Chapter 8
Eight
Emilio had some good to take home from Imola—namely, his best race performance of the year. Progress was progress. Or at least
that was what he was telling himself. Most notably, he felt a shift in his thinking. Piper’s little sayings were sticking
to him. Everything you need is already inside you.
He’d hesitated to buy into such a simple concept. After all, racing was an incredibly complicated sport. But on some level,
what she’d said made sense. In fact, he couldn’t get it out of his head. So much in his life had changed, but he was still
the same person and driver he’d been last year. He had wins and podiums in him. Was success that far away? If he simply kept
his focus? God, he wanted to believe it was.
Unfortunately, focus was a moving target. He felt distracted when Piper was around, especially when she was performing magic tricks like managing
to please Mega Racing with Gus’s social media or walking around being a ray of sunshine with the most lethal blue eyes he’d
ever seen. Even so, she was also the person helping clear the fog in his head. And he couldn’t deny she was doing her job
far better than anyone before her. Gus adored her, and that made everything easier. She was like an angel who bedeviled him
every moment of the day. Essential to his life right now, but also the definition of playing with fire.
He was drawn to her. Attraction didn’t begin to explain it, especially since that true embrace in the paddock with Gus binding
them together. Forget having to shake the dream—that had been real life and the reverberations still echoed inside him.
Piper strolled into the living room, where Emilio had started unpacking boxes in anticipation of Xander and Mia’s visit for
dinner tomorrow evening. Gus was curled up on the couch. “Well, now my sisters are grilling me. They don’t believe we aren’t
romantically involved.” Piper planted her hands on her hips as if to confront him. In a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a
snug white tee that clung perfectly to her breasts.
It was hard not to feast on the image. He cleared his throat in an attempt to also clear his mind. “They saw the photos of
us at the security gate?” It was ridiculous that everyone was reading so much into those images—although he’d enjoyed that
moment of closeness with Piper, it had been nothing more than an innocent split-second decision. He’d wanted to protect her.
That was all.
“There’s more now. Thanks to our buddy, Gus, and prying eyes in the paddock.” She stepped closer and handed over her phone.
“Look.”
The image was comical—the two of them in an embrace, lashed together by Gus’s leash. They were laughing at Gus like parents
amused by their mischievous child. But there was something else there in the photo, one unmistakable takeaway, and it wasn’t
the feelings of want and need he’d already acknowledged to himself. He and Piper looked good together. Like they would fit
together.
Obviously, that was a fantastical idea. Even if they kissed, or had sex, it couldn’t mean anything . . . Piper was leaving
in a few weeks, and his life was still in disarray. Why would she want any part of his jumbled, dysfunctional life? She was
already being brave by stepping into it for a short time. “I’m sorry this is happening. It’s part of the world of F1. Is this
going to be a problem for you?”
She stepped closer. “Not really. I mean, my sisters both think you’re super hot, and honestly, so does my mom, so they’re
mostly just jealous. I told them it was nothing.”
“Right. There’s nothing going on.” It was more than a statement of the obvious. It was a good reminder that everything was
simpler that way.
“They don’t believe me. And they’re questioning whether I’m ever going to come home.” She laughed quietly and shook her head.
“Obviously, I’m going to go home. I told them that.”
Emilio had wondered several times if there might be a way to convince Piper to return to her dog nanny duties after her sister’s
wedding. He didn’t have a good feeling about it. She’d told him flat out that her family was the most important thing in her
life. That she couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Florida. “I’m sorry about the silliness with the photos. If I could control
it, I would. We just have to wait for the story to go away.”
“Will the team be upset?”
“I’d hear from Isabel if they were. Judging by how much they love Gus’s newfound fame, I’m guessing no.”
“Okay, then.” She surveyed the room. “What can I do to help?” She stepped over to one of four short stacks of boxes and peeked
inside. When she bent over, a bare stretch of her lower back was revealed.
Emilio averted his eyes. He didn’t need to be more tempted. “You don’t have to help. That’s not what I hired you to do.”
Piper admonished him with a tilt of her head and a stare. “Do you really think I care about that? I’m doing your dog’s social
media now. I love to stay busy. Put me to work.”
He knew better than to argue. “It’s mostly books in these boxes. They’re just going on the shelves.” Emilio pointed to the
built-ins that lined one side of the living room.
