CHAPTER 27
KATIE
“I’m so excited!”
Rosie bounces up and down in her seat for the one millionth time since we boarded this private plane heading for Melbourne.
After answering my call and jumping at the chance to play a real-life matchmaker, she’s been like an Energiser bunny addicted to Red Bull.
She not only offered me a seat on board the plane, but she sent a driver to pick me up and has spent the better part of the twenty-four-hour travelling time trying to strategise with me.
It’s been equal parts annoying and endearing.
“You’re being annoying,” Theo grunts from his seat behind us.
Okay, perhaps not quite equal parts.
“No one asked you.” Rosie turns and glares at Nathan’s manager for a solid thirty seconds before turning back to me, her eyes glowing with excitement. “Ignore his energy. He can’t understand how romantic this is. His software hasn’t had that update yet.”
I bite down on a giggle, my gaze flashing between us. The tension between these two suggests Theo very much has a romantic heart, and if I weren’t so distracted by my own relationship turmoil, I’d be shipping theirs. They totally have the enemies-to-lovers vibe.
“Thanks again for having me on this flight,” I say to Theo to smooth over the tension in the air.
His smile is brief but genuine. “I’m happy to help. Nathan has been a grumpy sod since you broke up with him, so this is a selfish gesture on my part.”
“Sounds about right,” Rosie grumbles. I elbow her with a meaningful stare. Theo has been extremely generous, allowing me to travel with them for free. We need to be grateful.
“Whatever,” she says with a final hard stare towards the seat behind us. “We’re almost there. What’s the plan?”
The flight details displayed on a TV screen at the front of the plane have us arriving at Melbourne Airport in forty-five minutes, and even though I’ve spent most of this flight plotting and planning, I’ve come up empty.
All I know is I need to see Nathan and tell him how I feel. And we can go from there.
“That’s pretty boring,” Rosie says with a pout when I describe this to her.
“Don’t be a brat,” Theo drawls.
She turns and pokes her tongue out at him. “You shush. This is none of your business.”
His eyes narrow, and I tug on my friend’s arm, pulling her back and stopping yet another argument in its tracks. These two could argue with each other under water. It’s pretty incredible to watch.
“Anyway,” I say. “What I need is to get in front of him. I’m hoping the words will flow from there.”
Rosie nibbles on her bottom lip. “I mean, flying across the world is a pretty romantic gesture. You don’t need to do anything more. I guess…”
I gulp. Do I need a big romantic gesture?
“Don’t listen to her.” Theo’s deep voice rumbles through my chair. “Just tell him how you feel.”
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I nod. I can do that. I think?
“Will they still be on the track when we get there?”
Theo glances at his phone and at the screen in front of us. The changes in the time zones between London and Melbourne are no joke. We departed Heathrow Airport Saturday night and will arrive mid-morning, Monday.
Like, what?
“Yeah, we’ll go straight to Albert Park. Nathan is running the afternoon testing, so we’ll see him before he starts.”
Pre-season testing works differently depending on the team.
Some teams have one driver test all day, and they alternate days, and others alternate drivers between the morning and afternoon sessions.
Looks like Redline Racing is the latter, and this means I won’t have to wait for too long to see Nathan in the flesh.
I’ll have just enough time to get my thoughts together. To find the right words. And to sort through this jet lag. After so many hours in the air, I’m barely a human at this point.
“Right, well, good,” Rosie re-enters the conversation. “We can all relax now that we have a plan.”
I chuckle, patting the nerves swirling in my belly. A plan. A plan to get to Nathan and tell him that I love him. Sounds pretty simple. Right?
?·?·?
“Geez. It’s hot.”
We exit Melbourne airport into the blinding hot mid-morning sun. After weeks of dreary London where the sun rarely bothers to appear, my corneas are crying out in a panic.
“Welcome to Melbourne. Where the sun is hotter than anywhere else in the world,” Theo drawls while putting on his sunglasses and looking like a supermodel in an ad campaign.
I follow suit, covering my eyes and digging through my Gucci tote for my sunscreen. “Oh right, yes, that whole hole in the ozone layer thing. Gosh, it’s pretty sharp, hey?”
Rosie holds her arms out and purrs like a kitten. “I love it.”
“You’re going to burn,” Theo warns.
“Whatever,” she mutters as we hop into the waiting car. “Always such a killjoy.”
“Someone needs to be the grown-up,” Theo retorts.
I block them out; my eyes are fixed on the view outside my window.
