Page 39 of Rush
‘It’s part of his brand.’ Savi kept her voice low and a smile on her face.
‘Don’t ever let him come to a race wearing an outfit like that. The team will roast him.’
‘I think you and I both know my boyfriend is never coming to watch me race.’
The reality of her statement stung, and she wished she hadn’t said anything because now Marco was looking at her with pity all over his face for about the gazillionth time since he first learned of Jesse’s existence, and Jesse was looking athimwith unwarranted distaste.
‘Afternoon.’ Jesse sat down across from them. ‘Have fun this morning?’
‘Have fun last night?’ Savi shot back, immediately feeling guilty. This wasn’t the time or place to have it out with him.
‘Would’ve rather not had to work, but at least it was productive. Unlike this conversation.’ He was staring her down in a silent war, completely unashamed of their current company bearing witness to their lover’s tiff.
‘So, the Walk of Fame was cool!’ Marco interrupted.
‘Yeah?’ Jesse’s attention diverted to him. ‘Did you do the whole thing?’
‘We speed-walked it, which has made me super hungry.’
‘You should go for the beetroot burger, or the jackfruitBolognese. I had the jackfruit last month when I was in LA, highly recommend it.’
Savi had already decided to keep her mouth shut, but what was he talking about? She knew his whole schedule, where he was in the country at all times, and there was no reason for him to have been in LA last month. He hadn’t mentioned it. Why would he have kept that from her? She watched him across the table, oblivious to his slip-up.
‘How long have you got left on the tour?’ Marco asked.
‘Few more months, then I move on to the European leg.’
‘So, you’re not gonna be home for a while, then? Isn’t that hard on you, physically and mentally?’ Marco glanced at Savi, almost as if he were asking her. Jesse had never made career decisions with her in mind, and she didn’t expect him to, but her feelings weren’t exactly taken into consideration. Only seeing him here and there, on his terms, took a toll.
‘No, but I don’t mind. I like seeing the world and I like performing. Home will always be there, but the opportunities won’t be,’ Jesse shrugged.
She wanted to say that home wouldn’t always be there. His parents were getting older, his siblings were moving on with their lives, his grandparents were already gone, and he hadn’t even taken time out to attend their funerals. And as for Savi? Who knew how much longer she could stick around before it all became too much for her. She was always fitting in around him, never the other way around. It would be nice to have someone who had the time to come to her races, hell, she’d take a trophy husband if it meant she was happy.
‘I suppose. I guess Savannah and I are lucky that we get longer breaks between races. The season is quite spaced out, gives us plenty of time to focus on what’s important,’ Marco said, his dig missed by Jesse. But Savi had to fight to conceal her smirk.
‘What was it like growing up in Monaco?’ Jesse took a sip of beer, an unusual choice in drink for a place so upscale but it was very him.
‘Uh, luxurious, to say the least. My family are quite well-off, I won’t pretend otherwise. My love for cars came from seeing people pull up to the valet of my family’s hotel in Ferraris and Lambos. But our house has a tennis court, and I had a personal coach. That kind of luxurious.’
‘I’m surprised you didn’t go to boarding school,’ Savi laughed.
‘I did…’ He grimaced. ‘But I hated it, so I came home and had an army of personal tutors instead. Had to live my life to a strict schedule, though, with the racing added to the mix. Probably why I like to explore so much.’
‘Yeah, Gabriel had me on a schedule, too. Well, he made sure my parents kept me on it and checked in when he could. He even scheduled in time for video calls to discuss my progress, twenty minutes every Friday.’ Savi remembered the early years of her career fondly.
‘I’m grateful Sav has been there, done that and is still living life by a schedule now. Helps me sleep easier at night knowing even though we’re so far apart, she’s keeping busy. She’s always been independent, just like me.’ Jesse shot her a smile, irritating her once again.
She wanted to tell Jesse every detail of her day, tell himall the mundane things and talk back and forth all throughout the day. Instead, she was lucky if they exchanged one message in twenty-four hours. He’d blame it on their schedules, but a text didn’t require them both to be available at the same time. That was the beauty of technology. But there was always a reason, always an excuse. It wasn’t a case of being independent, it was just Savi being tolerant.
‘Still, don’t you wish things were different?’ Marco quizzed, looking confused.
‘Sure, sometimes,’ he shrugged.
‘Only sometimes? If I had a woman like Savannah in my life, I would never let her go. I’d want her with me every day, I’d want to eat dinner with her and wake up to her and travel the world with her. Experience life together.’ Marco’s jaw was clenched, and Savi was stunned to hear him speak about her like that so openly. She was equally surprised to find that she didn’t care how Jesse reacted. Maybe someone needed to remind him of what was in front of him.
‘You know why we don’t have that dynamic, Marco. It’s part of the reason you’re here, why I let you into our lives. You know what those photos would do to her?’
‘This has nothing to do with the photos, Montalvo, and you know it. You should have been loving her out loud from day one, not hiding her. You could have protected her regardless of whether people knew about your connection or not. Those photos were probably only obtainedbecauseyou keep your dating life so private, people were looking for some gossip.’
