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As soon as the morning rolled around, I sprinted out of my room to the bathroom, showered and changed as quickly as I could, and then hurried back into my room, lest I see Luca in the flesh –or towel– again. I wasn't sure what was more horrifying to me, the fact that I had a sex dream about Luca Rossi or that Luca Rossi had caught me having a sex dream about him.
The latter, it was definitely the latter.
God, this isn’t going to do anything to help his inflated ego,I thought to myself.
How was I supposed to face Luca this morning or any other time of day, for that matter? I looked down at my watch to see the time – 8:00 a.m.
Great, just one hour before Luca and I have to meet downstairs to hop in my car.
Today was the official start of the hoax. Luca and I were to arrive at the track together, hand in hand, like a newly in love couple. Because he had so many fans waiting for him, Hermes had asked that we come earlier than usual, which meant I was also going to be dragged around the paddock early each day.
Once I was done changing, I crept out of my room and turned my head to Luca's room, only to notice that his door was open, as was the bathroom door.
Oh, thank god, he must be downstairs having breakfast, I sighed to myself, relieved because it meant I could sneak down to breakfast without disturbing Luca. I grabbed my Valkyrie bag, which was a beautifully designed Ted Baker shoulder bag, packed it full of my things for the day, and headed to the elevator.
Please be empty, please be empty, I silently prayed to whatever God was listening. As I heard the ding on the elevator, I looked up at the open elevator doors and realized one thing – I had definitely wronged someone in a past life.
There, standing in front of me, was Luca Rossi’s parents.Is the elevator where fun goes to die?
His mom saw me and put her hand over the elevator doors to stop them from closing as his father waved for me to come in.
"Georgie Pie!” his mom exclaimed. I felt slightly taken aback by how comfortable she felt using my nickname, but I did my best to hide my shock. "How lovely to see you. You look dashing in this Valkyrie outfit. They really do know how to dress you and Lily." As annoyed as I wanted to be at this situation, Luca’s mother’s smile was warm and incredibly inviting.
"Morning," I responded casually, hopping into the elevator. Luca's father gave me a warm smile as he patted me on the back.
"Oh good, Luca wasn't sure if you'd be joining us for breakfast. Said you were feeling a bit poorly last night. Hope you are feeling better," he said with a sympathetic smile.
In truth, I had no idea what to say to that, and I did my best to stop my cheeks from turning red, but I knew they were showing a bit of a red tint as Luca's mom tilted her head, looking at me with those gorgeous brown eyes. Idefinitelydidn't want Luca's parents to know that I had a sex dream about their son last night.
"Um... yes, all good, just needed a solid night's sleep."
How can I get out of breakfast with the Rossi’s? How can I get out of breakfast with the Rossi’s?I questioned over and over again. I ran through various scenarios, trying to think of an excuse believable enough that wouldn't insult their intelligence.Unfortunately for me, before I could think of any excuse worthy of Luca's incredibly endearing parents, the elevator doors opened, and his mom linked her arms to mine, gracefully dragging me out of the elevator.
"Luca has a table for us downstairs," she exclaimed. Her cheeriness was starting to get on my nerves, but I nodded in response. As we entered the restaurant, I could see a look of surprise on Luca's face as he sat at a table for three people, not four.
“Luca, look who we ran into in the elevator. Get the hostess to pull up an extra chair," Luca Sr. called out to his son. For a moment, it looked like Luca was going to deny his father's request, but after a few moments of staring at me in disbelief, he trotted over to the host stand and asked for a fourth chair to be placed at the table.His mother shuffled me into a chair and grabbed my bag, placing it under the table.
"I am just so excited for this weekend, " she exclaimed. “It's just lovely to be back in Italy. Flash has been looking forward to this weekend ever since we had the PR photo event at the Monza track a few months ago."
I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, but I understood where she was coming from; I was equally excited for Monaco’s Grand Prix. A racer’s home grand prix was truly the crown jewel of the season for that racer, and winning it? That was a dream every driver had, a dream to win their home race in front of their closest friends and family.
The hostess pulled up the fourth chair next to me, and Luca awkwardly sat in it, clearly trying to regain his composure. There was a lot of pressure on him this weekend, and I could tell he wasn't prepared to have breakfast with his pretend girlfriend quite yet. I gave him a small smile, an apology of sorts.
I immediately regretted it when he winked back at me, a sultry smile forming on his lips as he whispered, "Hope you were able to get some proper rest last night. Wouldn't want you to be distracted this weekend." The twinkle in his eye was unmistakable – Luca Rossi was not going to let this go anytime soon.
I frowned at him, "Don't be silly; nothing can distract me from beating you this weekend." While I thought I had said that in a voice low enough that his parents couldn’t hear, clearly I had missed the mark because his father let out a big laugh.
"Oh, Flash, you have some real competition this weekend, I see. Good! I look forward to an exciting race. That Valkyrie F1 car has incredible speed, and your girlfriend clearly knows how to drive her car.” I blushed slightly at his father’s reference to me being Luca’s girlfriend. I knew people would be calling me his girlfriend pretty consistently by the end of the day, but hearing it for the first time, out of his father's mouth, no less, left me with a weird feeling that was a mixture of butterflies and dread.
Today was going to be different; I knew that. I had never arrived at a track as someone's girlfriend, only ever as a driver, and while I shouldn't feel any different about walking into the paddock, I couldn't help but immediately think of the media circus that focused on the driver's girlfriends. Lauren, Edward’s girlfriend, often complained about it. It was a constant assessment of what they wore and how they acted around their boyfriends – a constant evaluation from the media and public of 'is this girlfriend good enough for this driver that none of us actually knows.’
As I considered the pressures of being both a driver and a driver’s girlfriend, my hunger started to simmer. I knew I should eat something, but the thought of putting food in my body when I had this huge wave of anxiety made me want to throw up. I'm not sure if Luca noticed my shift in demeanor, but I suddenly felt a hand on my leg.
The hand squeezed my leg lightly, and I heard Luca whisper, "You should have a little more breakfast; it’s going to be a warm one today, and greeting all ofmyfans will be more exhausting than you know.” He gave me a small smirk, clearly trying to make light of the situation, which a small part of me appreciated. Much to my –brief– disappointment, his hand quickly removed itself from my thigh, and Luca went back to his breakfast.
I gave him a pointed glare, trying not to let his parents see, but I picked up another spoonful of oatmeal and did my best to finish the bowl. Luca was right; our lunch in the Hermes paddock wasn't scheduled until late afternoon, so I had to survive a lot of media until then. The four of us sat in silence a few moments longer before I finally found my voice.
“So I know that you have all been calling him Flash since he was a little boy, but I am curious, where did the nickname come from?”
