Why am I wasting time on this man-child? Tom is my priority. When Minnie diverts Étienne’s attention with shop talk, I quickly scan the VIP section. It’s hard to concentrate over undulating squeals and shouts of‘oooh!’piercing my ears, but I manage to spot him – surrounded by suits, but thankfully his minder is nowhere in sight.
Thunderous applause has me looking over the barrier in time to see Tiago walk off stage. Shit, I’m running out of time.
‘Zhoohl,’starts Étienne, ‘what are you doing tomorrow? I don’t usually let people in my garage, but I could make an exception for aspeciallady.’
Bile rises in my throat. I stew on it for a nanosecond and actually, that’s not a bad idea. He and Tom share the same garage, right? ‘I would love that. Thank you so much, Étienne.’
He preens. In your dreams, kiddo.
‘She’s seen a garage before,’ Minnie huffs. ‘I took her to Pagari’s.’
Before he can say anything else, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom – and head straight towards his teammate.
Right, here we go. I’m finally going to speak to?—
An unwelcome man steps into my path. The orange polo’s so bright it’s making my eye twitch, or maybe that’s just who it’s attached to.
‘What’s the plan this time?’ says Tiago, baiting grin in place.
How can someone have such an infuriatingsmile? I reach for the mindful breathing techniques I learned on a PR trip to the Nepalese mountains.
‘I don’t have time for your histrionics,’ I retort, calmer than he deserves, ‘so if you’ll excuse me—’ I make to slip around him, but he’s quicker.
‘Are you going to bat your eyelashes and hope you’re wearing his number by Imola? Real original.’
My eyes narrow. ‘You don’t know anything about me.’
‘Sure I do.’ He takes a mocking sip of Coke. ‘You’re a fame-hungry, money-grabbing, man-hating manipulator. You wouldn’t know something real if it bit you in the ass.’
I feel like I’ve been whiplashed. Whoisthis cock? He’s acting like I threaten him. It takes everything I have to hold back my right hook. ‘Do me a favour and back the fuck off before I soak your stupid trousers. You look like Billie Eilish.’
He recoils like I’ve wounded his soul. ‘They’re called “pants”, and they’reVersace.’
Of coursethey are.
‘Well, this has been special, but I have places to be, and you have Hell to crawl back to. See you next time, Captain Cob.’ I throw him a mock salute and bail.
It takes a minute for what I said to compute in his silly little brain, and I’m halfway towards Tom when I hear,‘Hey!’
What the actual hell is his problem? I don’t have time to worry about it now because the posse around Tom’s opening up. I have about two seconds to pull myself together. My hands are shaking with rage. I want to smack Tiago’s dumb, handsome face, but instead I grip my drink tighter and?—
‘I thought we lost you,’ says Étienne, appearing by my side.
All I wantis five uninterrupted minutes with Tom Webber.
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!
‘Étienne, you can’t abandon me on the simulator like that,’ Minnie says through laboured breaths. I love her for trying.
The way he’s looking at me makes my skin itch. ‘I was going to see ifZhoohlwanted to join us.’
Screw being nice. Screw him being Minnie’s friend. Where’s it getting me?
‘Étienne,’ I say slowly, ‘I don’t want to go on the simulator. I want to speak with Tom.’
He pulls a revolted face. ‘Tom?Why?’
‘Because I like him, and I think we have a romantic connection.’
