Page 57 of Racing Hearts
Georgia
“What… Luca!”
A strong hand wrapped around my wrist and forced me towards the DJ. Luca’s fingers curled around my hips, pulling me towards him with a sense of urgency. He pressed his forehead against mine, breaths mingling as we danced in the middle of the crowd.
“Sorry,amore, just felt like dancing with my beautiful girlfriend,” he whispered into my ear. His admission surprised me, and I cocked my head to the side.
“I thought you’d be off with Edward, trying to see who could down the most glasses of champagne.”
He grinned, the corners of his mouth curling with boyish charm, but his eyes, those deep brown eyes, were focused solely on me. There was something unreadable in them. Something vulnerable.
“Without my good luck charm? Never!” His smile couldn’t hide the slight disappointment behind it. As Luca attempted to give us a twirl, his feet stumbled before catching himself, and I couldn’t contain my belly laugh at his ridiculous smile and gleaming eyes. “It’s nice to see you laugh again,” he said with a wide grin.
“Oh?”
“You were so sad earlier, and it made me feel sad.” The way he said it, soft, almost shy, made my chest tighten. “I don’t like seeing you cry.”
“Because I’m such an ugly crier,” I teased, thinking back to his earlier joke.
He shook his head slowly. “No,amore.” His lips just barely touched my neck as he whispered into my ear. “I hate seeing you cry, because it breaks my heart to see someone who deserves so much happiness not get it.”
My breath hitched. The club around us buzzed with laughter and clinking glasses, but in that moment, we were in a world of our own. The way his hands held me, the way his voice dropped into something private and soft, made it hard to remember this was supposed to be fake. The sincerity in his eyes, the tenderness in his touch as we danced, it feltdifferent. Inexplicable.
“And then when you didn’t stay by my side tonight…” His voice trailed off. “I thought maybe you were regretting our kiss from earlier today.”
A knot twisted in my stomach. Had Luca wanted to hang out this evening? After my outburst earlier in his car, I decided to give him space so he could relax and enjoy the night with Edward. Luca deserved to celebrate this victory with his friends, without the added pressure of our “relationship”, but as I studied his expression, I wondered if maybe I’d misread the situation.
“Regret our kiss?” I smiled. “Judging by all the attention you keep getting tonight, I’m glad I showed everyone who Luca Rossi is going home with tonight.”
My eyes flicked toward the brunette at the bar who had spent far too long trying to flirt with him. Watching him ignore her and march straight toward me like I was the only one who mattered, it set my insides on fire. After everything that happened with Anthony, it was nice to feel chosen.
“You didn’t need to kiss me to do that,amore. You’re the only person I want to go home with tonight.” The words hit me harder than they should have, his breath warming my cheek. Maybe it was the champagne. Or the soft lights. Or the way he held me like I mattered. But something inside me cracked open.
For years, I’d buried that night he stood me up. Brushed it off. Told myself I misread his interest. Back then, I was fresh off F3, and he was this untouchable F1 prodigy who flirted with me like we were equals. I’d said yes to dinner so quickly it was embarrassing. But he never showed. No text. No call. Just a social media post from some club in Monaco.
He never reached out to me to explain. But he didn’t need to.
What was it that Luca had said in the elevator? I was theboringtwin. That much had been made clear by several of my previous partners. I was boring “Sassy Dubois” who competed in a man’s sport.
What was sexy about that?
But now? Here he was, holding me like I was anything but boring.
He leaned in, slow and deliberate. His lips hovered just above mine, giving me the space to decide. I closed the distance without hesitation. Our mouths met softly at first, the kiss unhurried, searching. He tasted like whisky, his hands gentle as they cupped my face. With a smile on my lips, I pressed back with a bit more force before Luca pulled away to gaze at me through his hooded brown eyes.
Was that an adorable, shy smile on Luca Rossi’s face?
“What do you say we head back to the room and grab a nightcap?” he murmured, brushing a loose curl behind my ear. I nodded, threading my fingers through his as we made our way back to the booth.
“Right, we’re leaving folks!” I announced. “Got to make sure this one gets back to the room in one piece.” I quickly grabbed my purse from Lily.
“Don’t lie,amore,” he smirked. “She just wants to get me back to our room so she can turn ourtrack fightinto alate night.” No one missed the not-so-subtle wink he’d given Éliott, who to his credit just looked amused.
“In your dreams, Rossi.”
“Don’t you mean inyourdreams?” Lily quipped with a smirk.
Luca immediately perked up, and I shot Lily a dirty look, before shuffling Luca into the taxi waiting for us outside. There was no doubt about it, Lily was the absolute worst at keeping secrets.
