Page 49

CHAPTER 49

Connor

“I pushed that car as much as I could,” Tawny says with her arms folded. Her auburn hair falls across her shoulders, but she reminds me more of a grumpy kid with a sour pout than a Formula One driver.

I nod from the front passenger seat of Senna’s car. “So did I. What happened in Mexico is down to the car.”

Senna pays us no attention. Her stare fixes on the road as she drives us closer to the meal with her dad. Her skin still carries some of the tan from the race in Mexico. I look away from her, although my gaze is drawn back as if she wears a string from her heart to mine.

Jacs taps my chair, and I rub my brow. “I know what you’re going to say,” I grumble. “You’ve said it every time we’ve talked about the car’s performance over the last month.”

She lets out a loud puff of air. “But?—”

“No buts, Jacs.” I turn in the passenger seat to stare at the sisters leaning forward from their back seats. Jacs strains against her seatbelt as Tawny glowers at her with her arms still folded. “For the last two races, since the team upgraded the car, it’s slower. Tawny and I haven’t done anything different. If it were just one of us, that would be on the driver, but neither of us has been top five. We’re scraping into the top ten each race, and the upgrades are the key difference.”

Tawny throws her hands in the air. “Exactly this. I’ve tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Maybe you’ll listen to Connor.”

Jacs scowls at her sister. “The ultimate decision lies with Senna. We know why we did the upgrades. We needed to be a podium contender and get top three after the tricky first half of the season, but it doesn’t seem to have worked.”

“Doesn’t seem?” I raise my voice. “We’re telling you it hasn’t worked. Get used to this bullshit in F1, Tawny. No one listens to the drivers. We’re just the ones in the car trying to win races.”

Jacs grumbles, and she and Tawny argue from the back seat. Senna is silent. Her hands grip the steering wheel as she drives us to an exclusive hotel on the outskirts of London. Her knuckles are white, and her jaw tightens. Her tattoo shines bright as we stop at traffic lights.

“Senna?” I’m a shitty boyfriend. She’s been panicking about this meal since Niki called her weeks ago, yet I’ve been arguing with Jacs like we’re children. I rest my hand on her thigh. I know I shouldn’t where Tawny might see, but I need to comfort her. The hem of her woolly dress warms my palm. “I’m sorry. How are you feeling?”

She worries her lips, which are a pretty shade of pink. I draw a heart on her leg with my finger, and she takes a slow breath.

“They’re dating?” Tawny whispers loudly. As I turn in my seat again, Jacs shoots her a look.

“As far as you’re concerned, they’re boss and driver and nothing more,” Jacs replies. “And I’m here tonight for solidarity and not because I’m the only one who knows about these two and can distract any questions that get too personal.”

Tawny holds her hands up in surrender. “Noted. I don’t know anything.”

I squeeze Senna’s knee.

I’m trying to be supportive, but I’m going to a dinner with Senna’s parents, and although they can’t learn I’m her boyfriend, I know I am. I’ve never been to a dinner with a partner’s parents before. I should be as nervous as the trembling woman beside me, but I’m jittery with excitement about making a good impression.

“Work is the most important thing to Senna, so we’ve tried to keep everything separate and secret.”

Senna links her fingers through mine on her knee. “Not the most important thing. Not anymore.”

I stare back at her, but she’s focused on the road.

“Wow! This is an F1 romance,” Tawny whispers to Jacs.

“Doesn’t it make you want to vomit and hug them all at once?”

I drop my head in my hands and laugh.

We turn into the hotel’s car park, and Senna drives past the entrance.

Tawny leans forward. “Aren’t you going to get them to park your?—”

I laugh. “Senna never lets anyone park or drive her car.”

“No one but Connor,” she says, her beautiful lips shining.

I pull on the back of my neck. “Yeah. No one but me. Senna is headstrong, which is why we love her.”

