Chapter 2
Babysitting a heartbroken racing driver, and her new teammate, on the bathroom floor of his team’s motorhome at Spa, had not been on Savi Hart’s bingo card this race season.
They had just spent a weekend at Julien’s, one of the other drivers for her new team, and she had somehow found herself glued to Marco De Luca’s side.
She had known him since she was a junior racing driver and he was already making a name for himself in the International Endurance Championship, with their paths crossing numerous times on the weekends she drove in the support races that were meant to provide entertainment to the fans while they waited for the big guns to come out on track.
As a result of their familiarity, she had wound up spending most of the pre-race week shenanigans playing beer pong with him as an out for her anxiety.
It was safe to assume Savi and Marco were bonded for life after this weekend, only she hadn’t intended on being a shoulder to cry on after the alcohol had left his system and they were supposed to be back in work mode. He could have timed this better.
‘I miss her so much,’ Marco sighed, getting a mouthful of fluffy towel as a result of being sat right next to the rail.
His hazel eyes glistened with tears and while she tried to pity him, it was kind of hard given how unlike himself he was behaving.
She knew he was a sensitive soul at times, and he was polite and respectful and the kind of guy you would want to take home to your parents, but this was different.
‘Marco, I don’t know who you mean.’
‘Esme!’ he growled, but Savi didn’t take the minor aggression personally.
She wasn’t sure how he could miss his rival’s social media manager when she was here at the track with them.
They had seen her mere minutes ago, her bright yellow Converse dazzling them as she ran down the pit lane with her camera in her hand, chasing after one of her drivers.
Mind you, it was right then that Marco had bolted in here and yanked Savi by the arm, forcing her to follow him. She should’ve clocked it immediately.
‘Wait, you and…’ she trailed off, confused as hell.
‘Yes, me and dot dot dot.’ He threw his arms up like she was supposed to just know.
She’d had no idea anything had gone on between them. As far as Savi knew, Esme had been on and off, or in her words, in a ‘casual entanglement’ with Thalia for the last few months. Yes, Esme was friends with Marco, but had they crossed a line?
‘Ugh,’ Marco groaned again, this time following it up with a sniffle. He’d got himself worked up enough that his olive complexion had a hint of red to it.
‘Why don’t you come and sit out on the sofas so you can quit eating the towels?
It can’t be hygienic.’ She felt bad for laughing at his sad and sorrowful state, but how could she not?
He was one of the world’s most famous racing drivers, usually so laid back and calm in every situation, and here he was, having a heartbreak-induced meltdown whilst stone-cold sober.
‘I’m comfortable down here. It makes me feel grounded.’
‘Oh, honey. A bathroom floor ain’t gonna cut it. You need to be in the mountains. Get some good old country air in you.’
‘I’m no cowboy.’ Marco scowled but slowly clambered to his feet and followed her.
‘No, you’re quite clearly a city boy through and through.’
‘Hey!’ He looked genuinely offended.
‘No need to get all defensive, Mr Monaco,’ she smirked.
From the few times she’d hung out with the team, she had already established that his teammates Brett Anderson and Julien Moretz loved getting their hands dirty on their Malmedy farms, whereas Marco would rather sit on the balcony of his Monegasque apartment and watch the world go by with a sparkling water.
‘We can’t all rock cowboy boots.’ He gestured down at Savi’s choice in footwear.
Cherry-red cowboy boots with white detailing, her pride and joy.
Lucie Carolan had expressed her admiration for them the second she’d laid eyes on them at Julien’s.
She’d got them at a vintage store back home when she was seventeen and they were still going strong six years later.
Savi may be about to embark on another tour of Europe and beyond in her new role as a racing driver for one of the most reputable International Endurance Championship teams, but you couldn’t take the Wyoming cowgirl out of her. It was kind of becoming her brand.
Anderson’s thing was being the sober positive mental health rep, Moretz was the family man, she was the USA native being thrown in at the deep end and Marco… well, Marco De Luca was currently the emotional mess of the team.
‘Right, are you done getting all emotional on me? No offence, but I came here to work and bond with the team. Not to babysit your ass.’ Savi took a swig of water.
‘I’m done, promise. Think that was the residual weekend hangover doing the talking there. Sorry for the snapping and the dramatic as fuck sighs, not my finest moment.’
