He joined in, laughing, and if Luca wasn’t looping the track, trying to get the fastest lap, I was sure he would have been right alongside him.
“Traitor!” Uncle Abbé, Dad’s best friend, heckled, shaking his head. His grin flashed bright against his dark skin, the same grin that had been cheering me on since I waslittle. “What are you doing here dressed like that, huh?”
I shrugged, looking around, feigning disgust, the discomfort of being watched already leaving me. Ciclati was always a safe space. “Just come to visit the team Veltar is going to thrash.”
My dad cackled, clutching his chest. “Can you believe I raised her? Turned her back on her roots.”
The room filled with laughter again as people got back to work, but it didn’t quite reach me.Was that what he thought? Was there meaning behind those words?
I hadn’t exactly told him why I wasn’t coming back between races.Did he assume it was because I was still seeing Imre?
Zolt had said he would follow my lead. It was about time I took the reins.
“You’ll have to get a few new sponsors by the time we’re done with you,” I sighed. “The bike will be covered.”
Abbé’s mouth dropped open in fake shock, then he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “We’ve missed you, Miss Ciclati. You’re not really a Veltar girl, you know that, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “I’ve seen the other side now, Abbé. I’d need something pretty solid to change teams.”
“What about family loyalty?” Dad asked with a shocked blink.
Abbé shook his head. “What about ajob?”
I froze and looked up at him. Sure, Livie had said she saw me as a full-time member of StormSprint, but no contract or team had been discussed.
“A job?”
I was grateful everyone else had busied themselves.
Abbé squeezed my shoulder. “Rui and Luca are both staying with us next year. Rui’s English isn’t perfect, and we needsomeone who can speak Portuguese. Our current translator is leaving us for F1.”
“You always wanted to work for Ciclati,” Dad said with a proud smile. “And here we are.”
My stomach dropped.
“You didn’t really expect not to get a job here, did you?” Dad laughed. “You shouldn’t be so shocked.”
“I’m—I’m so grateful,” I said, but my voice didn’t sound like mine with the lump in my throat.
I loved Ciclati. It would mean I’d work with Luca.
It would mean I didn’t work with Imre.
But it would mean I didn’t work with Zoltán.
“But… Veltar needs someone who can speak Hungarian.”
“Have they offered you a contract yet?” Dad asked.
“N-No…”
Abbé looked to my dad. “And Zoltán’s staying on next year, isn’t he? That’s his contract.”
“Yes,” I told him.
“Then it’s their loss. They should have snapped you up before we did.”
Maybe Veltar didn’t think I was doing a good job. Maybe I wasn’t doing a good job. Maybe my report was full of shit Livie had written because she was best friends with my sister.
