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7
LUCIA
W hen the day started, I did not expect it to end with rearranging the hotel suite’s living room furniture and being inside a blanket fort. But here we were. Gia was knocked out in a bundle of blankets and pillows. A princess movie was on the TV, which we had built the fort around, because obviously. Alex had ordered pizza delivery right to the room, and boxes were strewn on the floor. Matteo had brought the wine. Nicola and Anna stopped by for a bit before going out together. Anna received some bad news today about her family. I didn’t know much of the details but she needed a friend, and I was there. From what I gathered, she had been expected to take over or be a part of the family business, but she carved her own way into the world through motorsports, much to her family’s dismay.
With everyone together, we had giggled and laughed, the boys recounting our summer on the vineyards to the group. How we would sneak out wine bottles from the fancy vintages and bring them to the lake, jumping into the freezing water under the moon. I missed home, I really did. But this was new and exciting and I was trying to be brave and do hard things. But going outside your comfort zone and in a new country with your toddler was fucking hard. Gianna running out of sight today had shaken me. It was so unlike her, she just slipped away so fast, then weaved her way to Alexander, and I felt like my heart had left my body. On top of that, something was going on with Anna. She was off tonight, and when I pulled her aside to ask her, she only told me it was a family complication. I sent a text out to Nicola telling her what happened with Gia and how Anna seemed disheveled. Nicola promised to do some recon and check in with Anna tonight, making my heart relax a little. Them stopping by before going out was a welcome surprise. I was new here but I already felt so attached to this little group we had made together. Anna and Nicola were like little guardian angels for Gianna, and if something was wrong, I wanted to help fix it.
“All right, I’m gonna go crash,” Matteo announced. “Gotta beat this idiot tomorrow.” He poked at Alexander, who smirked in reply.
“Good luck with that, mate, you’re the one who ate the pizza and got wine drunk before a race.”
“You brought the pizza, how was I not supposed to eat it!” Matteo whined. “I take full responsibility for the wine. Great idea.” I laughed at them.
“The pizza and wine were great, thank you for tonight,” I said, pulling the blankets around Gianna.
“My steak dinner was also great.” Alexander smirked.
“Pizza was better.” Matteo shrugged and pulled himself up. “Want me to put her to bed?” he said, nodding at my sleeping daughter.
“It’s okay, I’ll clean up first. Go to sleep though, you both need to rest before tomorrow, and your managers would kill me if they knew you were up late and ate banned food.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.” Alexander threw his hands up. “My bedtime is eleven.”
“Leo threatened me with my life last time I stayed out past ten,” Matteo grumbled, mentioning his own race engineer, and waved goodbye before leaving.
“I’ll help clean up,” Alexander said quietly, getting up slowly to not wake up Gianna.
“Thank you.” I smiled. Alexander was always this person, extremely thoughtful with his actions. It was crazy to think of him before I knew him—the playboy, the serial dater. I mean, that’s what the tabloids said, but the Alexander I knew was reading a book on the porch of my family’s home in Italy. Sketching on any scrap of paper he could find and helping my mom do the dishes even though Matteo and Dad would be drinking and playing darts in the backyard.
We cleaned in silence. The stars were out tonight, the moon was full. We had turned off all the lights, letting only the television light our fort. Gia was still fast asleep as we cleaned. Once that girl went to sleep for the night, she was out. It was kind of amazing. I wish I had that superpower. I knew I would lie awake for at least an hour before I finally fell asleep. I had been that way since I had Gia—a restless mind at night, thinking about what I needed to do the next day, what to prepare, what activities we might do, and whether I needed to go into the city for new shoes for Gia who was growing like a weed.
“I think tomorrow it might be best if I stay on my own,” Alexander said, breaking the silence.
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to keep the shock off my face. Did he not want us around the Belen garage?
“I just—” He ran a palm over his neck. “The paparazzi have this fascination with trying to get me caught in drama.” His eyes were sad, he looked overwhelmed if I had to pin it. It made my own heart crack and shoulders deflate. “I don’t want to bring you into it, especially not Gia. I know you don’t want her face in the media and you want to protect her. And I get it, I want the same. But I’m not a good person to be around.”
