Page 94 of Racing Hearts
“The fans have just been loving this article. I was on the phone earlier with a few of our sponsors, and they’re interested in having you and Lily feature their products. Such great news!” Isabelle smiled.
Considering the mess of theDaily Reporterarticle, this felt like being thrown a life raft after going overboard. Nora was doing a little dance in the middle of the conference room, jiving to the invisible music in her head. I let out a small huff and a chuckle at her antics, glad she was pleased. My eyes met Nora and Isabelle’s expectant gazes. I attempted to conceal my nervousness with a forced smile, but Isabelle only saw through it.
“Georgia, did you hear me? This is very good news.” Isabelle’s earnest voice pulled me out of my lull, but this time I couldn’t feign a happy face. Couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my face. Isabelle sat next to me, the four of us in complete silence, barring my sniffling.
“I’m fine,” I said finally. Isabelle reached over and grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table, gently handing it to me.
“You’re clearly not fine.” Her voice was gentle and sincere, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes.
“I just didn’t expect it to affect me like this,” I admitted, my voice shaking. “I thought I could handle the scrutiny, the fake relationship, but after reading this article, it just… Sorry, I don’t know why this article got to me so much.”
“Georgia, stop apologizing for things that are not your fault,” Isabelle said firmly. “I didn’t realize you felt this way. The whole point of this was to improve our publicity, but not at the expense of your mental health.” She paused, taking in a deep, steady breath before calmly letting it out as she watched me sniffle away on my sofa. “I mean, with Luca joining Rennen, our agreement will end soon.”
After a few more moments, Lily chuckled as a wide grin stretched across her face. “You know what, I call bullshit.”
“Lilian—” Isabelle started, but to my surprise, Lily cut her off.
She straightened up, fixing me with a look so intense I half-expected her to leap across the table and shake the truth out of me. “You know what I think. I think you have real feelings for Luca,” she accused, wagging her finger at me. “That’s why the article affected you so much.”
“Wha—have you not been listening to me?” My voice shot up half an octave, tight with frustration.
“This article shows how good things could be between you and Luca, how good thingsarewith you, but you’re scared Luca doesn’t feel the same way. I think all that crap about you and Luca just ‘having casual fun’ in Mallorca was exactly that: complete and utter crap.” I furrowed my eyebrows as I downed the rest of my coffee, desperately looking for all the reasons that Lily was wrong.
But Lily was right, and I fucking knew it.
She stared at me intently, as if I were a ticking time bomb, questioning if she had pushed me too far. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to compose myself despite the chaos inside my head.
“You do realize that it’s okay towantthis, Georgia. It’s okay towantto be with Luca,” Lily said finally.
My gaze was met with large, comforting smiles. If love and support could be summed up in one facial expression, it would be theirs.
“But what if Luca doesn’t feel the same?”
“But what if he does?” she countered. “You won’t know unless you tell him how you feel.”
Isabelle leaned in, compassion in her eyes. “You know, Georgia, I never told you this, but I was glad the photo that started this fiasco was with Luca. If I’d gotten to pick, it still would have been with him. I knew he’d give you somethingmore. Knew he’d challenge you. Luca wouldn’t back down from a fight. Or your attitude. You would get as good as you gave with him. Luca reminds me of my first love. I hated that cocky Australian driver when we first met. He thought he was God’s gift to aerodynamics, but as time went on, I saw a different side of him, and I fell in love… There’s more to Luca than meets the eye, Georgia.”
Her words settled in my chest.
Maybe I had let my fears speak louder than my feelings. Maybe, in all my effort to seem composed and untouchable, I’d forgotten that love was messy, and wild, and brave.
I’d wanted Luca to chase me. To prove Henri wrong. But how could I expect him to fight for something I’d never actually said I wanted?
I had let my silence do the talking, and all it had ever said was: you’re not enough.
I’d never made Luca feel anything but unworthy of my love, and I had to fix that.
“Nora, can you do me a favor?” I finally asked. “There’s something I need you to grab.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Luca
Qualifying had been a disaster. My lap times were sluggish, my focus nonexistent. My mind was elsewhere. When Edward knocked on my driver’s room door, I could have hugged him just for existing. His easy presence had become something I leaned on more than I cared to admit. He didn’t push, didn’t pry. Just sat with me in silence, the kind that only old friends know how to make comfortable.
I was grateful, because these past two weeks had been hell. I’d been stuck in my own head, replaying every moment of Mallorca on a loop. Georgia’s laugh as she steered the jet ski, the way she looked wearing my jacket, the sound of her breathless giggles echoing off the shower tiles.
And then the sound of her voice saying it wasnothing more than fun.
