“What I need is for her to be okay. My gut says she isn’t. Yes, Russell can’t know. Yes, it’s complicated. But you don’t choose who you fall for.”
Ale cradled his glass, studying me. His eyes softened. “I know you’re in love. I get that it feels like the only thing that matters. Right now, I’m worried about your future. I need to know how you see it so I can help. Where do you see yourself after this season ends?”
I wished I had an answer. “I don’t know.” Folding my hands, I pressed them to my mouth. “I can’t be Ethan’s teammate. Just looking at him makes me want to…” I groaned. “I learned my lesson, but I still loathe him.”
“So, you want me to look for another team.”
“I do. Here.”
Because of Kaia.
Ale nodded, expression neutral, though I knew what he was thinking. Staying here narrowed my options. The other Superbike teams nearby weren’t much better than Forward Racing. Not what he’d choose forme. But when it came to career and personal life, he’d always respected my choices.
Sometimes I wished I was more like Dad and had his business sense, his calm. Then again, he’d crossed the ocean for my mom, and she’d moved continents for him. Maybe recklessness ran in the family. It would be easier to just run, but I’d never ask Kaia to give up her dream of her mom’s college. That was the one line I wouldn’t cross.
And I didn’t want to live without her either, which left me exactly where I was. Stuck.
“I’m sorry I make everything so complicated,” I said. “But Kaia needs me. I won’t leave until she’s out of Russell’s house and in Emerport.”
Ale rolled his glass between his palms. “I’m not saying finding another team here is impossible, but I won’t lie either. You need wins—lots of them—and no scandals. Even then, it could take time.”
“I’ll take the risk.”
He leaned back on the couch, arms crossed. “As for Kaia, call her school tomorrow if she doesn’t answer.”
“Fuck.” I exhaled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Ale smirked. “Hate to play the age card, but…”
I laughed. “Qué te den.”Fuck you.
“Jokes aside,” he said, stretching his legs, “what’s your plan? Do they allow visits?”
“I guess if you’re family.” The word made me cringe. I loathed the idea, but I’d do anything to talk to her, to make sure she was okay.
“Well, at least your mother’s relationship with Russell’s good for something.”
Unfortunately, he was right. As much as I hated the wordsRussellandfamilyin the same sentence, I shoved the thought aside. Something else had been on my mind since the last time Kaia and I were together in her room.
“Speaking of relationships you don’t have time for,” I said, “where would you take someone special if you wanted to spend a few nights together?”
A knowing smirk curved his mouth. “Romantic? Views, a great bed, all that?”
“Yeah.”
“Delano Hotels,” he said. “The best. Pricey, but nothing’s too much for the woman you love, right? Wait—” He pulled a wallet from his pocket. “I’ve got a card. Check their site.”
I took the matte-black card embossed in gold. “Have you stayed there?”
“Once, in Spain. Business trip. No woman.”
“Thanks.” I slipped it into my jeans pocket.
Ale finished his whiskey. “You’re welcome. Drinks are on me.”
***
Checking my phone was the first thing I did when I woke in the motorhome. Still nothing from Kaia. I could’ve texted my mother if it wouldn’t make her suspicious about my interest in Kaia’s school.
