“You need to tell him,” Éliott chided. “What Luca did to you was shitty.”
“What am I going to say? Three years ago I said yes to a date with your teammate, behind your back after you told me not to, and then he didn’t show?”
Éliott’s faced softened. “You sound a bit unhinged when you talk about him, but you’re not. I mean Luca has so much potential, it’s enviable. I’d kill to sit in a Hermes seat.”
I nodded, my heart aching for him. He’d worked so hard, but after being dumped by Rennen, the other top team on the grid, he’d ended up at Aether Racing, a perfectly fine team, but with no real chance at winning races. The talent in Formula 1 was enormous, and yet so much of the race was decided by the quality of your car. Quality that came from sponsorship money.
“Don’t let this become a feud. The media are already circling, and it’s now painfully obvious that there’s bad blood between the two of you.” Éliott grabbed my purse, handing it to me. “But enough about Luca. Victory was yours, and you earned it.”
Taking my black clutch from his hands, we made our way from the hotel room to the elevator, with me fumbling with my bag along the way as I frantically looked for my room key while Éliott trailed behind.
“Blasted thing, always disappearing…”
Suddenly, my body collided with something tall and hard. Before I could lose my balance, a strong hand grabbed my waist, pulling me forward. Without thinking, I put my hands up to steady myself, making contact with a chest that my romance books would describe as “built from solid muscle.” Then I caught a whiff of his cologne, a musky scent of lilacs and pine trees. When I looked up to see who had saved me from falling on my ass, the first thing I noticed was his Cheshire cat grin.
LucafuckingRossi.
“You know, if you wanted to get this close, you only had to ask,” Luca said with a wink and voice much too sultry for my liking. He made a show of letting his eyes rake up and down my body, and I suddenly felt naked. I quickly straightened my dress, forcibly removing Luca’s hands from my waist.
“Luca, flattering yourself as always, I see.” He just grinned in return as he followed us into the elevator, offering Éliott a quick head nod as he watched us curiously. Luca’s stare burned into the back of me, but I refused to face him out of fear that I would make eye contact with the Italian race car driver. With bright brown eyes, dark hair that always seemed perfectly styled, and a sultry Italian accent, it didn’t matter that Luca was undoubtedly the most handsome driver on the grid, he was also the most insufferable.
“You know, Georgia,” Luca said suddenly. “I think you should have told the journalists in your press conference that racing isa man’s sport. Would have at least made that press conference interesting.” I scoffed at his sarcastic tone, putting my hands on my hips.
“Unfortunately, we don’t all have a rich daddy willing to pay off reporters,” I deadpanned. “Speaking of… commandeered any more yachts recently?”
“Why, interested in becoming a pirate,amore?”
I clenched my fists, doing my best to avoid eye contact.
“Believe it or not, I’m not exactly turned on by criminals.”
“Well, you do have the reputation as theboringtwin for a reason,” he snickered.
Pompous asshole.
“With the number of messes your PR team cleans up, they should call themselves a maid service,” I retorted.
“And your car should be turned into a tank with the number of fights you pick each week.” Even Éliott couldn’t resist letting out a small chuckle.
Luca: 1. Georgia: 0.
Fortunately, before either of us could respond with something we’d probably both regret, the elevator dinged and I quickly bolted out, practically running to my brother. The faster I got away from Luca Rossi, the better.
“Hey, Luca,” Henri called out behind me, “thanks for joining. It’ll be good to have another Spanish speaker with us. It’s not like Peaches paid attention during school.” I immediately shot my brother a dark glare.
“Surely Luca has better plans tonight, no?” I asked a little too quickly.
What was Henri playing at? Not ten minutes ago I’d made my feelings clear, and now Luca was joining us like we were some big happy family?
“Don’t be silly. I can’t think of anything better than celebrating our race winner,” Luca crooned, and I internally cringed, keeping a smile plastered on my face. I couldn’t mask my disdain during press conferences, but with Luca, I had no problem concealing my emotions. Letting him see how much he got under my skin would mean he’d won, and I couldn’t have that—both on and off the track.
Chapter Five
Luca
I had zero intention of accepting Henri’s invitation tonight, but after seeing several photos circling around social media showcasing the tense standoff I’d had with Georgia earlier today, I figured showing up would help quell the rumor mill—and my father’s anger.
Inside the Barcelona club, we slipped past the velvet rope and into the exclusive VIP section. I scanned the room and quickly spotted my best friend, Edward, ordering at the bar. Sandy hair tousled to perfection, white shirt unbuttoned far too low, this was classic Edward to a tee.
