AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If only she knew the truth.
“There was one girl, yeah,” I said honestly, taking another sip of my wine. The bottle was almost finished, and I was starting to feel it. “But we didn’t work out. Dating while on the grid is tough. It’s difficult to get to know someone intimately when you’re traveling half the year. Sometimes I feel like I am getting there with someone, but then it becomes clear that she only wants me for the fun and money that comes with being a Formula 1 driver.”
I could see Georgia was thinking about my answer, weighing what she should say next. “And this girl… she was different?” Georgia asked, scrunching up her nose as she finished her glass of wine. If you looked closely enough, it looked like there was a hint of disappointment on her face. Clearly, I had piqued her interest. Her question had me internally smiling.
Watching Georgia be jealous ofherself, now that was entertainment. Much like Henri, Georgia was terrible at hiding her feelings. The Monegasque drivers were nothing if not terrible liars. Playing Henri at poker was one of the easiest ways to make a quick buck.
“No,” I said simply, trying to play it off as being no big deal.
“Why didn’t you work out?” she blurted out. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she followed it up by mumbling an apology.
“Sorry… sorry, none of my business.”
“No, it’s alright. I pulled a Luca and screwed it up. I was scared of what committing to her would mean. My parents have been married for decades. While it’s an honor to watch their relationship, it’s also terrifying. Finding something like that – it feels like one in a million.”
“Never took Luca Rossi for being a coward.” The words sounded harsh, but she said it with a large grin on her face, letting her adorable dimples go on display.
“Like you said… man of mystery.” We both laughed at that, toasting our glasses as we both finished off the last bit of wine.
“What about you and Anthony?” I asked, wanting to not sound too interested but suspecting that I had probably failed.
“Anthony and I had a slight disagreement about our relationship. He thought he could put his dick in any and every vagina that he saw, and I thought the ring on my finger meant I had the miserable pleasure of being the only one to see his dick.” Georgia said the words as if they were a joke, clearly one that she had told a few times, but I could see the sadness behind her eyes. Henri hadn’t mentioned they were engaged? Must have been quick. Georgia wasn’t in America very long. I wanted to ask more, but I could see from her expression that she felt like she had overshared. The wine was likely hitting her, too.
“Well, what did you expect,” I said with a grin, “the guy drove NASCAR. If they didn’t make the track a perfect oval, the drivers would be too stupid to stay on the track.” At that moment, Georgia threw her head back, letting out one of the loudest laughs I think I had ever heard.
“He wasn’t known for his brains, I’ll tell you that much,” she conceded with a smile. I chuckled a bit and grabbed another bottle from the wine rack, opening it and pouring us both another glass. I was enjoying this Georgia; her cheeks were flushed, and she was more relaxed from the wine. I felt like I was seeing a glimpse of the real her, the one that Henri and Hugo talked about all the time.
“I’m a little nervous for this vacation,” she admitted.
“Well, who’s the coward now, Dubois,” I retorted cheekily. She took the couch cushion and threw it at me, rolling her eyes playfully.
“Do your parents not think it’s weird that I’m intruding on this vacation and then bringing my family with me?”
“Honestly? Not really. My mom’s a huge fan of yours if you couldn’t tell by the Valkyrie shirt she wore on Sunday.” Georgia smiled at that. I knew she was pleased with my mom’s choice of shirt. “And my dad? Pretty sure if my dad got to pick myactualgirlfriend, you’d be top of the list.”
“Oh?” she questioned, intrigued by that answer.
“A talented race car driver who doesn’t break the rules, get wasted at parties, or steal yachts – pretty sure my dad would happily swap the two of us.” I said it as a joke – or at least, I had originally meant it as a joke – but in the end, I knew it had come out rather pathetic.
But truthfully, I felt pathetic.
“You make me sound so boring, Rossi,” Georgia smiled, refilling the glass of wine I had in my hand. While I was thinking about my last comment, she shuffled closer to me on the couch. I smiled weakly at her, silently thanking her for cutting the tension of my terrible joke.
“I don’t think boring people put hamsters in team principal’s bags.”
“Well,” she said, filling up her goblet with another round of wine, “then here’s a toast to being the most real, non-boring, fake couple on the grid.” I raised my glass and clinked it with hers, chuckling in response.
Henri was right about one thing – one of uswasstarting to catch feelings.
* * *
Georgia
The dinner at Luca's had gone much better than I had anticipated. I had expected us to have a fancy dinner at some restaurant in Madrid and was pleasantly surprised that Luca had read the situation well enough to realize that a dinner after that photoshoot would have been my personal hell. And to be fair to Luca, that mac and cheese was one of the best pasta dishes I had ever experienced. I had, of course, told him it was one of my Top 10 favorites, but truthfully, it was probably #2, behind Henri's bolognese – and if I was even more truthful,it was #1. Not that I’d ever tell Luca that – didn’t need his ego getting any bigger.
I was a bit embarrassed that I had opened up about Anthony, but in that moment when Luca was being so vulnerable, I felt like I owed him the truth.
We spent Wednesday traveling to Majorca and ended the day with his family at their house close to the beach. The one thing I loved about Luca's family was their overwhelming welcomeness. As much as I wanted to dislike them because no one could be that nice without having an agenda, I couldn’t find a single reason to pass judgment on either of Luca’s parents – they only seemed to have one agenda, and it was to make everyone part of their family. Which is why when Henri had mentioned to Luca's mother that he was jealous he wouldn’t be able to spend time with me this weekend, they had, of course, invited him and Hugo along.
