Page 71 of Not So Fast
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I have to go, darling. We can resume this conversation later, okay?”
Mia nodded eagerly, half crying, half laughing, all of it in disbelief. “Yes. I’ll see you soon.”
Mia stood there for a moment by herself, taking it all in. “Well, damn. That actually went pretty well.”
She let out a quiet laugh, wiped her tears, and went off to find Oscar and Freya. She found them in the paddock, then the three of them headed back to the motorhome to wait forXander. As soon as they were inside and had some quiet, Mia pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had dozens of notifications after the dramatic end to the race. The first thing she saw was a text from Heather.
You’re at Silverstone? I just saw you on TV during the podium ceremony. I thought you were coming home after Austria? I really need you to tell me when you’re at a GP so I can keep the fan club notified. You didn’t mention it on the last episode of NSF either. The F1 conspiracy theorists are losing their minds because you were spotted in front of the podium with Xander’s siblings. They think Mega Racing hired you to raise Xander’s profile and that the pod was fake from the beginning. I’m doing my best to defend you, but there are sooo many comments. And your diehard fans are listening. Hard.
Mia’s stomach sank. Had she been a fool to think she could keep her connection to Xander a secret? Probably. At least that was still under wraps. Hanging out with Oscar and Freya was not the same as a romance with Xander.
Hey Heather. Thanks for checking in. Yes, I ended up at Silverstone. I had so much fun in Austria, I figured I might as well stay. I’m so sorry I didn’t let you know. Things have been so busy. Don’t waste your day trying to defend me. It’s not fair to you. Trolls will be trolls. I fly home tomorrow. Can we catch up then?
That sounds great. Talk soon.
Mia didn’t want to overanalyze a text, but Heather was the queen of exclamation marks. Things were changing. Mia could feel it.
A moment later, Mia received a text from her mother and knew for a fact that her world was tilting off its axis.
You’re in England? My editor saw you on TV. Why didn’t you tell me? Did you even put me down as your emergency contact when you booked your flight?
Yes, I’m in England. I didn’t know that I had to tell you every little thing that I do.
Is this what our relationship has become? You hide things from me and I have to use my investigative reporting skills to find out what my own daughter is doing?
Mia needed to defuse this situation since her mom was blowing it out of proportion.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I fly home tomorrow. Let’s have dinner this week and I’ll catch you up. Tuesday night? My apartment? I’ll cook.
You’re changing the subject.
I’m not. I’m merely suggesting we talk about it in person.
What time? Should I bring wine? White or red? What about an appetizer? Or dessert? I don’t want to interfere with whatever you were planning to prepare.
Six. Definitely wine. White, please. Not sure what I’m going to cook. I just want to catch up.
Fly safe. And don’t drink water on the airplane unless it comes out of a bottle. I read an article about how the airlines have let sanitation standards slip. Love you. Mom
After those two exchanges, Mia wanted nothing to do with her phone so she tucked it into her bag. Unfortunately, there were two other phones on the motorhome and she had zero control of those.
“Somebody posted a photo of us up on the balcony in the paddock club. Who’s Reginald Huff? He tagged me,” Freya said.
Oscar was on the case. “He tagged me, too. And Mia. Is it just me or is this caption semicreepy?”
Mia couldn’t bear to look. “What does it say?”
“‘Got some very interesting photos at Silverstone today,’” Freya started reading. “‘Of course, the paddock is abuzz with talk of Xander Bishop and his impressive second-place finish.’” She looked at Oscar and smiled. “Aww. Sweet.”
“Yeah, but that’s not everything,” Oscar replied, then focused his attention on the post. “‘Here are his sister Freya and brother Oscar attending the Grand Prix with none other than American podcaster and aspiring Formula One influencer Mia Neal. If you’re a Xander fan, be sure to check tomorrow’s front page ofThe Daily Reflection. It’s going to be a hot one.’”
“What does that mean?” Freya asked. “If you’re a Xander fan, check out tomorrow’s front page? It’s going to be a hot one?”
“Not sure.” Mia’s brain was going one million miles a minute. She was surprised smoke wasn’t coming out of her ears. What was Reginald Huff up to?No goodwas the only logical answer.
Just then, Mia heard the latch to the door on the motorhome and up the stairs came Xander.
“There he is!” she exclaimed, her heart full despite everything that had come to light in the past few minutes. She popped up from her seat to greet him, noticing how different it felt to look at him now.
