Page 58 of Formula Freedom
Her pout is exaggerated—performative—but she gets the message and both women drift off without another word. Although not totally unexpected, Ronan moves off to intercept them.
I turn back to Lara and decide to address this with her. She’s getting a slap-in-your-face dose of high-profile sport celebrity in one of the wealthiest destinations in the world. I know this has to be tough on her, so I head her way.
My eyes stay pinned to her as I approach and she covers her expression well, even putting on a welcoming smile. But I know her. I see the subtle tightness around her mouth, the guarded look in her eyes.
“Hey,” I say, brushing my fingers lightly along her lower back. “You good?”
Posey nudges Lara with her shoulder. “I’m going back over to Lex. Join us later?”
Lara nods and I smile at Posey, thankful for the exit so I can have a moment with my girl. Once Posey melts into the crowd, my gaze returns to Lara and I ask again, “So… are you okay?”
“Yes, of course,” she says too quickly. Then, after a pause, she levels a sheepish smile and a disgruntled sigh. “Just… learning what comes with dating a ridiculously attractive race car driver.”
I huff out a laugh, relieved she’s seeing the humor in this. “You jealous?”
“Maybe a little,” she admits, nodding toward the two women who are now fully engaged with Ronan. “That one had claws.”
I turn to face her fully. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. I didn’t even learn their names.”
She tilts her head, studying me. “Is that normal? Women just walking up to you like that?”
I wince internally, hating to divulge this to her. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Her gaze cuts to Ronan. “Some would say fortunately.”
“Some… but not me.” I lean closer, lowering my voice. “I’m here with you. That’s the only part of tonight that matters.”
If I thought that would ease her discomfort, I’d be wrong. Her eyes look even more troubled. “But before me…”
“Lara,” I say, interrupting the thought before she starts obsessing. “I hope it doesn’t matter what I did before, just as I know you had a past with Lance and maybe others. We can’t visit that.”
I hadn’t meant to sound so chiding but for whatever reason, it works. Her eyes flare slightly and then she blushes. “Oh, wow… I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I actually went there.”
I laugh, pulling her into me with an arm around her back so I can press a quick kiss to her mouth. “Don’t worry about it. I know you’re curious. I know you want to understand things. I’m an open book, Lara. I’ve got nothing to hide from you, but I won’t pretend I was a monk either. If you want to know, I’ll tell you, but I think we should leave it alone.”
She nods effusively. “Yeah… right. Totally. I don’t want to know.”
I grin at her, and she levels one right back at me. The tension in her face is gone and I press a kiss to her temple just as fireworks explode over the harbor, coloring the night sky in silver and gold.
“We’ll figure this out… how we navigate our worlds,” I assure her. I put my arm around her waist and pull her into my side as we watch the show.
But as confident as I am that Lara and I are meant to be, my brother still hangs over us. I know we’ve got stuff to resolve and until we do, we can’t be free to do all this figuring out I’ve just promised her.
CHAPTER 19
Lara
The smell ofcoffee drifts from the kitchen as I pad out of the bedroom, still barefoot and wearing one of Reid’s soft black button-downs. It falls nearly to my knees and smells faintly of his cologne—crisp and warm, all cedarwood and clean linen. It’s funny how I never really noticed how good his cologne smelled before, but now that it’s wrapped around me, I don’t understand how I didn’t.
He’s at the stove wearing a pair of loose jeans and a white T-shirt, making eggs like it’s just another normal morning between us. But nothing about this seems normal. Not Monaco. Not the rooftop gala last night. Not the yacht-sized espresso machine humming on the counter like it came straight out of a movie.
Reid glances over his shoulder when he hears me. “Well, damn. If I’d known that shirt would look that good on you, I’d have cooked you breakfast a lot sooner.”
I smirk and head for the fridge, keeping my tone light and teasing. “You mean you don’t make all your women breakfast the morning after their first Monaco gala?”
He sets the spatula down and turns toward me, one eyebrow raised. “Women? Plural?”
“Just covering my bases.”
