Page 45 of Heartbreaker

Jordan

Oliver

Kevin DeLuca

Courtney

Levi Grund

Other Indy drivers

TWENTY-FOUR

When I first realize Lana isn’t in bed with me in the morning, I’m disappointed. Then, I’m annoyed, with frustration coming quick on its heels.

Even more so when I roll over to grab my phone and call her, only to realize I don’t even have her number.

God, I’m really fucking this up, aren’t I?

With a sigh, I move to set my phone down, determined to make my way to her hotel room as soon as possible, only to realize I have a new tag on social media from @heartbreakerlana. I smile, tap the notification, and that small smile turns into a full-blown grin. On my screen is a photo of Lana making a kissy face in a hotel mirror that I happen to know is mine, wearing my T-shirt.

My cock hardens at the sight, and even more when I read the text overlay.

Ready to kick @romanempire’s ass today!

Somehow, I know it’s her way of telling me everything is good, that she didn’t leave while I slept with the intention of disappearing or ignoring me, not that I would have let her. I’ve had Lana as mine for just one night, and I already know I want more. A lot more. There’s something about her that makes me feel light, lessens the pressure weighing me down, and reminds me why I love racing.

I’m about to message her to give her shit about leaving without a kiss or giving me her number when I notice four missed calls from Courtney. My brow furrows before calling her back, and in a moment, my day goes from bright and shining to shitty.

That’s when I learned there’s some kind of press leak implying I failed a drug test. Obviously, it’s bullshit. I might drink occasionally, but I’ve never done anything to fuck with my body in a way that could impact my career. Thankfully, Phil believes me, and instead of kicking me off the team, I spend the afternoon in a clinic getting an emergency blood draw for a drug test. It eats up almost my entire day, but I’m cleared for that night’s race. I get my suit on quickly, eager to see my girl, but somehow my day only gets worse when I spot Lana talking to Tyler.

As if she can sense me, her eyes slide to mine, a small, timid smile spreading on her lips. Tyler’s brows furrow at her distracted look, but his jaw tightens when his gaze travels to where she’s looking.

After all these years, he still has a problem with me. In a way, I get it. I get feeling betrayed and left behind, but in another way, I don’t—we both grew up, both got busy. I tried to keep in touch and invite him to things, but after a while, it felt like I was rubbing what he was missing in his face. After a while, when I got more popular, I stopped reaching out, but so did he. It wasn’t until I came back that I realized we might not have left things on as neutral terms as I assumed.

For the most part, I’ve been able to ignore him, but when I see him standing so close to Lana, I have the undeniable urge to show just whose she is: mine. I’m about to make my way toward them to make that explicitly clear to Tyler and every other asshole on the field, but a smiling Mel stops me.

“Hey, Rome, I saw the news: I can’t believe someone would try to lie about you like that.” I lift a shoulder, brushing it off. Mel has always been sweet, and since she works for DeLuca Transport, we often run into each other. Besides her inability to get the hint that I’m not into her and her continued efforts to flirt with me every time we’re around one another, I’ve never had an issue with her.

“It is what it is. I’m just happy we were able to prove it to be false quickly so I could race today.”

“Of course, what a relief. I just hate this for you. Have you talked to your dad about it?” I let out a breath, recalling the conversation with him this morning while I waited for my appointment. He was understanding, since he knows I can be an idiot, but I don’t use drugs. Still, he reminded me that he only has so much sway with the board, and we needed to get proof of my innocence out there as soon as possible, as if I didn’t already know that. Thankfully, with the test coming back negative, he now has his legal team working to get the tabloid to print a formal retraction.

“Yeah, it’s all good. You know how he is—once he yelled at me a bit, he got over it, and now we’re cool.” Mel lets out an exaggerated laugh, her fingers twirling around a lock of her platinum hair. Still, I’m barely paying attention because, over her shoulder, Lana is watching, her jaw tightening, and I have to bury a smile.

“He really is a hothead. You know, our event in Colorado overlaps with one of the Indy races. Are you planning to go? If so, we should totally carpool.” I slide my hands in my pockets, barely listening to her.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” I say, with enough presence of mind not to agree to that, especially not when it looks like Lana might rip her extensions out at any minute.

“I just thought⁠—”

“Hey, Melanie?” Lana says, walking over, her voice sugary sweet. Mel looks over her shoulder, spots Lana, and gives a kind smile.

“Hey, Lana, how are you?”

“Good! I think Oliver is looking for you over by his truck,” she says. Mel’s face screws up in confusion before she lets out a sigh.

“He’s always doing this,” she grumbles to herself before shaking her head. She gives me one last look. “Just think about it, okay?”