‘Hey, Jules?’
‘Yes?’
‘I’m kinda… in a fight with JC.’
My stomach drops. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Is it about me?’
‘No,’ he says sharply, and I know he’s lying. It’s his own fault for not consulting his brother before our first meeting, but it doesn’t stop guilt wracking my body. ‘It’s not important.’
I swallow down another apology. ‘How are you doing?’
‘I feel like shit.’ I’m deflated that he doesn’t seem to be affected by our fightat all, but if he’s calling me like this, maybe he didn’t think it was significant? Maybe that’s how Colombians fight? Oh god I’m so confused. ‘He’s my big brother, Jules. He always knows what to do and he’s… not speaking to me. And, like, I’m getting shit from eleven group chats.’
‘What?’
A huffed laugh. ‘They’re trying to help, I think? Who knows at this point.’
‘He’ll come around,’ I offer.
‘I don’t know. You didn’t hear what he said or how he said it. He hates me. I don’t know what to do, I thought…’
What did you think, Tiago?
Did you want to hear my voice like I wanted to hear yours? Did you want me to make it better like you make everything better? Did you want to problem solve like we do about work? Have the last few days been strained and tortured and unbearable?
I settle for the most impartial. ‘Thank you for calling me,’ I whisper.
I can hear his smile and it kills me that I can’t see it. ‘Thank you for picking up.’
A flurry in the doorway catches my attention and I look up to see Tom striding through it. I waste no time pointing to my phone and mouthing,‘Work’. He doesn’t get the privilege of cutting my call short after what he said. My heart rate accelerates that my time with Tiago has only seconds left.
‘Listen, I have to go,’ I say into my phone, ‘but don’t worry, this’ll blow over.’
‘You think?’
Tom’s waiting, hands in his pockets, expression hard to read.
‘Absolutely,’ I say. ‘I’ll see you in the paddock.’
I put my phone back in my bag feeling something close to relief, even though Tom’s bearing down on me.
‘Who was that?’ Tom asks, aiming for casual but underpinned with acidity.
I want to bite back and say, ‘A fluffy brand’, sashaying inside with sass and dignity. But I can’t let my feelings get the better of me and affect our relationship, especially not when I’m finally embedded in the paddock. Work comes first. Work always comes first.
‘Nyla.’ I flash him a smile.
‘Look, I just wanted to apolo?—’
I hold my hand up as I get to my feet. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Seriously Jules, I never meant to?—’
‘Come on, let’s go back. It must be almost time for the mains.’ I link my arm with his even though it feels foreign and wrong, and lead him back inside.
Chapter 37
TIAGO
