Page 86 of Racing Hearts
Did I really think a yacht vacation was going to fix five years of a bad reputation and an abandoned date? Georgia saw us as a friends, which was a hell of a lot better than where we’d been two months ago.
I gripped the railing, the salt air stinging my eyes more than I cared to admit.
I couldn’t force her to see what I felt, not if she wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t keep chasing something she wasn’t ready to give. Something she might never be able to give to someone like me. Anthony had made it a joke. Henri had made it a warning. But they both saw what I was too afraid to admit: I might not be what she needed—or wanted.
I needed to give us some space, I decided. Let her breathe. Let myself breathe.
Training camps would keep us apart for the next two weeks. After the Austrian Grand Prix, I’d figure out what was left.Ifanything was left.
I turned to head back to my room, but paused when I saw my father walking towards me. He looked about as happy as I did.
Fuck.Matteo had finally told him.
I’d begged my manager not to tell my father my big secret, the one I’d been hoarding to myself since the beginning of this vacation, because I knew it would ruin this trip.
“Luca Michael Rossi, you have some explaining to do,” he demanded, grabbing my arm as he pulled us closer. There would be no hiding from this inevitable conversation.
“Dad—” I searched for the right words to explain myself, but he didn’t wait for me to continue.
“What the fuck is this I hear about you possibly signing with Rennen F1?”
The wind whipped off the sea behind us, filling the tense silence between us. “Dad, I know this is a big surprise for you, but I’ve been considering a few options for my future.”
“I won’t have my son racing for a rival team,” he spat out.
“I owe it to myself to explore all my options, and Rennen is offering me something that Hermes can’t.”
My father scoffed at my defiance. “And what can’t Hermes offer you? They’re the oldest racing team on the grid. They’re legacy. Our legacy.”
I took a step back, letting his words settle. “A chance to win the championship,” I said calmly. “A chance to show everyone that I’m more than Michael Rossi’s washed-out son.”
“You have a spot at Hermes, but you’re throwing it all away for some empty promises from Rennen?”
“Except I don’t have a spot at Hermes.”
His eyes narrowed. “We’re working on that…”
“No,” I snapped. “I’m tired of this. I’m tired of being the disappointment, the mistake, the second choice. I want to prove myself, and Rennen is my chance to do it.”
At the beginning of this trip, I hadn’t decided if I was going to take the offer. Part of me had still clung to the hope that maybe Hermes would come through. But as I looked into his cold, furious eyes, I knew. I couldn’t wait for a seat that didn’t feel like mine.
I couldn’t live under the weight of his legacy anymore.
Matteo had warned me:Rennen’s offer wouldn’t last forever.They were willing to take a chance on me. Not the son of a legend. Not the washed-up second driver with too many headlines and too little faith.
Just me.
I met my father’s gaze and straightened my spine. but as I gazed at my father’s angry eyes, I realized that I needed to take this leap of faith and finally break out of his Rossi legacy chokehold.
“We finalized the terms in London before the yacht,” I said quietly. “The contract’s ready.”
All that was left was for me to sign.
And this time, I wouldn’t hesitate.
Chapter Forty
Georgia