We’re now zooming away from the airport, and the nerves in my belly are fighting the bubbles of excitement in there.
Because I’m here. I made it to Australia.
I did the hard thing, the brave thing, and whether or not things go well with Nathan, I’m ticking this off my bucket list.
For me and my mum.
Different versions of Melbourne flash by my window as we leave the airport and head towards the track, and I don’t want to blink for fear of missing anything.
We speed through ugly, grey industrial areas, which morph into trendy eclectic streets and alleyways, complete with amazing graffiti artwork and funky-looking cafes on every corner.
After this, we cross over the Yarra River and are gifted with a magnificent view of the bay, the coastline and the beach beyond that.
I’m so wrapped up in soaking it all in—this city is gorgeous!
—I’m caught off-guard when the Albert Park Grand Prix track is upon us.
“We’re here?” I ask the silent car. Somewhere along the thirty-minute drive, Theo and Rosie had given up arguing and had sunk into a grumpy silence instead.
Theo nods. “We are.”
Right.
We exit the car and Theo—bless him—takes charge, organising for our luggage to be transported to our hotel before leading us towards the Paddock. This is the area where the teams set up for the race weekend, and I’ve only ever seen it on TV. Being here in the thick of it is another pinch-me moment.
I’ve got a feeling I’ll be having a few like this over the next day or two.
“This is incredible,” I gush, linking arms with Rosie and squeezing her to me.
She looks around, her eyebrows raised. “I guess it is.”
I laugh softly. “You’re used to it, I’m sure. But for someone who’s only ever seen this part of the race weekend from the comfort of her couch, this is a dream come true. Ohmigosh, is that Patrick Laurent?”
Rosie laughs. “It is. Do you want to meet him?”
I do. I really do. The French driver is part of the Vortex Motors team and is Nicky’s teammate. He’s also very dreamy to look at and has an accent to die for.
“No, I can’t. I’m too nervous as it is.”
She stops walking and takes my hands in hers. “You have nothing to worry about, Katie. I know I was the one talking about grand gestures and everything. But Theo is right, you just need to speak from the heart.”
I pull in a steadying breath. “Did you just admit Theo was right about something?”
She makes a face and looks around. “I will deny that until my dying day. Come on, let’s go find somewhere to watch the action.”
I follow her up into the VIP area above the pit lane.
“Rosie! Katie! Come sit with us!”
My head whips around, and I smile with pleasure at the sight of Cherry Brenner sitting in the front row, a beautiful goddess with enviable ringlets next to her, and a camera on her lap.
“Hey, Katie. I didn’t know you were going to be here,” Cherry says after she’s introduced us to her friend Serena and we’re settled in our seats. “Nathan didn’t say anything.”
I glance at her apprehensively. Cherry and Nathan are close, and she’s a bit of a sounding board for him about love and relationships, so I’m not sure what she knows. And if she secretly hates me.
“He doesn’t know I’m here,” I admit, quickly filling her in on the events of the past few weeks, leaving out the fake dating part. I don’t want her thinking we lied to her face that night out at dinner, even though we totally did.
“Ah,” she says when I’m done, her blue eyes twinkling. “That explains a lot. Nathan has been moping around the place, and every time I ask him what’s wrong, he just says, ‘It’s complicated’.”
I grimace. “I made it complicated. Hence, now I’ve had to fly across the world to make it right.”
Her gorgeous dimple flashes. “You may remember, I had to do the same thing not so long ago with Nicky. And it worked out pretty well for me.”
That’s true. I remember the frenzied reporting towards the end of the last F1 season when Cherry broke up with Nicky, only to reappear at the Las Vegas race a few weeks later, declaring her love for him in front of the world.
“Teach me your ways, oh wise woman,” I say, only half joking. To look at Cherry and Nicky now, you’d never doubt their love for each other, and I want that so badly with Nathan. I can taste it.
“In our situation, I was the one who messed up. I was prepared to grovel to win him back,” she says, her eyes glued to the garage below. To where Nicky is grinning up at her. She blows him a kiss and focuses back on me. “Are you prepared to do the same?”
I nod. “On hands and knees if necessary.”
Her laughter sounds like bells tinkling, and my crush on her deepens. “Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary. From what I saw, that man is crazy about you. Just speak from the heart, and it will all work out.”
I swallow hard and face forward, my feelings and thoughts and words all a muddled mess in my mind. Everyone keeps saying to just tell him how I feel. But how I feel about him is bigger than words. It’s…everything.