‘You don’t say.’
‘Oh, shit. You’re friends with Ez aren’t you?’ Marco looked like a deer in headlights, running a hand through his chocolatey curls and causing them to become even more dishevelled.
‘Yeah, but I didn’t know about you two. Not even an inkling,’ Savi shrugged, trying to act like she wasn’t bothered.
‘That’s because there was never really an us , Savannah. I really liked her, but she’s too caught up in her shenanigans with that girl.’
‘Okay, first of all, you don’t get to use my government name.
It’s Savi, to you. We have been over this so many times, De Luca, please.
You may not know me well, but you have known me long enough and still haven’t learnt.
Second, you are a millionaire racing driver with multiple world championship titles under your belt.
Thalia doesn’t even have a podium win. She’s still considered a rookie after four seasons. ’
‘But she has Esme’s heart. And I don’t.’
‘What I’m saying, Marco, is if you want her, go get her. It’s not like Thalia Kotas is here to stop you, is she?’ Savi raised an eyebrow then thought about it further, and frowned, ‘At least, I don’t think her team is here yet…’
‘You’re right, damn it Savannah, you’ve always had a bit of a way with words.
’ Marco stood up and put his hands on his hips in somewhat of a superhero pose.
‘I’m gonna get her back. I’m gonna get my Esmerelda back.
’ Despite the conviction with which he said it, he stayed put, silence filling the motorhome.
‘Esmerelda?’ Savi frowned.
‘I was not supposed to tell you that. Fuck it, you got a pen and paper? I’ll write up an NDA.’
‘No need, I can keep a secret.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
She sipped her bottle of water, waiting for the supposedly bold and courageous driver to get his ass into gear. Except Marco was still in the same pose, gazing longingly at the door as though Esme were going to materialise. She was going to have to give him a hard shove in her friend’s direction.
‘Marco, if you’re going to make a grand gesture you can’t stay in this overpriced metal box forever. Come on, let’s go down the pit lane together.’ She held her hand out, coaxing him out into the unknown. ‘You’ve got this.’
‘I one hundred per cent have not got this, but I appreciate the encouragement.’ He grabbed her water out of her hand and took a big swig, gulping it down.
‘You’re fine, this is no big deal.’ She laughed and tugged him down the trailer steps, back towards the Revolution Racing garage. Savi watched as Marco did his best to snap out of his sad and sorrowful energy and feign confidence as he walked past his team.
‘Were you guys getting down and dirty in the team motorhome?’ Brett gave them a once-over, earning himself a slap on the arm from Lucie, his wife and one of Revolution’s two social media managers.
‘No, Anderson, because my heart is elsewhere.’
‘Uh, so is mine!’ Savi defended herself, not letting Marco make it sound like she had been rejected by him back there. If they had seen the state of him, on the brink of tears over a woman, he’d be mortified.
‘Savannah actually gave me a pep talk, and it was quite effective. Gave me a kick up the ass. I’m going after Ez.’ He continued walking out of the garage and down the pit lane, gathering a crowd as the team trailed behind him.
‘Whatever he’s about to do, this is going to go so wrong…’ Miko grimaced, as she and Kodie rushed to follow their teammate, watching in horror as Marco marched himself into another team’s garage in the middle of their workday, uninvited, on the hunt for Esme.
‘Can I have everyone’s attention please!’
‘Oh no…’ Savi cast nervous glances back at her new teammates, her eyes silently screaming for help. Esme put her camera down and looked at Marco like he’d lost his damn mind.
‘I think you might have helped get him into this mess,’ Brett grinned in response, leaning against the entrance to Eden Racing’s garage and enjoying the show.
‘I vote you don’t get him out of it. It’s been years since Mars made a fool of himself like this.
About time someone took the title from me. ’
Esme ran towards them in a state of panic, bypassing Marco who still looked to be preparing his grand speech, ‘Savi, what have you done? What did he tell you?’ she whisper-yelled.
‘I don’t know, Esmerelda , what have you done?! You broke him! The man is about to declare his love to you in front of all these people. A usually very sane, very rational man.’
‘We never even slept together! Might’ve kissed once, just once, but that’s all.’ Poor Esme looked genuinely concerned for him, as she should be.
‘Well apparently that one kiss has ruined his life. You sure there wasn’t more to it?’