Chapter 21 Nicola #2
The silence still clung to the air after Anna left. I hadn’t moved. Matteo hadn’t either. There was too much unsaid between us, and too many cameras waiting outside to say any of it.
The door creaked open again—just as I took a breath to speak—and in walked Lucia, cheeks flushed, bright eyes sparkling under the overhead lights.
Alexander followed right behind her with Gianna tucked in his arms, small and soft and fast asleep.
All golden curls and pink cheeks, her tiny head rested on his shoulder.
Lucia grinned as she caught sight of us.
“There you are. We’ve been looking all over. ”
Alexander smirked, shifting the little girl in his arms with the careful ease of someone who’d clearly done this a hundred times. “Gianna couldn’t hang,” he said softly, eyes shining with something more than podium joy. “Out cold.”
Matteo chuckled, stepping forward to gently brush a hand over her head. “She lasted longer than I thought, honestly. Big day and night.”
“She waved the flag for at least fifteen minutes,” Lucia said proudly then her focus shifted to us, a glint in her eye. “Are we going out tonight or what?”
Matteo raised his brows, Alexander’s grin turned dangerous, and I blinked in slow realization.
“Out?” I repeated.
“It’s Vegas,” Lucia said with a shrug. “You both podiumed; we must celebrate! That calls for a fun drink and some dancing.”
Alexander shifted Gianna again. “We were thinking about that rooftop club Kaz Energy booked out. Racers, team crew, sponsors, that kind of scene. Probably half the grid will be there, but there’s a bunch of parties going on so we can scope out whatever works.”
Lucia glanced down at Gianna, her expression soft. “I just need to ask if—”
“I can take her,” came Anna’s voice from the doorway.
We all turned.
She stood with her arms crossed, but there was something unusually warm in her face—a softness that rarely slipped through the cracks of her always-composed exterior.
“I was hoping someone would suggest it,” she added, stepping inside. “I’d rather not spend my night in some overcrowded rooftop bar with strobe lights and overpriced tequila. That sounds like an actual punishment.”
Lucia blinked. “Are you sure?”
Anna nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll take her back to the suite, put on a movie, maybe even relax for the first time today. Honestly? Living the dream. But I will be stealing your hotel robe.”
Alexander chuckled as he gently passed over Gianna, still fast asleep, her cheek pressed against his shoulder until Anna took her with practiced ease.
“Thank you,” Lucia said quietly, brushing a tender hand along her daughter’s back. “Seriously.”
Anna just waved it off like it was nothing. “Go enjoy yourselves. You all earned it tonight.”
Lucia turned to me, one brow arched, all wicked grin. “Come on. Don’t overthink it. Put on something slutty and sparkly.”
I laughed—caught off guard by how natural it felt, like the tension in my chest hadn’t just been wound tight ten minutes ago.
Matteo glanced over with an exaggerated look of offense. “What? The paddock princess doesn’t want to go out on the town?”
I hesitated.
Not because I didn’t want to—I did. But part of me was still stuck on the kiss, on the way Matteo had looked at me in the hallway.
And another part of me was remembering how this used to feel—nights out, bright lights, dancing until our feet ached, the chaos of it all. Before everything got complicated.
Alexander tilted his head, studying me. “You good, Moretti? You’ve quite literally never turned down a night out.”
I bit back my smile, letting the edge of it slip through. “Okay, okay. Obviously I want to go out with you idiots.”
“Rude,” Matteo said, fake-scandalized. “I took honors classes, thank you very much.”
Lucia rolled her eyes. “Alright, enough. Boys—go change. Nic, let’s raid your room. I’m stealing a dress. And maybe those gold heels .”
Now that was something I could get on board with.
I grinned. “Only if I get to do your makeup.”
“I wouldn’t dream of going out without the Nicola Moretti touch.”
We slipped out together, already trading outfit ideas and gossip, leaving the boys to their own chaos. The hallway buzzed with energy, and I realized this was easy and fun. I just needed to get out of my head.
“So…” I dragged the word out like a ribbon as I leaned against the dresser, watching Lucia rifle through my shoe lineup. “How’re you and Alexander after making it official?”
Her cheeks went pink immediately, like I’d flipped a switch. She looked up with that soft, melty expression I rarely saw on her—like she’d just remembered a secret kiss in the rain or some equally nauseating moment.
“It’s good, really good,” she said shyly.
I smiled before I could stop myself. “I’m really happy for you, Luce.”
She turned toward me, blinking like she hadn’t expected that. Her eyes went all gushy, like she was two seconds from tackling me in a hug.
I straightened my shoulders like a soldier. “Please don’t,” I said preemptively.
She just sighed dreamily and flopped onto the bed instead, head in her hands. “He’s so dreamy. I swear to God, it’s like he walked off the pages of a romance novel.”
I snorted. “He’s obsessed with you. As he should be.”
“Mmhm,” she hummed, tying the straps on the golden heels she’d chosen. Then she looked at me over her shoulder, all sly and smug. “Speaking of obsessed…”
I paused, dabbing the red lipstick against my bottom lip. “What?”
“How’s post-vacation going?” she asked, like she wasn’t about to ruin my whole night with that one question.
My shoulders sagged. I turned from the mirror, lipstick still uncapped in my hand. “It sucks. Like, actually sucks. I thought I was fine, but—God, it seriously, absolutely sucks.”
Lucia sat up straighter, concerned but also very ready for the tea. “What happened?”
“He found me after the race,” I started, heart already picking up speed, “And basically said he wanted us to be a thing. Not just Portofino. Not just a vacation. Us. It was just so—”
“Romantic?” Lucia supplied, grinning like the menace she was.
I rolled my eyes so hard I saw the inside of my brain. “No. Yes. Whatever. It was very something.”
“But I thought you swore off men?” she teased, raising a brow.
“I did! And serious things! I had a whole speech about it. Men suck.”
“Totally,” she said, struggling not to laugh.
“But then he goes and says stuff like ‘you burrowed into my bones’ and means it with those big brown eyes and his stupid, stupid dimples.” I snapped the lipstick cap back on and groaned into my hands, “I’m doomed.”
Lucia grinned. “Okay, okay. But what if you told him you need to take it slow? Maybe your emotionally unavailable coding gets tricked into letting yourself be happy.”
I tossed a towel at her face. “Shut up.”
She caught it and laughed. “I’m serious, Nic. He’s annoyingly good at communicating. But you have to open up. Tell him where you’re at. What you’re thinking.”
“That’s the problem,” I muttered. “I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
Lucia’s expression softened. “Okay. Then let’s scale it down.”
She tapped her chin dramatically. “Do you want a relationship?”
I recoiled. “Too big a question.”
“Got it. Smaller.” She leaned in. “Do you think about him when we’re not on track?”
I shot her a death glare.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she chirped, smug as ever. “Do you see stupid things and want to tell him about them?”
I nodded. Quietly. Pathetically.
“Do you want to date someone else?”
“God, no.”
She smiled. “Hmm. Seems like you like him.”
“Obviously. But what the hell do I do about that?”
Lucia gave a helpless shrug. “Tell him? That’s usually step one.”
I sighed dramatically and flopped onto the bed next to her, our knees bumping. “Can we start with just looking incredibly hot for tonight?”
“Now that I can do,” she said, already reaching for my makeup bag like it was a mission.
We grinned at each other, that comfortable kind of best-friend quiet.