Page 70 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 1-4
‘I mean my kind never marries your kind.’ She nodded. ‘You’re so posh you’re practically royalty. You’re certainlyracingroyalty. You hang out with actual princesses. If you go public with me, it’ll impact your business. Your bottom line.’
‘Golly.’ He leaned back, blue eyes twinkling. ‘What’s wrong with yourkind? You said you grew up in a garage—that’s my family business, too.’
‘That’s one part of my family business,’ she snapped coldly. ‘It’s also a chop shop. My father flips stolen car parts and my mother cooks the books.’
He blinked. ‘Okay but—’
‘I have two older brothers. One is dead. The other is in jail and it’s my fault he’s there.’
He fell silent, finally serious. Good.
‘Itisa family business.’ She made herself tell him everything. It would end hismust marrymadness. ‘My father’s the boss. He issues the orders, we obey. Everyone has their job. Mine was on reception. I always wanted to work on the cars but he said I was too small, but I watched and learned anyway. I would work with my brothers when our parents were at the pub. I was fast.’
‘I’m sure. I’ve seen you in action.’
‘And I was a swot. Not just in the garage, but at school. I thought I’d get their approval, but all I got was too good at maths for Mum to let me see the accounts.’
‘You knew what she was doing?’
‘It wasn’t hard to work out. As I got older, I watched my brothers take more and more risks. Stealing cars, modifying them for illegal street races. Dad encouraged them. He wanted good parts. But while Callum liked a fast car, he didn’t always want to put the work in. He rushed repairs in order to race more. If he’d just slowed down then it might’ve been okay. But one night he’d rushed it too much. Finn was driving…’ She paused, steadied herself. He needed to know. ‘They’d barely left the garage when I heard the impact. They were both flung from the car. Callum was killed instantly. Finn was charged with dangerous driving.’
She paused again. Massimo was regarding her intently, his expression inscrutable. He’d never discussed the accident that had killed his parents and she wondered again about the scars up his forearm.
‘The thing is, Finn had already been convicted for car theft and with this he faced jail time. My parents told me to say I’d seen Callum driving, not Finn. That the lie would save Finn from jail.’
The accident and the aftermath in her final year of school had changed everything.
‘I couldn’t do it,’ she whispered. ‘I was in shock about Callum. I knew Finn would race again and I didn’t want him to. I wanted him to stay safe, stay alive. But they never forgave me for not doing as they said.’
‘They never should have asked you to lie,’ Massimo said quietly, his focus steady on her. ‘The authorities would have found out the truth—surely there would have been evidence showing what really happened. Saying that would’ve only gotten you into trouble and negatively impacted your future.’
Which was also partly why she’d refused. She’d had ambition bigger than the family business. ‘Right. As they said, I was too selfish to put the family first.’
‘Was it reallyfamilyfirst?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Or was it yourbrotherbefore you? Again?’
She failed to answer. He was too astute. Her dreams had never been given any consideration. It had been about her father, her brother; she’d just been expected to fall in.
‘What happened then?’ Massimo softly pressed.
‘They threw me out.’ Banished and branded her a traitor. She’d lost her community, too. Her boyfriend—her brother’s friend—had never spoken to her again. She’d been utterly cut.
‘What about your mother? Didn’t she stick up for you?’
Her mother never stood up to her father, never stood up for Lily. Lily would never do that toherchild. She would hold her baby close and protect it from every kind of pressure.
‘How old were you?’ Massimo breathed.
‘Seventeen.’
Anger flashed in his eyes. ‘Did you finish school? Where did youlive?’
‘I stole some cash on my way out,’ she admitted. She was filled with shame about that, but she’d had no choice. She’d had a couple of bad nights. Doors slammed in her face because her family had spread the word not to welcome her. Their rejection had been so cruel, so complete. ‘I was so at a loss, in the end I got on a bus and went to the track. I’d never been before. I just used to watch it on screen, you know? But it had always been the dream to get there. I hung around and asked for odd jobs every day until Derek gave me a chance. When he saw what I could do, he helped me find an apprenticeship at a local garage. I worked the junior karting leagues after hours and on the weekends.’
She’d worked every hour she could, made connections in the field. She was proud of her efforts and immeasurably grateful to the old guy for supporting her.
Massimo’s frown had deepened. ‘Your parents didn’t want to lose another son, so they threw away their daughter.’
She flinched. He was right, but to hear it put so succinctly was like a punch.
