CHAPTER SIX CECI #2
That injury really should have been an eyesore.
It should have been the thing that marred a pretty face.
Because Clarke had classically handsome good looks that one might call pretty, with those dreamy caramel eyes and long black lashes.
But he had other features, like that square jaw and those bold cheekbones, that weren’t pretty at all.
Not to mention those lips, which most of the time were fixed in a rigid-straight line but occasionally curved, suggesting something almost sinister.
A strand of hair that looked like a dark honey stick slung over his one good eye, brushing the tips of his lashes.
He slipped the strand between a couple of his long, elegant fingers and swept it back.
“The man looks positively Gothic,” Aunt Delilah purred.
Ceci blinked.
Gothic?
When she thought of Leo Clarke, she’d always pictured Mr. Darcy mistakenly catapulted into the twenty-first century.
Completely out of place. But now—with his eyes flashing angrily from out behind that dusty violet bruise—he looked brooding.
Almost like … . No. Not possible. Heathcliff?
Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy in one package?
No. Uh-uh.
He should have looked sympathetic with that eye. But he didn’t. He looked menacing and ready to kick the shit out of anyone who expressed one ounce of sympathy for him.
The auctioneer suggested an opening bid of one thousand dollars. Someone matched it. The bidding got as high as five thousand before it hit a long pause.
Ceci sighed before raising her hand. “Ten thousand.”
Aunt Delilah looked at her, impressed.
Pixel tapped her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll explain later,” Ceci muttered.
The bidding continued. When it reached thirty-five thousand dollars and looked like that was about to be the winning bid, Ceci raised her hand. “Fifty thousand dollars.”
Well, this was a first. Both Pixel and Aunt Delilah gaped. At the same time.
Ceci waited.
Silence.
She looked around the room.
Okay, Roxanne. Come on.
Nothing.
She looked up at Clarke. She could read that expression.
Why the fuck are you bidding on me?
If there was one thing she and Clarke could agree on, it was that a date with the other would be equivalent to a colonoscopy with no anesthesia, followed by that good old English practice of being drawn and quartered.
Ceci whispered in her aunt’s ear, “Now’s your chance, Aunt Delilah. Bid on the Gothic man. You can play Catherine to his Heathcliff.”
No response.
Aunt Delilah was holding up her compact, reapplying her lipstick.
“Going once,” the auctioneer cried.
Ceci jabbed her aunt and a swath of Scarlet Shame swept across her cheek.
“Now look what you’ve made me do,” Aunt Delilah huffed, wiping away the lipstick with a napkin. “I’ll have to start all over again.”
“Going twice,” the auctioneer cried.
“Aunt Delilah,” Ceci pleaded, her voice a whisper that burst from her like a jackhammer. “Please!”
Aunt Delilah shut her compact and tossed it and her lipstick back in her purse.
“Please what, dear?”
The only answer was the sound of the gavel, which might just as well have been pounded against Ceci’s head. She felt the beginning of a massive headache.
“Sold to the lucky lady sitting at table thirteen!”
?? F1 AUCTION CHAOS ??
Tonight’s charity date auction went from W to WTF in record time.
Sir Clarke—Mr. Chivalry-on-Wheels—walked onstage with a black eye looking like he just lost a bar fight with Ian Anker.
BUT WAIT FOR IT—Plot twist: the winning bid came from none other than Blue Jet Lightning Team Principal Ceci Rivers ?????? Yes.
HER. Either enemies-to-lovers is trending, or this is the most aggressive flirty revenge anyone’s ever paid top $$$ for ??
#BlackEyeAndAFatCheck #RivalsWithBenefits
#FIAAboutToNeedARelationshipClause
??F1 FANGIRL SLIGHTLY UNHINGED
UMMM EXCUSE ME??????? Sir Clarke shows up at a charity date auction with a BLACK EYE?
?? The king of clean racing, good manners, and actual KNIGHTHOOD?
?? ?? And THEN—BECAUSE THIS IS APPARENTLY A FANFIC NOW—Team Principal Ceci Rivers, aka his chief rival, bids on him.
And WINS. ???? Someone please check if Netflix is filming because this is too good.
I need answers. I need behind-the-scenes.
I need fan cams. Enemies to lovers arc is in full throttle and I’m NOT OKAY.
#F1FanFic #RivalryTurnedRomance #IShippedItAsAJokeNowIt’sReal?
??F1 GOSSIP GIRL … SCANDAL IN THE FAST LANE! ??
The F1 world was left clutching its pearls last night when none other than Sir Clarke appeared on stage at a charity date auction …
sporting a black eye. Yes, you read that right—the golden boy of motorsport, knight in shining armor, looking like he just stepped out of Fight Club: Monaco Edition.
?? And just when murmurs reached fever pitch, in swoops the last person anyone expected: Ceci Rivers—his nemesis on the track and social media sparring partner—placing the highest bid of the night.
Either Cupid’s gone rogue or we’re witnessing the most glamorous sabotage in sports history.
Either way, we’ll be watching … very closely ??
#F1FeudOrFlirtation #ThisSeasonIsGoingToBeBetterThanDriveToSurvive #WhoPunchedTheKnight