Page 72 of Not So Fast
She loved him. And he loved her back.
Freya and Oscar had similar reactions, each of them vying for Xander’s attention with hugs and well-wishes. When things settled down, Xander smiled and looked at all three of them. “What have you all been up to?”
“Do you know a man named Reginald Huff?” Freya asked.
“I do. Why?” His sights narrowed on his sister.
“It’s nothing.” Mia lightly hit Freya’s leg with the back of her hand. “He’s just sayingThe Daily Reflectionis going to publish photos of you tomorrow. No big surprise there. I’m sure he got all sorts of great shots of you up on the podium. It’s a big deal. I’m sure you’ll be in lots of publications all across England tomorrow.”
Xander cast a doubtful look in Mia’s direction. “Do you really think Reginald Huff will be charitable with me?”
“In this case, yes. I do.” Mia really didn’t want to ruin today. Too many good things had happened. A podium.I love you.Those were worth savoring. They were worth celebrating. “Now, who wants to hunt down some champagne?”
Fourteen
What is something you need to let go of? Why?
Apparently, I need to let go of the cringey feelings I have when I see myself in a photo. Because Xander and I are on the front page of The Daily Reflection. The front page. With the headline “Snogging at Silverstone.” A year ago, I would’ve killed for this kind of exposure. I also would’ve been cheering myself on for making out with the hottest driver in F1. Still, I never wanted things to play out like this. I love him. He loves me. The news of our relationship should not have come out in such a public way, with zero say from either of us. Then again, it was my choice to keep the secret. I put my podcast first. And now that all might backfire.
Across the kitchen, the teakettle whistled. Xander poured the steaming water into two mugs and brought them over to Mia, who sat on the other side of the island. Her suitcases wereparked at the front door. They needed to depart for Heathrow in less than an hour. Leaving was the other thing she was freaking out about, but she couldn’t multitask right now. Her brain and heart couldn’t process this much information at one time.
“It’ll blow over. I promise,” Xander said.
How charmingly naive was he? Not that charming, actually. It was driving Mia nuts that he was so calm.
“Doesn’t it make you mad? You came in second yesterday and this is what people are talking about? It’s not fair to you. You’ve worked so hard.”
“Of course it isn’t fair. It’s bloody rubbish. But this is the UK press and there’s nothing anyone can do. Other than perhaps give Reginald Huff a black eye.”
“Violence is never the answer.”
He cocked his head to one side and narrowed his stare. “Is that really true? In all cases?”
Mia shook her head and returned her focus to the paper. “How do you look so amazing in these photos? I look like the creature from the Black Lagoon trying to consume your face.” She flipped the paper back to the front page. Her stomach lurched. There she was with Xander in the ultimate paddock clutch pose, as they kissed each other into oblivion, Mia going for the gold with her tongue. “My mother is going to have kittens. An entire litter of fucking adorable kittens that I will have to raise. And you know they’ll all live to be twenty.”
“So you’re saying she won’t be happy.” Xander came up behind her and wrapped her up in his ridiculously long arms, kissed the side of her head, then rested his chin on her shoulder. It was enough to settle her pulse rate.
“Why would she be? What mom wants a photo like this of their daughter on the front page of a British newspaper?”
“It’s not a newspaper. It’s the lining for a parakeet cage. And blame it on me. I was totally caught up in the moment and you were looking so hot, I had to get some while the getting was so very good. Plus, maybe she won’t even see it.”
She turned her head and stared him right in the eye. “My mother prides herself on consuming all kinds of news. As much of it as humanly possible. It’s only a matter of time.”
Xander slid onto the bar stool next to Mia and took her hand. “This is really bothering you, isn’t it? I can hear it in your voice.”
“Everything is falling apart and it’ll just get worse once everyone in the States wakes up and sees this. It’s only a matter of time before I get a horrible text from Heather, the woman who runs the fan club. I can’t even look at social media right now. The things people are saying are so terrible. I’m really worried about the podcast.”
She could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to roll his eyes. “Don’t you think this could ultimately be a good thing? Millions of people are going to see those photos and know who you are.”
“This isn’t exactly the first impression I hoped to make. A lot of F1 fans have suspected this for a while now, but now they’ll know for sure that our relationship was the reason I went soft on you. Everything I’ve built does not look good through that lens.”
A deep furrow formed between his eyes. “My season has also turned around. That’s a good reason for not saying shit about me.”
“Of course it is,” she grumbled and stared off. “But I still have to find a way to explain myself that doesn’t burn everything I’ve built to the ground.”
“What are you going to say?”
“That we’re friends and we were caught up in the excitement of your podium finish?”
