Page 90 of Green Flag
He could be Jensen Ackles and I would still retreat.
Because the image of Luca in a threesome had soured all of the alcohol.
But I was still so angry. It bubbled under my skin, pulsed at my temple and quickened my heart rate.
And I needed comfort in the only way I knew how.
I grabbed Bella’s arm. “My phone. It’s in your clutch.”
She nodded, the guy still pressing into her.
When she handed it over, she wiggled her brows. “You texting Luca?”
“Nope.” I pulled up my texts and punched in the numbers of the contact I’d deleted years ago. Of course I still remembered it. That made me down another drink. That wasn’t mine. Just on the table.
EVERLY: Hope your fake Insta account enjoyed the view. Next time you wanna get off to me, at least let me charge you with intel.
Wow, my thumbs just did not stop, did they?
Over my shoulder, Bella let out a noise like a dying bird and tried to swat my phone out of my hand. “No no no. Tell me that’s not who I think it is.”
I held the phone to my chest. “It’s not.”
She spun me around and I looked up at her in her heels with the most innocent smile I could manage. I was sure it would work on Luca.
Bella was not Luca.
“You ever just…” I swallowed. If I could tell anyone, it was her. “You ever just need someone to want you? No strings, no feelings, just… to be desired.”
Her top lip curled. “Yeah. But not by Pedro Bloody Velazco.” She sighed and took my hand. “Know what I desire?”
I raised my brows.
“Another damn shot. Come on, Bacque, we’ve got some men to forget.”
* * *
He’d spent all night in Livie’s hotel room.
I’d seen him leaving in the morning and jerked the door back so fast that I’d stubbed my toe.
Through the peephole, I saw him hesitate at my door, fist ready to knock, then he shook his head and walked away from me. Again.
Bella tried to make me feel better about it as we gave tours and signed photos for the team. Whenever anyone was out of earshot, she’d run through scenarios that would make it ‘better’ or suggest he wasn’t cheating.
We’d been busier than usual and I’d avoided the pit box for as long as I could, but having been without our phones for so long, we decided to head back before qualifying.
The pit box had been odd for weeks, but it was even odder today. Quiet. Like grief had restruck them all at the same time. Walking in sucked all of the excited atmosphere from outside. Whereas, in the grid girl trailer, people had glanced at me and giggled. Luca’s name had been mentioned in hushed tones and I’d scurried back to the pit box.
Only for it to be suffocatingly depressing.
“She’s not very well,” Luca was saying to Saliha, who was standing beside him, hip cocked to the side. “I’m not sure if she’ll be at the race tomorrow either.”
“What?” Saliha asked, her frown deepening. “She didn’t say. Are you sure she’s okay?”
Nix looked up from his phone and Abbé shuffled in the seat next to him. He swallowed and asked, “It’s got nothing to do with that article abouthim, does it?”
I didn’t know what that meant — but if Livie was suddenly out of action when it looked like she was my number one suspect… that made me even more suspicious.