I shook my head. “Alexander, no,” I whispered. He was not putting all the burden of today on his own shoulders. “You are family. You have the two of us cheering you on all race long, and if you aren’t around it will break that girl’s heart. She loves you so much,” I said, reaching out my hand and resting it on his arm. “Don’t do that.” I shook my head. “Don’t blame yourself for today. You can’t control other people, only yourself, and you are the one who told them to stop and removed Gia from the environment. I don’t think I even took a moment to thank you for”—I took a breath—“so thank you. For protecting her like she’s family.” An expression passed his face I couldn’t place, but it was quickly replaced with his smile.
“Anytime.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal. He busied himself with grabbing all the trash, and soon the room was clean from our night. I began pulling the blankets down, before reaching down and getting Gia. She snuggled closer to me, making my heart burst. I loved this kid.
“Night,” Alexander whispered to us. I walked him out, holding onto Gia.
“See you tomorrow?” I whispered back, hopeful.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Plus, Anna threatened them within an inch of their life, she promised we would be good inside the circuit.”
“My team is on it too,” he said and I paused.
“Like who?” I asked hesitantly.
“Dante.” I paused again, oh. He was serious serious. Dante scared the crap out of me. I still didn’t know how he had connections to everything—I mean, I had an idea, but I was not about to ask questions. Scary-looking Italian man who could make anything happen and on Alexander’s payroll? I don’t need to know.
“Sleep tight.” A tired smile formed as he looked down at Gianna, then looked up to me. “Night.”
“Night.”
* * *
Nothing could have prepared me for race day as a VIP. The lanyard was right there around my neck. I had changed my outfit like forty times before settling on this one. A black dress, tights, boots, and a leather jacket. It was safe, sure, but I had no idea what to expect, how dressed up the guests were.
I was terrified.
It was halfway through the race. I was on the edge of my seat. Gia was coloring while wearing her custom Moretti noise-canceling headphones. The race was a long time for her to pay attention. At home when we watched them from the comfort of our couch with a hundred blankets surrounding us, she would stay in the room but play with her toys and ask how Zio was doing every ten minutes.
“Who is this little one!” A kindly woman approached us. I peered up at her, trying to place the face.
“This is Gianna.” She returned my smile in kind and held out her hand to me.
“I am Carlos’s mother, Maria.” While I had yet to meet the other Moretti driver, I had heard a lot about Carlos Torres. Matteo had mentioned they got on but were not close friends, that many were not actually close with their teammates, regardless of how the PR made them seem. In truth, Carlos was Matteo’s biggest competitor.
Maria’s dark hair curled under into a bob, pearl earrings adorned her ears, and on the outreached hand, an impressive diamond was on display, catching on the lights of the garage.
“Lucia, Matteo’s sister.”
“Have you been to a race before?” she asked.
“This is the first one down here.” I motioned to all that was around us in the garage.
“Oh, how exciting. Do you live here?”
“No, but Gia and I are joining Matteo for the rest of the season.”
“On the road with a little one, what an undertaking!” Her eyes widened but settled back into a pleasant smile. “My Carlos was the same. His late father was a driver as well, so he begged to go to every race he could.”
“Oh wow!” I hadn’t really read up on anyone, a fact that was becoming quite apparent; maybe I should familiarize myself with the drivers. A legacy and a rookie for the Moretti team. I knew my brother had been lucky. He worked his way up, racing in lower levels and dedicating his whole life to motorsport.
“Matteo is doing really well.” Maria smiled warmly. I couldn’t help but fill with pride. Moretti had taken a chance on Matteo as a rookie. He had done well in his first year and he was scoring high points for himself in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.
The race continued, and I watched on the small screens for the live feed. Alexander was holding second and Matteo had dropped to fifth, fighting for fourth place with another team. It was invigorating to watch live, the sounds and bustle of the garage while the race was going. I felt a nudge before I realized Nicola appeared next to us.