She parks the car, and as we climb out, she gathers us in a group. “Tonight is about getting through. My dad can be an arsehole, but he’s passionate and still owns the team. Here are the rules?—”

Jacs rolls her eyes, and Senna points at her. “Rule one: less attitude from you,” she says with a wink. “Rule two: enjoy yourself. The food and wine are good here, but don’t enjoy yourself too much, because secrets will come out. Rule three: if it gets too heated, ask my mum about gardening, dogs, or her favourite city to visit. She loves to share but doesn’t always get a word in. Rule four: don’t mention me and Connor. My dad still hates Connor, so let’s not worsen that situation.”

“Although tonight, I’ll do my best to make Senna’s parents like me so they realise I’m the best person for their daughter. That way, when Niki returns, and we announce it, they’ll already be on my side.”

Senna squeezes my hand tightly, and my pulse performs a jig. Her eyes twinkle under the security lights in the car park, and it takes everything I have not to gather her in my arms and kiss her.

She turns back to the group “Rule five?—”

“I’m getting cold.” Jacs shivers in her green tailored jumpsuit.

Watching Senna be the demanding boss makes me impossibly more in love with her. And unfortunately, blood rushes to my dick, too. I shouldn’t meet the parents with a massive hard-on.

“Rule five: no lip from any of you, and don’t commit to anything my dad suggests.”

“Rule six: Connor needs to think about less sexy things because his erection is obvious from here. Could you have worn tighter trousers?” Jacs asks.

Tawny stares at the sky to avoid the sight of my manhood straining at my zipper. She’s giggling loudly, and Jacs joins in.

“It’s not my fault. Senna is mouth-watering in those high heels and her smart sweater dress. And then she got all boss-like and?—”

Now they’re all chuckling at me. Senna bends over, shaking with laughter.

“That’s not helping,” I shout, turning their laughter into belly wobbles.

A grumble from across the car park stops us. “When you’ve finished, some of us are hungry.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Senna shouts back. Fuck. My whole body tightens, and I hug myself. “We’ll meet you inside. I’ve got one more bit of business.”

“That was your dad? Do you think he heard what we were laughing about?” Tawny asks, yanking at the sleeves of her jacket like she’s been told off at school for wearing the wrong blazer.

“Nah, but get behind me, Connor, until your cock goes down,” Senna says, which sets Jacs off again. “And you made a good point about the upgrades. I’ve examined the timings and how it’s changed performance, and you’re right. It didn’t work. We’ll change the cars back in time for the next race. Thank you for being patient about our experiment.”

Jacs and Tawny walk ahead as I tightly hold Senna’s hands in mine.

“You let us work our rants out and then cut through the bullshit and made the decision. You’re amazing. It’s one of the many reasons I love you,” I whisper as we walk towards the hotel. She freezes. “I mean…”

“You love me?” Her voice drops and is filled with a wonder that makes me want to kick myself for saying it right now.

Her hazel eyes dance with gold and blue, and her smile grows, creating little lines near her eyes.

I gulp loudly. “Coults, I love you. I love you more than I believed possible, and I really would go to the end of the universe just to see you smile.”

I get an elbow in my back as someone jostles us.

“Oi,” I grumble, turning on my heel to face Ralf.

“Good for you, Connor. But I’m hungry,” he replies.

He moves me to the side and tucks Senna’s arm in his. “Your dad invited me to dinner.”

They walk into the restaurant. Senna gazes back at me, standing like a dickhead in the car park, but I quickly catch up.

As we’re led to the private dining area, her mum rushes to hug her as everyone seats themselves. Her dad stares at her and doesn’t even say hello to me.

As I sit, I can’t stop myself from looking at her. Her shoulders are hunched so high that I want to kiss a line down her back to ease her before she gets a headache, but I can’t here.

I brush her little finger under the table, and she hooks hers with mine. I will look after her as best I can, and maybe later, I’ll learn if she loves me.

Ralf clears his throat and stares at me. Fuck. That he knows about us makes the fact that we’re about to have dinner with her dad, who already hates me and wants to sell the team, more awkward.

Here goes nothing.