Had Emery been thinking about me?
She stayed in the shower longer than it took me to recover, and when she finally emerged from the dressing room, she acted like nothing had happened. She didn’t blush or let her gaze dart away from me in embarrassment, so either she didn’t think I’d heard her, or she didn’t care.
There was no mistaking what I’d heard, though. I’d spent years cultivating my skills and was very familiar with what a woman sounded like when she came.
We took breakfast on the terrace, and then she was escorted to the hotel spa. I had to remote into a meeting at work and then review draft language for a disclosure statement, so I told her to take the day and get whatever she wanted. The only thing on the schedule was a cocktail party this evening hosted by Team Mercedes.
I didn’t see her again until late afternoon. She came into the suite wearing one of the outfits Petra had styled. Her hair had been blown out, her nails were painted a shimmering ivory, and her makeup was flawless. This picture-perfect version of her was one my father would begrudgingly approve.
She was undeniably beautiful.
But I preferred the girl who’d appeared in my bedroom with the smoky eye makeup and a provocative dress even more than this carefully packaged one who sat in the chair across from me. She waited quietly for me to finish with work and scrolled on her phone.
I caught her sneaking a glance at me more than once, and my smile was unstoppable.
“Did you have a nice time at the spa?” I asked.
Her lips skewed to the side for a single beat, but then she brightened. “Yes, thank you.”
It seemed like time moved twice as fast whenever we left the hotel. We couldn’t talk much during the ride on the tender over to where the party was being held because the small boat moved fast and the wind was loud. Once we boarded the impressive yacht where the cocktails were flowing, it was all business. As the face of one of the team’s premiere sponsors, I was a VIP, and Emery and I had to float from one conversation to the next so everyone could express their gratitude.
It cost hundreds of millions of dollars to race a single season in Formula One, and HBHC sponsorship helped offset a significant chunk of that. We posed for pictures with the drivers, with the team principal, and other members from the team.
Emery took it all in stride. Could this woman roll with whatever life threw at her? If she disliked working the room, I couldn’t tell. She seemed to be at ease at my side, and her smile was dazzling.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I said over the engine roar on the boat ride back to our hotel’s dock. I’d given her my jacket to keep her warm as we skipped along the waves and were occasionally misted with salty seawater. It was late, and the moon was just a sliver, but there was enough light to see her. She swiped a wayward lock of hair out of her eyes and grinned up at me like I was being silly.
Like she was thrilled I’d brought her along.
We were both eager to get to bed when we got back to the suite, and while I brushed my teeth at the sink, my gaze found her through the bathroom mirror. I watched her swipe a towelette over her eyes, gently removing her makeup, and after this, we’d change and climb into bed together. It was so fucking domestic.
And yet, it didn’t freak me out. Why was that?
Maybe it’s her.
I’d jokingly warned her not to fall in love, but anxiety found a home inside me. There was no way we could spend a week together pretending to be in love, yet stay impervious to the magic of this place. Monaco was romantic foreplay.
It was tortuous sleeping beside her and staying over on my side of the bed, and it didn’t get easier as the days went on. I began to bargain with myself, thinking I could strengthen my self-control if I practiced at it. Start off by facing smaller temptations and work up my way up to the bigger ones.
On Tuesday, we took a tour of the pit lane and garages, and when I grabbed her hand, she laced our fingers together. We each got a chance to fit ourselves in the driver’s seat of a Formula One car, and practice changing a tire like the crew did. I forwarded the pictures I took to Sophia, who had someone edit and post them to my Instagram account. I hadn’t managed my social media in years and was glad her team was on it.
I grabbed the door handle to the back seat of the Mercedes that would take us to our next event and held it open for Emery, but when she went to climb inside, I moved to block her. My kiss was sudden and in public, causing her to jolt with surprise, but then her hands were there, cupping my face. She answered my short kiss with a longer one of her own, and it made my heart beat faster.