaging through her purse. “Ugh, of course, I left it,” she grumbled, waving at Henri and her teammate, Lily, as she frantically tried to get their attention.
“Put it on my tab,” I called out to the bartender as he handed her the drink. Georgia glanced at me with a hint of suspicion, gnawing on her lower lip with uncertainty as she continued searching for her lost wallet.
“I can buy my own drinks,” she mumbled.
“Can you?” I glanced pointedly at the contents of her purse, now spread across half the bar. With her slightly red cheeks, I had to admit, Georgia looked adorable as she fumbled through her embarrassment.
“Thanks,” she said sheepishly. “I’ll buy your next one. Well, if my wallet ever turns up.”
“Nah,” I said with a wink. “This one’s on me. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t buy her own drinks.” Georgia scoffed as she took a sip of her gin and tonic, scrunching her nose in disgust.
“Please tell me that line doesn’t actually work.”
“What do you think?” I asked, leaning in to watch her reaction.
Her sapphire eyes widened, just slightly, but she didn’t move away. Instead, she crossed her arms, gaze steady and unimpressed. From this close, I could see the small creases around her eyes as she frowned at me, could smell her lavender perfume. A stray strand of hair was caught in her soft eyelashes, and I had a sudden urge to gently tuck it back behind her ears. But before I could so much as blink, a familiar, unwelcome voice oozed into the space between us.
“Well, what do we have here?”
Fucking Anthony.I inwardly groaned as he approached us, a tauntingly amused look on his face. Stepping back, Georgia straightened her skirt as she nervously took another sip of her drink, chewing on her straw before setting it down. She looked uncomfortable as she searched for a way out of this conversation, cornered by her ex-boyfriend and rival.
Wonder who she hates more? I mused.
Just as I thought she was going to slink away and pretend that she hadn’t heard Anthony, Georgia stepped closer. Her body pressed against mine like it belonged there, her hand slipping into mine. When she looked up, her smile was sunshine-level sweet. Like I hung the damn moon.
“Just hanging out with Flash.” Georgia grinned, not caring to look at Anthony. Caught off guard at hearing my racing nickname, I returned her large smile, casually putting my hand on her waist, pulling her closer. Georgia’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as her eyes pleaded with me to play along.
Fuck it, I thought.Who am I to turn down an opportunity to get on Anthony’s nerves?I pulled Georgia closer to me.
Her brow twitched for half a second, like she couldn’t believe we were doing this, before plastering a sickly-sweetI’m in lovesmile back on. Noticing the lack of space between us, Anthony’s eyes watched Georgia’s hands softly caress mine. Her breath smelled of pink champagne, and I was almost enjoying this laid-back, tipsy version of Georgia. Five minutes had gone by, and she hadn’t mentioned my yacht incident once.
“And here I was thinking we broke up because you wanted to focus on your career,” Anthony sneered.
Georgia let out a pretend gasp. “Really? I thought it was because you slept with every woman that batted an eyelash your way.” Without missing a beat, she turned to me and whispered loud enough for the nearby girls to hear, “I thought being exclusive meant I was the only one doomed to see his dick.”
