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Iwas one of only a few people who hated Monaco. I couldn’t stand the partying and pretentiousness that was associated with the race. The previous year I’d spent the entire weekend in my hotel room reading books with my earbuds in, trying to drown out the noise. This year I had much the same planned. With Devin sitting the race out at home in England, there was no outside entertainment for me, at least not any entertainment that interested me. Instead, I kept to myself and after the practice session on Thursday, I returned to my hotel room and laid out my new book and my earbuds.
Rafe offered to take me out to dinner, but I politely refused. I knew he liked Monaco just like our father had, so I didn’t want to ruin his fun. While he was schmoozing with the elite, I curled up in bed with my trashy novel. I liked frivolous reading once in a while. It gave me an escape from reality.
The parties hadn’t gotten loud enough for me to pop in my earbuds yet, which was why I heard the knock at my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I was surprised when I swung open the door to find Blake Carlton was standing there.
“Hey, Luna,” he said, and he sounded relaxed and confident.
He had a lot of nerve showing up, but despite that, I didn’t turn him away. Maybe it was some latent hostessing skills instilled in me by my mother, or more likely Rosa, but something about him, something I couldn’t put my finger on, had me inviting him in.
“I thought since Flynn wasn’t around, it would be safe to come see you.”
I wished I had his smug confidence. “I don’t know why you bothered. I’m just thankful that Devin and I have managed to mend our relationship.” I didn’t add “sort of” to that because Blake didn’t need to know that.
“Where is the lunatic this weekend?”
“At his home in Sandrine, serving out his suspension. You know, the one that happened because you wouldn’t let him pass.”
His devilish grin didn’t go unnoticed.
“I bet you’re glad he’s back in England. That little bugger loves Monaco. No one parties here like Flynn. I don’t know how you managed to keep him from showing up anyway.”
Blake was clearly on a fishing expedition, and I wasn’t giving him anything. “If he wasn’t going to race, what would be the point?” I said with more irritation in my voice than I wanted him to hear.
“Last year, he went partying on a Wednesday night and didn’t get back to the hotel until Friday.”
I vaguely remembered that; thankfully it was before I knew him. A few of the Perez people had been talking about his wild nights on the town. Russo reprimanded him for missing the team meeting Thursday morning. But why was Carlton even bringing this up?
“Did you come here to antagonize me?”
“I’m here to entertain you,” he said with his perfect smile.
“I don’t need entertaining. And, quite frankly, if Devin knew you were here, he’d be very unhappy.”
“Maybe he could try to kill me again,” Carlton said sarcastically.
I sighed, hoping he’d get the hint that he was starting to bore me. “He apologized.”
Carlton stifled a laugh. “Only because he had no other choice. The bastard didn’t want a more severe punishment. But let’s not talk about him,” he said, sitting at the small desk in my room. “I’d rather talk about you.”
“How about instead we talk about what you’re doing here,” I said, sitting at the edge of my bed. “What are you after, Blake?”
“I know if I try hard enough, I’m going to win you over.”
My heart inexplicably blipped for just a second. Win me over? I’d suspected as much with all the innuendo from the past few weeks, but I hadn't really believed it. I was just me, just Luna. What was all the fuss about? Yet here he was admitting it now, and I wasn’t going to give an inch, despite an unwanted feeling of being flattered. “I wouldn’t waste your time.”
“Are you still trying to tell me you love that Neanderthal?”
“I’m getting sick of this. I don’t need to defend him or justify myself to you.”
He stared at me as if analyzing me like an abstract painting. “I think we should order room service,” he said at last, picking up the phone and ignoring everything I’d said. He called for a bottle of the best red wine and some appetizers, all to be charged to his room. I thought to protest, but something was stopping me. What? I didn’t know. I felt almost dizzy, his confidence overwhelming me. Maybe, I reasoned, it wouldn’t be that bad to talk this out with him, as long as Devin never found out about it, and how would he?
“Look, I heard what you were saying before, that if I want to drive for Perez, I’m going about it the wrong way. Can we talk a bit?”
“You do have room service coming, so where would I go?”
He looked pleased with himself. “I’m going to look at this as a job interview. Since you are one of the bosses, what do I need to do to impress you?”
“Stop picking on my boyfriend.”
