AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We scrunched together, and before I could protest, Luca put his hand on my waist, pulling me ever so slightly closer, which forced me to lean into him for the photo. Before I had time to react, I smiled at the camera, remembering where we were and why we were doing this. I felt flustered all of a sudden, and I hated it.
On the one hand, Luca Rossi had intimately touched me, and I was annoyed, but on the other hand, Luca Rossi’s soft grip around my waist had felt nice, comforting almost – likely a testament to how touch-starved I was feeling recently. It’s not like I could date while I was in the middle of this charade.
As the group thanked us, I noticed several other people sneaking photos of our group. After the commotion of the first photo, people were starting to notice us. Luca let his hand slip from my waist but kept it on my back, rubbing up and down ever so slightly. Not enough to where it was overtly noticeable, but just enough so that someone would unexpectedly capture the moment.
As much as I hated to admit it, I could see why the team had paired me with Luca. Without even saying a word, Luca was a master at manipulating both the fans and the media. While those closest to us, like Edward, Henri, and Oliver, knew this was a farce, to the rest of the world, we were this tight group of friends – with some of us becoming closer than others.
“Peaches? Earth to Georgia?” I was all of a sudden snapped away from my thoughts by Henri, who was looking at me with a questioning look.
“Want another beer?”
“No, thanks, I’m good. I already broke my no alcohol rule twice this week; no need to push it before Free Practice tomorrow.”
“Always focused on racing, do you ever relax?” Luca scoffed.
“Yes, after I win.” Luca scrunched his eyebrows in annoyance at my comment but let it go.
The boys each got one more beer before closing the tab. We continued to chat a bit more about our cars and the track, keeping it light and easy. Edward, Henri, and Luca discussed a bit of golfing that they had done earlier in the week.
Once the beers were drunk, we made our way back to the parking lot. I hugged Edward and Henri goodbye and wished them both good luck, as it would be unlikely I would see either of them before the Free Practice sessions. The ride back to the hotel was quiet, and it took everything inside me not to ask,‘Cat got your tongue?’but I instead opted for another one of Lizzie’s questions.
“Here’s an interesting question,” I said, finally breaking the silence as I pulled out a card that Lizzie had given me earlier in the day.
“Who is the most important person in your life?” For several moments after I had asked the question, there was an awkward silence floating around the car. Perhaps I had asked a question too personal, but Luca didn’t strike me as someone who cared much about that kind of stuff.
“My father,” he said suddenly. I motioned for him to continue, but he didn’t, so I just nodded because, on some level, I understood that. I came from a very close family, one that supported each other through everything.
“Besides my mother, who does her best to stay neutral, it’s my brothers. My family is the best thing to happen to me.” Luca, for a moment, looked as if he was thinking about my answer.
“Surprised you didn’t just say Henri. You two are always joined at the hip,” he sneered. And just like that, what could have been a nice moment about our families had ended, so I just scoffed in response.
“I love both my brothersequally,” I snipped back.Asshole.
“Of course you do,” I heard him whisper under his breath. As much as I wanted to say something, I thought against it and let us continue the rest of the ride in miserable silence.
* * *
The weather on Friday wasn’t quite so brutal,quitebeing the operative word here. The weather was rough and still terribly hot, but the clouds had given us some shelter. When I arrived at the track, the paddock was buzzing with excitement. There were photographers, fans, and media everywhere. When I arrived, I waved to a few of the cameras but made a beeline to my garage as quickly as I could.
As I entered the garage, I stepped into my driver’s room, only to see Lily, Chris, and Lizzie all circled around Lizzie’s phone.
“And to what do I owe this honor?” I asked, earning myself a squeal from Lily, who was clearly eager to tell me what was going on.
“Your little stunt worked!Lookat these photos of you and Luca!”
I hobbled over to the desk where they were all huddled and took a look. There we were – Luca and I at the restaurant – both drinking our wine and staring into each other’s eyes.
I knew that pesky couple next to us were taking photos of our date,I grumbled to myself.
As I scrolled down the Instagram feed, I saw countless photos of the two of us – both at the restaurant and then at the bar from last night, including pictures of his arm around my waist and on my back. Such little touches that meant so much to everyone, and Luca had known that.
“Looks like your little plan is working,” Chris chimed in. “The fans seem tolovethe two of you.”
Of course, they did. As far as they were concerned, it was a match made in heaven.
“Oh, look at this one! The dinner date looks so romantic,” Lily sighed, as if she wasactuallyjealous of this ridiculous conspiracy I was now a part of. “It even says you’ve been dating for weeks. Now that speaks to your chemistry.” She winked at me, clearly aware of how much she was getting under my skin.
“Did you happen to ask him any of the questions I wrote for you?” Lizzie asked, eager to see if her plan for us to get to know each other was working. I just nodded, attempting to make it clear that I had no more interest in discussing this.
