Page 136 of Green Flag
“Yes,” I said.
Was that what love was? Someone to share troubles with? To feel something with?
If that was the case, my ‘yes’ wasn’t a lie.
Nonna took my hands with hers. “I’m sorry,”she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I just… I miss you, Luca.”
I buried my head into Mamma’s shoulder. “I miss you too.” And I did. But I missed myself too.
27
Chapter 27
Luca
Everly had been in hair and make-up for what felt like three hours. She didn’t need anything done. She was already perfect. Spending those days in the same room with her, seeing her hair in the morning, the beauty of her make-up free skin… there was nothing that meant she needed to be in there for three hours.
Tonight, I got to share a room with Everly again.
I checked my phone to distract myself from spiralling into dirty thoughts.
No new texts.
Ettore, the PI, was on the tarmac, searching the plane we’d landed on. We were meant to be down in Miami, practising the course. But Ever, Livie and I were here for the photo shoot Nazmin had arranged — and wherever Livie was, Nix was.
We’d taken the Ciclati plane from Miami to Jacksonville, which gave us the perfect opportunity to snoop. But I found myself less and less interested in that and more and more desperate to simply be alone with her.
So, Ettore had come out to check the plane with a detection dog.
With how little we’d found, I was eager to know if it was worth holding out hope.
With no texts though, I put my phone in the locker and decided Nix would be as bored as I was with waiting.
Outside one of the emergency doors, he had his head up, eyes closed, taking in the Florida sun. He was jittery. His face was a mask of calm, but his breathing was the opposite. His hands were deep in his shorts’ pockets.
“You okay?” I asked.
He breathed out deeply, jaw ticking. “Yes.”
“Is Livie?”
Their relationship had gone public in the last week. My socials had been hounded with questions over it, but the main reaction that brought any feeling other than anger out of me was Everly’s — a proud little grin, accompanied by comments on how she’d knownall along.
His jaw stiffened but he opened his eyes and lowered his voice. “She needs the distraction, but she’s still wobbly some days. She’s nervous. She…” I walked out further into the warm Florida air, out of the shade. “She’s not going to be with Ciclati next year and neither will I.”
“What?”
No way could they both jump ship like that. Nixon’s life was Ciclati. More so than my cousin’s had ever been. Maybe nearly as much as Everly’s dad.
He gave me a warning glance. “She’ll be at Prixton for a year. I’ll be at MotoBike.”
The photographer popped his head out of the door. “Just checked on the girls. Won’t be long now.”
I nodded and, thankfully, he dismissed himself.
“A differentchampionship?” I asked.
If both Livie and Nix were leaving… that would change everything—the whole team. Who would the fans have to cheer on if we both left?