Wanna escape? she mouthed. I nodded quickly. I could tell Gia could use a break from the constant noise, and honestly, I could too. She waved us to follow her. Once in our room, I let out an audible sigh of relief.
“It’s so loud down there,” I said, wide-eyed and overstimulated.
“Yep!” she said, popping the P . “You will get used to it, but the first day can be overwhelming for sure. I wanted to cry at the end of my first day.”
“I’m sure Gia will have a meltdown, this is a lot.”
“Okay, so don’t be mad…” Nicola starts.
“What?” I ask, my mind blank at what it could even be.
“I talked to my dad.”
“About?”
“You…” she said, looking stressed.
My heartbeat quickened. “About what?” I shouted, slightly shocked.
“Well, that to make his star driver happy, means his sister and niece are here the entire rest of the season, which means you need help, and I can help ’cause I am just floating around anyway. I also talked with Anna and we’re going to switch off so that you can enjoy yourself too!”
“Nicola…” I said, tears pricking my eyes. “That is seriously so kind.” I pull her into a hug. She’s stiff and awkward and pats my back in response, and I can’t help but laugh inwardly. Nicola was so aware of her surroundings and others’ emotions, so empathetic, but she seemed to stray away from anyone showing her love back. I understood it; I was of a similar strain, accepting love in return felt overwhelming, like I could give it in endless waves, but accepting it felt like too much, like I didn’t want to be a burden.
“We take care of our own here, and you are a part of the Moretti family, whether you expected it or not.” She nudged me with her shoulder. “So get used to it.” I could feel the emotions rattling around in front of me. Overwhelmed at the idea of anyone thinking about what I could need, I was so used to taking care of myself. I had felt so alone for years. While my parents had been wonderful the last three years, being a single mother in the countryside could be lonely. More often than not I just wanted to be home with Gianna. We loved our routine, our slow mornings, playing in the pastures and by the lake when the weather was warm.
“You made it so cozy in here too. It’s perfect.” Gia had pulled a pink fuzzy blanket onto the ground with her, huddled under the huge blanket, and waved a wand around Monty’s head, who was sleeping in a fluffy dog bed on the ground. It made her feel safe, probably reminded her of home. Our favorite spot was in the living room on the overly large sofa my mom had imported from who knows where, because coziness was a requirement in the DeLuca family.
We sat on the couch, watching the middle of the race from our quiet room. The entire race I was clutching the blanket, on the edge of my seat, but the last half was something else. Matteo had secured fourth place, too far from the third place driver to catch up, and Alexander was neck and neck with Carlos for first.
It was five laps to go when Anna appeared, three cups in her hand. Hot cocoa for me and Gia, coffee for Nicola. We walked out to the garage, sitting with the other crew members. Everyone was cheering for Carlos, but I was biting at my nails, hoping for a pink and blue finish instead of a red one.
“Is Alex going to win?” Gia asked me, she was watching the screen, her attention more focused than it had been most of the race. “That’s his car!” She pointed to the electric blue striped car on the screen. Less than a second in front of him was a red one.
“Let’s go red!” someone shouted, and I swear Gianna glared.
“I hope Alex wins,” she said, crossing her little arms over her chest. I smiled at her and leaned in.
“Me too,” I whispered. On the third to last lap, Alexander went ahead of Carlos at the apex, the shiny black car shooting forward, electric blue blurring across the screen. It was the last moment for him to overtake, now all Alexander needed to do was hold the position.
The room erupted in frustrated groans, but my heart lurched with excitement. Alexander was first. The next two laps passed quickly, and soon it was his car that crossed the finish line. The room was clapping for the second place podium finish of Carlos, and Matteo scoring good points in fourth. I was cheering alongside, but my eyes glued to the screen where the cameras zoomed in on Alex. His fist was in the sky, pumping into the air, he touched his heart then pointed to the sky, and I knew the familiar smile was beaming under his helmet.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8 (Reading here)
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39