My heart stops, but I quickly shake myself out of it and send him a thumbs up. He grins, still answering a question with his mouth lingering over the microphone.
Gia appears next to him and drags him off to a different journalist. Rome glances at me again, but this time, his eyebrow flicks upward.
I roll my eyes and suppress a cheesy grin.
I know, I know. You beat Beau.
Quinn elbows me. “Did you two just have a silent conversation?”
I rewind a few seconds, and oh my God, we did.
My cheeks warm, and I deny the accusation. “Absolutely not. That would mean Rome and I are on the same page, and that’s only happened during a race.Once.”
I know Quinn can see right through me, but she doesn’t press. All she says is, “Right,” in a curious way.
I distract myself by picking things up and helping the rest of the team get everything gathered since we leave early tomorrow morning for Italy, when my phone buzzes in my back pocket.
I expect to see “Dad” flashing on the screen, knowing he’ll want to congratulate us on the race, because there’s no way he didn’t stay up to watch it. Vivian probably tried to but likely fell asleep right beside him on the couch.
Instead, it’s Rome, and I don’t miss the way every sense becomes heightened.
Rome
368. 10pm on the dot, Princess.
I chew on my bottom lip, my heartrate instantly rising.
Me
Who said you raced well enough for me to come to your room?
Rome
I think the smile on your face after I climbed out of my car was enough of an indication.
Me
You think that smile was for you?
I search for him in the crowd, wondering where he is that he’s able to text me back and forth, but I come up empty handed.
Rome
It better be for me.
I grab onto my stomach to force the flutters away and quickly shut my phone screen off. I have to finish going over the data with Dylan and get things back in order before any of us turn in for the night to prepare for an early flight.
Or in my case, convince myself that going to Rome’s room is a terrible idea.
I pace back and forth in front of the bed.
Quinn left in an Uber an hour ago to catch her flight, and as soon as I was alone, I started mentally listing everything that should prevent me from walking three doors down.
We can’t do this.
We were rivals no more than a couple of months ago, and now we arguably work closer than anyone else in the business.
The head engineer and driver need to have a seamless relationship, and that does not involve crossing lines with each other. I’m much more responsible than this. Tessa Halston doesn’t make impulsive decisions. I was voted most responsible in high school by my graduating class, so what am I doing right now with Rome Pierce?
