Page 38 of Not So Fast
Judy caught sight of Mia and her mom and strolled toward them.
“I invited her.”
“You invited both of us? Is this some sort of trick? Why would you do this to me?” her mom asked, about as unhappy as Mia had ever heard her.
The guests closest to them were taking note of the disturbance just as Judy walked up to them.
“Amy. Good to see you,” Judy said, waving her hand then folding her arms across her chest.
“Don’t start with me,” her mom said, her tone sharp.
Mia grabbed them both by the arm and did her best to be inconspicuous as she dragged them to the back of the room, away from her guests.
“I love you both, but you cannot do this here. There are people in this room who flew to Austin for this. So you both have to be civil to each other. The race is ninety minutes. You can watch it and keep your mouth shut. Have a mimosa.”
Mia’s mom pursed her lips. “I’m leaving. I know when I’m not wanted.”
“Typical Amy. Always has to play the victim,” Judy said.
“Come on, you two. I’m serious.” Mia wanted to stomp her feet. Now she truly understood what parents with toddlers went through. Except these were grown-ass women.
“It’s okay. I’ll leave. I don’t want there to be drama. I just wanted to be supportive.” Her mom leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Love you, honey.” She sneered at her sister, then walked away. A few seconds later, she was out the door.
Mia exhaled through her nose. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry.”
“But are you? Really?”
“I am. I don’t want it to be like this. But she’s making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Across the room, Mia saw that the formation lap was starting. “Come on. It’ll look bad if I’m not playing host.” She wound her way between the tables with her aunt behind her. “Is everybody good?” Mia called out. “Everyone excited? Who do we think will take the win today?”
From somewhere in the crowd, someone yelled, “Are you rooting for Xander today, Mia?”
“Sure,” Mia answered, turning to face her guests and feeling put on the spot. “But I root for all the drivers. I know it’s impossible, but I want everyone to have a good race.”
Mia took a seat with her aunt at their tiny table near the front. Up on the screen, the drivers started lining up on the grid.
“I’m so excited to be here,” a woman at the table next to them said. “Thank you for hosting this. It’s so awesome to meet other fans. I can’t wait to talk with you later.”
“Thank you. I’m so glad you came.” Mia smiled and willedherself to relax. This event was a good thing, and she couldn’t let the kerfuffle between her mom and aunt ruin it. Still, she felt overwhelmed by the pressure of everyone wanting a piece of her. The pressure of feeling like she needed to fix things between her mom and aunt.
She looked up at the screen as Xander pulled into his starting position of twelfth place. In a race like Monaco, where it was an immense challenge to overtake on the circuit, twelfth was as good as last.
Part of her hated that she couldn’t be there to support him. Another part of her wondered what in the hell was going on between them since one thing she’d never thought to put on her life’s bingo card was phone sex with Xander Bishop. Unbelievably, they’d done it three times. Mia was getting kinda good at it. Of course, they’d talked a lot, too, about everything from her new T-shirt designs to the interviews he never seemed to want to do. A few times Mia had tried to bring up his troubles on track, but he always changed the subject. He was working on it, he’d said. And who was she to doubt his answer? She wanted to respect his boundaries. She might know a lot about the sport, but she didn’t know what it was like to be Xander Bishop.
“I decided to come back.” Mia’s mom pulled up a chair and sat on Mia’s left-hand side.
Her aunt Judy leaned closer. “Did I ever tell you two that I once had a one-night stand with a Formula One driver? In the late ’90s. Very hot.”
“Oh, good God,” Mia’s mom blurted. “Do you see what I’m dealing with?”
Great. Just fucking great.
Why had Mia ever wished that her mom and aunt couldfind a way to be in the same room? Also, she had about five thousand follow-up questions for her aunt about that one-night stand, but there was no time for that. The lights above the starting line came on—one, two, three, four, five. Then out. And Mia braced herself for a race during which she was certain anything could happen.
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