Page 78 of Falling Fast
I jolt and turn around slowly, my skin prickling at the sound of Leif’s voice. He’s standing an arm’s length away, dressed in a classic black tuxedo and looking so handsome, I’m pretty sure my heart actually stops.
‘Leif …’ I swallow. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi.’ He holds on to my gaze, his own guarded.
I say the first thing that comes into my mind. ‘I’ve missed you.’
I know that I’m being a hypocrite, that I’m the one who’s been avoiding him, but I still mean it. Looking at Leif now, I realize just how unhappy I’ve been for the past two months. Part of me wants to throw my arms around him, only we’re surrounded by hundreds of people, and even if we weren’t, I can’t. We need to talk first.
‘Have you?’ He sounds suspicious. Hurt.
I give a jerky nod. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been –’
‘Busy.’ His voice hardens.
‘Yes. It’s complicated, but it’s not –’
‘Don’t.’ His eyes flash. ‘Don’t say “It’s not you, it’s me”.’
‘I wasn’t going to,’ I lie. ‘I was going to say that it’s not what you think.’
‘Then tell me what it is.’ He closes the distance between us,his gaze laser-focused. ‘Ava, I’ve been going out of my mind. What happened? Why did you stop answering my calls?’
I throw a quick look around. The tension between us is obvious and people – worse,journalists– are beginning to notice. ‘Leif, I can’t talk about it here,’ I say quietly. ‘Not now. We’re making a scene.’
‘Then let’s go to my room.’
‘Wecan’t.’ Despite everything, a shiver of excitement snakes its way down my spine. The thought of being alone with him is so tempting, but if we end up in bed together, things will be even more confusing. ‘You need to be here, representing the team, especially now Corey’s out of action. We’ll talk after the race.’
‘Ava!’ I hear Emika’s voice. ‘Look who I found.’
I take a step away from Leif. She’s walking towards us, arm in arm with a petite, dark-haired woman in an elegant, floor-length black dress.
‘Hi.’ The woman holds out a hand with a smile. ‘I’m Quinn.’
‘Good to meet you.’ I shake her hand and try to smile back, but my facial muscles are stiff and I feel like every part of my body is straining towards Leif. He’s standing right beside me, so close I can feel his body heat on my bare shoulder.
‘You’re friends with Maisie and Gio, right?’ Quinn has a soft Scottish accent. ‘I’m so grateful to them both. I had some problems when I first joined Fraser, but they’ve been so wonderful and supportive.’
‘They’re a great couple.’ I manage to smile properly this time. She sounds genuine, like she’d be horrified if she knew she’d caused any angst for them. ‘And the whole team at Rask is ready to support you too.’
‘They already are. I was pretty intimidated coming here, but everyone’s been so nice. I’m feeling a lot better now.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’ Emika lifts her champagne flute. ‘Does that mean you’re ready to score us some points this weekend?’
Quinn laughs. ‘Fingers crossed.’
I turn my head towards Leif, but he’s staring at the floor, frowning, not joining in with the conversation. He’s behaving just as he did on the evening we first met in Monaco, only this time I’m the one at fault. Because I’ve done this to him. And I’m still doing it. And it’s not just about us any more. What I’m doing is affecting the whole team.
‘Leif. Quinn.’ Vienna appears suddenly, accompanied by a tall, silver-haired man. ‘Have you met Helmut Moran? He owns our favourite frozen yogurt company.’
I take the opportunity to break away. I’ll probably get in trouble for it later, but I can’t stay here, networking and pretending that everything’s all right. I’ll have to tell Vienna I got sick, after all.
I practically sprint for the exit. This is going to be a long few days.
With a 3.8-mile street track, Las Vegas is one of the longest and most exciting races in the F1 calendar, with drivers hitting speeds of up to 217 mph.
@MotorsportEchoNews, 18 October
