Page 18 of Falling Fast
‘Of course not.’ She flings herself down beside him. ‘I didn’t know you were an F1 fan?’
‘I’m not, but my little sister insisted I take her to brunch, so I thought I’d hang out for a while afterwards.’
‘Good idea.’ She smiles sympathetically. ‘By the way, I’m sorry about you and Hailey. Is there any chance of you two working things out?’
‘No. She’s moving to Melbourne in a couple of months.’ He lifts his beer with a grimace. ‘What about you? How are things with your world-champion boyfriend? Shouldn’t you be in Spain cheering him on?’
Maisie bristles. ‘I have my own life, thank you very much. I don’t just follow Gio around the world like some kind of cheerleader –’ She stops, abruptly. ‘Sorry, it’s a bit of a sore subject. He wanted me to go with him this weekend, but I have a big race of my own coming up soon and I need to train. It’s the regional mountain-bike championships.’
‘Will Gio be able to come to that?’
‘No, it’s the same weekend as the Austrian GP.’ She pushesher hands through her hair. ‘I know he can’t just drop a race, even though there are like twenty-four of them, but it feels like our schedules are completely out of sync. And I don’t see why his career is so much more important than mine, even though he earns more and has millions of fans.’
‘It’s not.’
‘Tea?’ I interrupt, carrying a tray laden with mugs and brownies over to the coffee table. Listening to them both bemoan their love lives, I’m wondering if it was such a good idea to bring Maisie and my brother together. This afternoon was supposed to cheer them both up, not depress them.
‘Yes, please.’ Maisie looks at me, suddenly changing topic. ‘I saw your “First Day at Rask” video. It was really good.’
‘Thanks. It was my boss’s idea, but I think it went OK.’
‘You got Leif Olsen to smile on camera. I’ve never seen that before.’
‘Urgh.’ I roll my eyes. ‘I don’t know how. He still hates me.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true. I know you said he was weird with you in Monaco, but Gio says he’s a really nice guy.’
‘That’s what everyone keeps telling me. I guess I just bring out the worst in him.’
‘Give the guy a break,’ Dan objects. ‘You’d be moody too if your car kept breaking down.’ He points a finger at me. ‘If you want him to smile, tell your engineers to give him a better engine.’
‘Hopefully they already have. Rask are introducing some new upgrades this weekend.’ I give him a double look. ‘How do you know about his car anyway?’
‘They’ve just been talking about it.’ He gestures at the television before tipping his head back. ‘Ava, why is it so dark in here? What happened to your light?’
‘What? Oh.’ I look up to where some capped wires are dangling from the ceiling. ‘There was something wrong with the fitting so I had to take it down. I’ve bought a replacement, but I need somebody qualified to install it properly for me. Maybe somebody who did an electrical apprenticeship with their dad before they decided to change career direction?’ I bat my lashes at him.
‘Fine.’ He chuckles. ‘I’ll bring my tools over next time.’
‘Look!’ Maisie starts waving at the screen. ‘There’s Leif now.’
I turn my head quickly to see my least favourite driver standing next to his car, a towel round his neck and his overalls rolled down to his waist, as an interviewer shoves a microphone into his face. He had another impressive qualifying session yesterday, putting him in P9, with Corey only three spots behind in P12, but whether his gearbox will last the race is another matter. I cringe as the interviewer asks Leif about that, waiting for a terse reply, but to my amazement he only nods his head like he’s processing the question, then gives a long – two sentences! – answer about how the team have been working hard and how they –we –are all giving 100 per cent. He even manages a small curve of his lips at the end.
‘He did it again!’ Maisie points at the screen. ‘That’stwosmiles.’
I beam back at the television, feeling a surge of professional pride. Leif might not like me, but at least he’s doing what I tell him.
‘You know –’ Maisie tilts her head as an orchestra starts playing the Spanish national anthem – ‘he’s actually pretty good-looking, if you like the brooding, strong-jawed Viking type.’
‘I guess.’ I tilt my head too, pretending the idea has never occurred to me before.
‘Maisie, did you bake these?’ Dan mumbles through a mouthful of chocolate brownie. ‘They’re really good.’
‘I know.’ She looks pleased. ‘Biking and brownies are my twin talents.’
‘Leave some for the rest of us!’ I smack his hand away as he reaches for another. ‘I thought you were getting healthy?’
‘I changed my mind.’ He reaches past me. ‘What’s the point of a break-up if I can’t even drown my sorrows in sugar?’
