Page 23 of Too Fast To Fall
Piper laughed quietly and gestured at Gus with a nod of her head. “You can do his back legs now.”
Emilio did as instructed. “I think we’re good.”
“One more rinse and we’ll get him dried off.”
“Okay.” They got him out of the tub much more easily than they got him into it, and once they’d toweled him dry, Emilio watchedas Piper took a dry washcloth to Gus’s ears and face.
“You’re such a handsome boy.” She smiled and gave him another kiss on his nose.
Gus had nothing but pure adoration in his eyes.I get it, buddy.Simply being around Piper for a short time let you know what a big heart she had. You couldfeelit. She’d only been there a week and despite his best intentions, he was getting sucked in. And now they were about to goto Italy together, where they would have very little privacy, close proximity and some serious stretches of downtime together.“I suppose we should talk about traveling to Imola.”
Gus
What’s the number-one question people ask me? “Who’s a good boy?” Of course. A classic. The second most popular is, “How didyou get off your leash?” I get why people would ask. It is one of my most mysterious skills. I respond with a kind stare.Wag my tail. A magician never reveals their secrets. Ever.
Some people might question my tactics. Try living in a world where you can only communicate with a bark, sad eyes, or misbehaving.Unless a bad guy is breaking into the house or threatening Emilio, I’m not barking. That’s puppy stuff. I’m over a year oldnow. Fully grown. Sad eyes only work when you have their attention. Like when I want pets or belly rubs. Let’s be honest.I will always take pets and belly rubs.
So I’m left with misbehaving. Which brings me back to getting off leash. It works every time. Back home in London, I got offleash and jumped into the pond because Piper and Emilio were not being nice to each other. I don’t remember why. I only knowthat I didn’t like it. I had to make them focus on the same thing. Which is me.
This might sound nuts, but I love Piper. I know, I know. I hardly know her. I don’t care. I’m head over heels. Yes, she’sbeing paid to be nice to me. Does that matter? I’m still a good judge of character. I can sniff out bad people. Literally.Piper is a great one. She’s nice. She’s soft. She doesn’t talk down to me. And those treats she bakes? I’m drooling just thinkingabout them.
I know what I need to do to keep Piper around. Mostly, just be a good boy. But this is about more than me. If Emilio isn’tnice to her? Game over. So far, he’s been ignoring her or he’s been a jerk. That’s not good. It’s time for me to get creative.Because Piper is the woman for me. And Emilio is doing nothing to keep her.
Six
“That’s quite a pee, buddy,” Piper said to Gus. It was a bright, breezy morning on the far edge of the drivers’ motorhomepen for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. At many of the European races, a secret area was set up with high chain-linkfences covered in screening. Or so Piper had just learned in the past few days; a remarkable fact since she considered herselfquite up on most details of Formula One.
There was 24–7 security around the pen, and a collection of drivers brought in swanky motorhomes. Reportedly, they changedthe location of the pens each year, and depending on the race, they mostly went undiscovered. Piper could never imagine thisworking in America. Someone would surely devote their entire existence to locating the secret area.
Gus finished up his business and Piper headed back to Emilio’s motorhome, marching through the grass up a hill, winding herway past everywhere the other drivers were staying, just as the warm morning sun was climbing higher in the sky. She lovedthe Italian sun. It felt familiar. That was no small thing. Everything and everyone else around her felt unfamiliar. On onehand, another inside glimpse of the sport she loved was exciting. On the other hand, she missed her beloved comfort zone.
They’d arrived yesterday for media day, when all drivers were subject to interviews and press conferences. With no on-trackaction to watch, Piper had wandered around the paddock for hours. It had been just another quiet day with Gus. But it hadbeen warm and bright. At this point, that was all she really had to look forward to—the weather.
She and Emilio were back to their old dynamic—the one where he was serious and closed off and she didn’t know what to do otherthan smile and offer pleasantries in return. She wasn’t about to match his gloomy energy. It took little fortitude to simplybe herself and let him deal with it. Sunny was her default. Apparently, Emilio’s was storm cloud.
One tactic she’d considered was Emilio’s favorite—keeping to herself. But even more so than the house in London, the motorhomewas a cramped space. It was impossible not to run into each other. That morning, both in search of coffee, they’d arrivedin the kitchen at the same time.
“You first,” she offered. The motorhome had an amazing Nespresso machine and although the idea of decent coffee had her salivating,she thought she should defer to the guy who was paying for everything.
“No. Please. You’re the American. You probably need it more than I do.”
Piper was only mildly offended. “Thanks.” She popped in the pod and waited for it to brew, trying to sort out what she shouldlook at, since Emilio had arrived with no shirt and dark gray pajama pants that barely hung on his hips. Piper did everythingshe could not to stare at his abs. His perfect chest. Sculpted shoulders. Then back to his abs.
The attraction was there, for sure. She’d have to bedeadnot to feel something stirring deep inside her. But Piper was sure of one thing—it was all one-sided. Sometimes it felt likehe was only barely tolerating her. She didn’t want to read too much into it. He had to be stressed about the race. The mediaand the F1 circles on social media had been all abuzz with speculation about how he’d perform that weekend. He’d been dominantat Imola last year and everyone was going out of their way to express that there was no way he’d have a repeat performance.
Beyond that was the matter of Victoria. Because she and Brett Lockford, the driver leading in the championship, were now anitem. She was being very public about it, posting kissy-face selfies on her socials and going on and on about howhappyshe was. Piper was fairly sure Emilio didn’t consume that stuff, but still, it was in the air at the track and it had tosting. Luckily, Victoria and Brett didn’t seem to be staying in the motorhome pen, but surely Emilio was dreading the ideathat he might run into them.
“Are you heading to the track?” she asked Emilio as she and Gus walked into the motorhome kitchen after their walk. “Gus andI will grab a ride with you.”
“You said you were bored yesterday. Practice isn’t that much more exciting.”
“But you’re in the car today. That’s what I’ve been waiting for. I’m not the only one. Remember, people pay to watch practice.”Piper, however, did not have to pay and man, did she feel lucky. She looped her lanyard and paddock pass over her head.
“I’m aware.” He glanced at the counter where Piper had left an open zip-top bag full of Gus’s treats. “Are those what you’realways baking in my house?”
So hehadnoticed. “Yes, I—” That was all she got out before Emilio popped one into his mouth.
He half-smiled and half-grimaced, like he was trying to disguise his reaction, while every chew was another moment of discovery.To Piper’s great surprise, he didn’t spit it out. He swallowed it. “They taste... uh... very healthy.”
