Page 48 of Falling Fast
I give her a sidelong look. I get the feeling ‘somebody’refers to a specific person, currently 900 miles away. ‘How was Gio when he left?’ I ask tactfully.
‘Trying to be supportive. Just like I was trying to be supportive of him, but our schedules, you know …’ She clucks her tongue. ‘Some things were a lot easier when we were fake-dating.’
‘You’re still having problems?’
‘Mmm. One of them is really pretty too.’
I give a jolt. ‘There’s another woman?’
‘Not exactly.’ She sighs. ‘I trust Gio. It’s just that he’s mentoring Fraser’s new reserve driver, and we can barely get through an hour without him mentioning her.’
‘You mean Quinn Sommers?’
‘Yes, and she’s so annoyingly talented. He says he really admires her “racing intelligence”. Meanwhile, I still haven’t passed my driving test.’ She makes a growling sound. ‘But parallel parking is so hard!’
‘Gio loves you for you, not your driving abilities.’ I try to sound reassuring. ‘You should talk to him about it, tell him how you feel.’
‘No. Because I hate the way I sound right now, like some insecure, jealous girlfriend.’ She heaves another, even heavier sigh. ‘It’s just something I need to get past. Anyway, I don’t want to bring the mood down, not when we should be celebrating our exam results!’ She twists her head to grin at me. ‘Who was it who got a first again? I can’t remember …’
‘Mmm …’ I purse my lips. ‘Was it me?’
‘Yes!’ She clicks her fingers. ‘But I knew you would. You can do anything you set your mind to, even turn around a failing Formula 1 team. It can’t be a coincidence that Rask only started improving once you arrived.’
‘I think the mechanical upgrades might have had a little more to do with it.’
‘Nope, it was all you. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.’ She points to one side suddenly. ‘There’s the sign for the event.’
‘Thanks.’
‘So how are things going at Rask?’ she says, once we’re off the road and driving through a bumpy, gravelled area that apparently counts as a car park. ‘Any nice guys there?’
‘Maybe.’
‘What?’ I can see her gaping at me out of the corner of my eye. ‘Really? Who?’
‘Just … someone.’
‘I need details!’
‘It’s too soon.’
‘OK, don’t tell me. I’ll guess. It’s the team principal, isn’t it? What’s his name?’
‘Bastian Aalto, and he’smarried. He’s been with his wife for thirty years.’ I frown as we turn down the third row of parked cars. ‘Wow, this place is really busy. Tell me if you see any spaces.’
‘Only if you tell me who the guy is.’
‘You know we’re here for you to race, right? That means we need to park first.’
‘Fine. There’s one.’
‘Perfect!’
‘So? Who is it?’ She’s practically bouncing with excitement. ‘Come on, we tell each other everything.’
‘Ahem.’ I turn the engine off before turning to face her. ‘Remember how you lied to me about your fake relationship with Gio?’
Her face falls. ‘Ye-es, but in my defence Iwantedto tell you.’