“How do you want them? Alphabetical by author?”
“They’re already sorted that way, but we might have to make some adjustments.”
“Sounds good.” They went right to work, and they soon had an efficient system where she handed him books and he shelved them.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Why did you wait so long to do this? I mean, the boxes were sitting right in front of the shelves.”
He drew in a deep breath. He’d been asking himself the same question. “I don’t think I was ready to admit this was my new
life.” He placed another small stack of books on a shelf. “So much had changed, and this house didn’t feel like home. There
was part of me that thought I’d wake up one day and find out I’d dreamt the whole thing.”
She smiled and nodded. “I felt the same way after everything fell apart with Kyle. I moved out of his place and into the world’s
crappiest apartment. I’d wake up in the morning afraid to open my eyes. I kept hoping it was all a bad dream.”
It was remarkable how a dog nanny and a Formula One driver could have such similar reactions to upheaval in their lives. Perhaps
that was why he was so drawn to Piper. Something deep inside him recognized the same qualities in her. “You don’t still live
in the crappy apartment, do you?” He hated the thought of her not having a nice place to live. One that matched her disposition.
“I don’t. The place I’m living now is way nicer.”
“Oh, good.”
“Uh, sorta. I had to move back in with my parents.”
“Oh, no.”
“That’s part of why I took this job. The money will help me get a new place.” She closed her eyes and shook her head for a
moment, as if she couldn’t believe her life had turned out this way. Again, he could relate. He’d had so many of those moments
in the past few months.
“Am I paying you enough? Remember, I said I’d give you a bonus to cover the fee you have to pay to your agency.”
Piper shook her head so frantically it made her hair messy. “You’re being more than generous. I wouldn’t feel right asking
for more. Believe me, you’re helping me a ton. I’ll be able to move out of my parents’ house after I get home. I’m looking
forward to it, too. I get to pick out a new place. Maybe get a dog of my own.”
“That sounds nice.” He wasn’t sure why, but this picture she was painting for him, albeit pleasant, rubbed him the wrong way.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to imagine her life improving; it was that he wasn’t ready to watch her go. She’d made a marked
difference in his life in very little time. And the thought of searching for a new dog nanny seemed hopeless. He doubted he’d
ever find anyone as perfect for Gus as her.
Piper opened the last box. “No more books. Looks like framed photos.”
Emilio knew exactly what she’d come across. “We can put those in the closet.”
It was too late. Piper was already inspecting them. “Aww. Look. It’s little you in a race suit holding a trophy. Looks like
a go-kart track. Is this your parents with you? How old are you?”
Emilio couldn’t contain the smile that crossed his face. The photo held one of his fondest memories. “Yes, that’s my mom and
dad. It’s at a little track outside of Barcelona. I think I’m five? Or six? I started karting young.” He took the photograph
from her. He was quickly pulled in to the bittersweet nostalgia of seeing such a happy version of himself.
“Your parents look so proud. And they’re holding hands. I’m sorry things didn’t work out between them.”
“Me, too.”
“That’s got to be difficult. Your parents splitting when you’re older.”
“I think everyone expects me not to be upset because I’m not a kid anymore. But I’m still their kid.”
“Of course. Their relationship was the foundation of your entire childhood.”
“A childhood that revolved around racing. Now it’s hard to look back and feel good about it. Plus, it makes me question the
whole idea of romantic love. How do two people walk away from each other after so long?”
“You never know what’s really going on in someone’s relationship.”
“I think being an only child makes it worse. I sometimes wonder if I imagined the whole thing.”
“Oh, God. Of course, you feel like that. You don’t have anyone to corroborate your own history. And no one else saw their
marriage the way you did.”
“Exactly.”
Piper stood right next to him and put her hand on his shoulder, looking down at the photo, which was still in Emilio’s hands.
Her touch and everything she’d said made him feel understood. Seen. “You’re so adorable. I can’t stand how cute you are,”
she said.
He let out a quiet chuckle. “I was a pretty cute kid.”
“Who turned into a smoking-hot adult.”
He slid a questioning glance in her direction.
“Oh, please. Not this again.” She shook her head. “It’s objectively true. Not open for discussion, Speedy Spice.”
“I don’t think of myself that way.”
“Of course you don’t. It’s my job to tell you.”
“That is not your job.”