Page 61 of Kiss & Collide
He passed her his phone and watched her face as she skimmed the email. When she got to the bottom, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. It was hard to shock Violet. He wished he had more ways to do it, because she was adorable.
She lifted her eyes to his. “Oh my god,” she murmured. Then, to his surprise, she launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck. “We did it!”
“Youdid it,” he murmured against her shoulder, squeezing her closer.
In a matter of seconds, she remembered herself and pulled away. “That’s … it’s …”
“It’s going to change my entire career,” he said quietly.
“You’re going to be … Chase, this ishuge. Not just for Pinnacle, foryou.”
“I know.”
“You’re a star.”
“And you made me. Thank you, Violet.”
“I only saw the potential. You did the rest.”
He scoffed. “Bullshit. None of this would have happened if not for you. Now what do you say we get out of here and celebrate it properly?”
“You really should work the room. Everybody wants a piece of you right now.”
“I don’t care about all of them.” He caught her gaze and held it. He cast a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching them. The crush of bodies on the dance floor provided good cover, so he reached out for her hand, snagging her fingers with his. Slowly he rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. Her thick black lashes fluttered down to brush her cheekbones.
“I only want to celebrate with you.”
26London, England
Violet was back at a tiny bistro in Shoreditch to meet Will and Mira for dinner. They’d had dinner here together before, just after Mira started at Lennox. It was Will’s favorite restaurant and near his place in Hackney. Although now, Violet supposed, it wastheirplace, since Mira lived with him when they were in London.
She’d beaten them there, so she snagged a table near the back and ordered some wine. While she waited for them, she hopped on Insta and started scrolling hashtags. Chase was in London tonight, too, on a date with Madison. By now they should have been spotted and photographed.
It took no time at all to find the first photos, slightly grainy and poorly lit, but clearly Chase and Madison, in a cozy booth at some trendy Asian fusion place in Southwark. Madison looked great, in a gauzy white sundress and heels, her hair up in a messy twist that she pulled off effortlessly. And Chase … well, he looked as hot as he always did, in a black polo and expensive jeans, all sex hair and stubble. She’d texted him guidance on what to wear and was pleased he’d listened.
Their booth was a half circle, but they’d both scooted all the way to the middle, so they were cuddled up side by side. His right arm was draped across the back of the booth, behind Madison’s shoulders. They were angled toward each other, smiling radiantly, eyes locked. They really knew how to sell it.
But what if they weren’t selling it anymore? What if they were into each other now? Maybe tonight she’d go back to his hotel room with him, instead of Violet.
That was the wrong thing to imagine. There was that weird hollow feeling again. She felt twitchy and uneasy, like she wanted to get up and run, but to where and to do what? None of this was any of her business. Well, this part was … the online part, and how it was hitting. What they chose to do at the end of the night was none of her business.
“Violet! Hi!”
She jerked out of her doomscrolling and set her phone face down on the table. Mira had just arrived and was winding her way between tables to reach her. Violet could see Will outside on the sidewalk, on the phone.
Mira dropped into the chair across from her, looking flushed and excited. Her cascade of blond curls was especially wild tonight, and her green eyes were bright.
“I can’t believe we finally made this happen.”
“It’s wild that we’re both working for Formula One teams, we’re both at all the same races, and yet we never see each other.” Violet poured her a glass of wine.
“Here’s to our rival teams,” Mira said, lifting her glass.
Violet snorted, and tapped her glass against Mira’s. “Pinnacle is hardly a rival to Lennox.”
“Maraschino cherry,” Mira said.
Violet nodded in understanding. “Cone of silence engaged.”
