Page 33 of Racing Hearts
There was no doubt in my mind of who’dactuallythought of this idea.
With each inhale, my chest tightened, and I tried to focus on anything but how heavy my head felt. Exhaling, I tried to get out from under the suffocating feeling that had overtaken my throat. It felt like a hand had wrapped itself around my trachea, and all I could do was watch as it squeezed the life out of me. Matteo and Henri’s voices faded into the background, and I closed my eyes, sinking deeper into my chair as I hoped to silence the roaring screaming in my head.
Get it together, Luca.
I forced a breath in. Then another.
Matteo’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I slowly opened my eyes. “And who knows, maybe if you get on the podium, Georgia will give you a little congratulatory kiss.”
Henri bristled next to me, his face no longer smiling. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Henri said dryly, and my jaw clenched at his condescending tone.
Was I not good enough for his beloved sister?
“Don’t worry, mate, no one wants to kiss your sister less than I do.” It was a joke—mostly. But Henri didn’t laugh. His expression stayed hard, unreadable. Something flickered behind his eyes, but I couldn’t tell if it was relief or insult. He didn’t want me to kiss his sister, but he was clearly offended on her behalf.
“Oh, another thing, you and Georgia will have adjacent hotel rooms so we can easily get footage of you two coming and going from the paddock.”
I couldn’t resist stealing another glance at Henri, his arms crossed over his chest. The number one benefit of dating my teammate’s sister?
Watching Hermes’s golden boy squirm.
While Henri had agreed to go along with the idea to help his sister, he’d made it clear he wasn’t particularly thrilled it was me. After one of our practice sessions in Miami, I’d overheard him grumbling to Edward about how he’d wished Valkyrie had picked Éliott. Apparently Éliott was more trustworthy than I was, a comment that hit a little deeper than I cared to admit.
“Cheer up, Henri. Maybe I can steal some Valkyrie secrets from her room.” Annoying Henri was probably not my smartest move, considering I’d likely need my teammate’s help to win in Monza.
But the twitch of his jaw was incredibly satisfying.
“Why would you be in my sister’s hotel room?” Henri challenged.
“Oh, I can think of a few reasons why aboyfriendwould be in hisgirlfriend’shotel room.”
Henri shot me a warning look, his lips tight with frustration. “Don’t push it, Rossi.”
No promises.
Chapter Fifteen
Luca
“Fuucckkkk!”
My tires screeched as I slammed on the brakes too early, causing my go-kart to skid into the grass. Georgia’s kart zipped past me and there was no way I could catch her. After another five laps, I crossed the black line that signaled the end of the race and drove my kart into the pit stop station. Probably should have been a little embarrassed that Georgia had beaten me, but I was so over this press day, I couldn’t find it within myself to care.
“You hit the brakes a little too hard back there!” Georgia called out. I narrowed my eyes at her rather large, sickening grin as she hopped out of her kart. Climbing out of my own car, I rubbed the grease from my hands onto my pants, giving her a curt nod.
“Show-off,” I grumbled, trailing behind Georgia as we made our way to our press day lunch. Taking a seat at the table, I politely waved at the owner who took that as his cue to come over, much to my dismay.
“Luca Rossi at my karting track!” Antonio gushed. He eyed the two of us like we’d fallen from the heavens. “Grazie!I am just so happy to have the two of you here. I couldn’t believe it when Hermes called and asked if you could enjoy a nice rest day at my karting track!”
“Rest day” was one way to describe today.
“We’re happy to be here,” Georgia smiled. “I used to love this track as a kid, the twists and turns are so fun. One of the best karting tracks in Europe.”
“Indeed, thanks for having us, Antonio. My father told me to say hello.”
He clapped his hands, his face bright as I mentioned my legendary father. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll be over with some sandwiches in a few, hmm?”
Georgia and I nodded our thanks, and I reached for my water glass, taking a small sip. Her face lit up with a bright smile as she watched the ongoing karting race.
