CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
leonard
Ihaven’t been able to focus ever since Wednesday night. It’s now Friday afternoon, and it’s taking every ounce of my concentration to have my mind in the car with me and not in the private room with Benz and Chiara. I let myself lower my walls after we came back from dinner and have been avoiding her as much as possible since then. We’ve barely spoken three words because I’m too much of a fucking coward to face how I truly feel about her. I wason my kneesfor her. I’ve never let myself get so vulnerable for any woman, but there I was, worshipping her in a way I’ve always dreamt about doing with a woman. The right woman.Not Chiara. It can’t be her.
I blink several times under my helmet to refocus, and a second later, a green light appears over my car, allowing me to join the other drivers on the track for the second free practice. I try not to notice the excitement spreading through my chest in a way I haven’t felt all season. Then I do my best not to think about the fact that it decided to show up now with Chiara watching me on one of the screens I put in the room where she’s entertaining Benz.
I do my laps before returning to my pit box with sweat dripping down my back. My heart skips several beats when I see Chiara chatting with Quinn at the side, Benz next to her with headphones on her ears. She’s such a good girl, she’s merely sitting there with them on, almost like she knows they’re there to protect her ears from the loud noises. Chiara is also wearing a pair, her shoulder-length brown hair brushed out of her infuriatingly beautiful face. I watch her the whole time my team pushes my car into its spot in the garage, unable to breathe properly.
Once I’m out, I make my way to her, only to see Jonathan Kent, my teammate and rival, in front of her. Whatever he’s saying seems to make Chiara very unhappy because she takes a step toward him, anger in her eyes. He takes one toward her, sending a wave of panic through me. One of my mechanics tries to get my attention, but I push past her as I rip my helmet off to get to my little demon.
She has her hands on his collar before I can get to him. Fear crosses Jonathan’s face, and I stop dead in my tracks. Chiara points a finger in his face, her hold on him tight and threatening. I fight back a smile, but it’s one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in a while, if notthemost impossible.
Get him, sweetheart.
“You say one more bad word about Leonard, and I’ll make sure he won’t have to worry about you for the rest of the season. A few broken bones should do the trick, don’t you think?” I hear her threaten him, sending me into motion.
My feet bring me behind her, and I wrap my arm around her stomach, lifting her away from my teammate. As amusing as it is to watch Jonathan hold in his pee, I don’t want Chiara to be banned from coming to my races.
“Jesus, Leonard, she’s a fucking menace,” he says, and Starling fights my hold on her to get back to him.
“Damn right I am. You should be careful how you speak to me from now on if you don’t want me to follow through on that threat.”
That’s my girl.
“Alright, relax,” Jonathan says and backs away. Starling has calmed in my arms now, probably realizing that, as tough as she is, she would never hurt me. It also helps that she’s much shorter than I am. “I can’t believe you’d hire her, Leonard. She’s very unprofessional.”
One sentence and I’m ready to release Chiara and let her beat him up.
Leonard, did you see what happened to Jonathan?
Nope, didn’t see a thing. Chiara and I were having coffee.
Yes, I would lie for her and give her an alibi at the same time. No hesitation.
“Get the fuck out of my box, Jonathan,” I warn, keeping my hands on her stomach, which seems to calm her a little. Benz is barking next to us now, and I try my best not to chuckle when I see she directed her anger at Jonathan too. She’s protecting her best friend and dad, which is the sweetest thing I’ve ever witnessed, along with Chiara protecting me.
My hands remain on Starling’s hips until Jonathan is gone. Then, she spins around in my arms, poking my right shoulder with two of her fingers.
“Why didn’t you tell me your teammate was such a—” Her eyes shift from my face to the ceiling as she searches for a good word to describe him. “Disgusting, rude, and awful person?” she finishes, and I scan her features like they could tell me why she’s so upset about Jonathan’s behaviour toward me.
“Because it isn’t something you need to worry about.” She scoffs at that answer.
“So you get to worry about every part of my life, but I don’t get to concern myself with this part of yours?” she challenges, her gaze fixed on mine. Then, it shifts to my hands on her hips and she takes a step back. The loss of contact upsets me far more than it should.
“Yes, that’s how it works between us,” I reply, earning myself an eye roll from her.
“Says who?” Well, I have no answer to her question. “You are so frustrating, do you know that?” she asks when I don’t answer, taking Benz’s leash and walking away.
I let my head fall backward, noticing for the millionth time how wildly my heart is racing because of Chiara. No wonder my doctor laughed in my face.Can you explain why my heart rate speeds up when I look at the woman I’m telling myself I don’t have feelings for?It’s my fucking heart telling me it’s useless to push her away. By offering her all the things I have, I tied us together for the rest of the season. There is no way I’m breaking our bond either. She needs this job and the connections I have. And I…
I needher.
* * *
A purple dress.Tight in all the right places. Hugging her curves unlike anything she’s ever worn. It’s all it took to make me utterly speechless. Chiara asked me if she looked alright as soon as she stepped out of her room at the hotel, and all I replied was a weird croaking sound. She gave me a confused frown before leaving me standing there, dumbfounded and beyond amazed by her beauty.
Now, I’m standing with an acquaintance at the gallery, watching her dance with Harry, an ex-mate of mine. The second he placed his hands on her hips, he became anex-mate. I should have asked her first, but we were so immersed in our conversation with Fred, the man who put together this ‘Starry Night’ art experience, I didn’t notice Harry walking toward her. And fuck me for being so stupid because now jealousy has consumed me. I don’t want another man’s hands on her body. I’ve never hated Fred more for including a dance area in his exhibit launch party.
