Page 25 of Too Fast To Fall
The three of them hopped into a big black SUV with dark tinted windows—Piper and Emilio on opposite sides in the backseatand Gus seated in the middle, looking straight ahead like a good boy.
“How do you feel about coming back to Imola? You were so dominant last year,” Piper said.
“I was.”
Just like that, he’d returned to his short answers. The problem was that now she’d gotten him to talk a little bit about driving,she wanted to know more. “Care to elaborate?”
The quietest of grumbles escaped his throat.
Good, Piper thought.He needs to let something out.
“The race itself, I love. The circuit is great. Very old school. The place, not as much.”
“Why?”
“This is where Victoria and I met.”
Ah. The scene of the crime, Piper thought. “Hmm. Well, I hope this weekend isn’t too hard for you. Since it’s only been a few months since your breakup.”
“It would be easier if she wasn’t dating another driver.”
So she’d been right about that bothering him. She could only imagine having to endure one’s personal life being out in theopen. At least Piper had suffered a private humiliation. “Can I say that’s shitty of her? And of him? Or is that too personal?”
The car pulled up to the security entrance and was waved in. On either side of the gate were massive crowds of fans, wavingat the car, holding signs, jumping up and down, hoping for even a glimpse of the drivers. What a strange world Emilio existedin.
“It is too personal.”
Right.Piper folded her arms across her belly.
“But I agree.” The car pulled up to the pedestrian swipe gates. “This is us,” Emilio said.
Piper threaded her hand into the loop on Gus’s leash while the driver opened the door. The screams from the fans roared asshe and Emilio climbed out of the car with Gus. Curious, Piper turned to witness the commotion and took a step toward thecrowd. A sea of people cheered and waved and frantically shrieked for Emilio. She’d beenina group of people like that. She’d never been on the other side. “Wow. I didn’t know a human voice could reach that higha pitch.”
Emilio coiled his arm around Piper’s waist and tugged her back. “Come. They’ll only take pictures.” In a split-second, Emiliowhisked her through security and away from the pandemonium. Then, he let her go. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you.”
Piper needed to catch her breath. And collect herself. It wasn’t the fans that had her rattled. It was Emilio. That had beensuch a protective act. “No. It’s okay.”
“It was an impulse. Sometimes my reflexes take over.”
“The curse of the Formula One driver.” It still made her question the things she’d been thinking about him. Maybe he wasn’tmerely tolerating her. Maybe there was some part of him that cared. Or... maybe he was protecting Gus by proxy.Someonehad to watch him throughout the race weekend.
“Speaking of which, I need to get ready for practice. Are you and Gus coming to my driver’s room?”
Piper directed her vision skyward. “It’s such a beautiful day, I think I’ll walk around.”
“Okay. See you later.”
Piper wandered the paddock like she had yesterday, hoping to run into Isabel or maybe even Mia, but neither were anywhereto be seen. She couldn’t stop thinking about the incident in the parking lot. Emilio had seemed a little freaked out by thefans, but Piper was one of them. Maybe it was time to explore what the race was like from their point of view.
With her pass, it was no problem to wander over to the grandstands and poke around with Gus. She took great delight in seeingthe fans dressed up in the gear from their favorite teams and drivers. Everyone seemed very excited, with an atmosphere somewherebetween a carnival, music festival and major sporting event. And this was only practice. She could only imagine what it wouldbe like in time for the race on Sunday.
She found an empty seat in one of the grandstands and watched as the cars whizzed by once the session had started. Gus wasn’tpaying too much attention, so Piper felt the need to make sure he knew when Emilio drove by. “Look, Gus. There’s Daddy.”
The woman in front of Piper whipped around. “Is that—” She pointed at Gus “—Emilio’s dog?”
“Yes. This is Gus,” Piper answered truthfully, only second-guessing herself after the words had left her mouth.
“IknewI recognized him. I knew he was Emilio’s dog.” The woman and the guy next to her sprang up out of their seats. “Gus. Oh,my God. You’re just the cutest thing,” the woman gushed.
