“Trust me. I can convince him to do it for his brother. They’re close. Besides, he owes me. I’m returning this year as a favor to Vince. He was tired of all the hot sports models throwing themselves at him.” She laughed and crossed her hands over her chest. “The poor popular racing star.”
“Is his ego that huge, or are the girls that crazy about him?” Anna tilted her head. She’d found Vince mildly attractive in a generic sort of way, but Isaac was unforgettable.
“It’s real,” said Catarina, with a gleam in her eye as she took another sip of hot coffee. Maybe Catarina was interested in Vince.
“Isaac is more my type,” said Anna, stirring a teaspoon of sugar into her second cup of tea. Cursing her forthright nature, she met the other woman’s eyes. Anna hadn’t meant to confess that. “Not that I’m looking for a relationship,” she added, the words tumbling out as her face flamed. “I just broke up with someone, but if I had a type…” She was babbling and she clamped her lips shut to make herself stop. Adam had told her that kind of chatter was off-putting.
“Isaac is a cutie. You could do a lot worse,” said Catarina with a smile. “If Vince can get you the job, are you interested? I don’t want to get him involved and then you decide not to go.”
The idea of wearing tight clothes and smiling for the camera was daunting, but with her scant bank account, Anna needed to do something. She wanted to make her writing plans work, but she needed money to live. “One race every week or two? Travel with the team? Downtime to write? Count me in.” She was proud she hadn’t stammered.
Catarina picked up her phone from the table. “I’ll ask Vince right now.” She read her message aloud as she texted.‘Wondering if you can pull strings to get my new pal Anna an umbrella girl gig with Isaac’s team. It would be fun to travel with someone besides you serious racers, crotchety old mechanics, and snooty sports models.’
She set her phone down and ripped her croissant into lady-like pieces, which she ate, one at a time. Anna copied Catarina’s method, savoring the melted dark chocolate in the middle of the buttery pastry. She would need to start running again if all the food was this rich. Especially if she’d be on camera. Her stomach fluttered. What was she thinking?
Catarina’s phone chimed less than two minutes later, and she read the incoming text aloud.‘Why don’t you and Anna come to my place after six? I’ll talk to Isaac’s team boss between now and then.’
“That’s as good as a yes,” said Catarina with a smile as she signaled for more coffee.
...
Catarina and Anna drove up the hill that evening, pulling up to a gated villa ten minutes from the village. Anna had crossed and uncrossed her ankles several times during the short drive. Her heart raced at the idea of the job. What was she doing? It was unlike her to be so impulsive, but it was too late to turn back. Maybe the answer would be no.
They arrived at the specified time, Catarina punched in a code, and the gate swung open. Like most of the buildings since Anna had left Barcelona, the Vasquez house was a clean white, rambling structure with long, half-cylinder terracotta roof tiles arranged in a series of long domed tubes like buildings in a Mediterranean movie. Her mind flashed to the opening chase scene fromSkyfall, a Bond movie.
The color of the roof matched the local stone that lined several flower beds, the stone path in front of the house, and the lower section of the walls. The hillsides were pale green with new grass and dotted with darker green leafy trees of a variety unknown to Anna. Everything was beautiful in its simplicity.
Beyond the house, instead of a lower lawn, the slope led to a dusty track that followed the curve of the hill and wound out of sight. A plume of orange dust hovered in the air and the buzzing sound of dirt bikes reached Anna’s ears as she stepped out of the car onto a paved driveway. The high-pitched noise resonatedin her ears and chest, but not in an unpleasant way. She hadn’t considered the noise of racing bikes. She would need to wear earplugs—if that was allowed.
“Let’s go watch,” said Catarina, grabbing Anna’s arm and tugging her down the path toward the homemade dirt bike track. Were these bikes similar to what the Vasquez brothers rode when racing? Bikes this size didn’t look that dangerous or powerful. She would Google it later to satisfy her curiosity. She hadn’t looked up the Vasquez brothers yet. What would she find?
“These bikes are just for training,” said Catarina, almost like she’d read Anna’s mind, or perhaps she was skilled at guessing from Anna’s facial expressions. Some people had exceptional social skills, unlike her. “These are 250cc dirt bikes, just for home. The guys race on paved tracks with 1000cc bikes that carry speeds of over three hundred and fifty kilometers an hour on the straights.” Catarina sounded excited to share her knowledge.
Anna’s jaw dropped. 1000cc meant nothing to her, but the amount of speed sounded daunting. These bikes must be toys compared to the powerful racing bikes. Watching the homemade track below, 250cc seemed plenty fast.
As they approached, one of the riders skidded around a corner, flatter than seemed possible, carving a rut in the hard dirt which sprayed upward in a wave of pale sand and gravel. Anna didn’t know which brother it was, and she didn’t understand how the bike defied gravity, moving at that insane angle. He must be out of control and about to crash. She hoped that whoever it was didn’t get hurt.
The rider made it around the corner to her surprise, knee and elbow scraping the ground, the rear end of the bike skidding. Somehow, the rider recovered, and he pushed the bike upright as he flew toward the next corner, soaring through the air overthe crest of the hill, and was gone, fresh dust hovering over the track in a cloud while the sound faded to a more muted level.
“Vince.” Catarina’s eyes shone as she yelled to be heard over the noise of the approaching second bike. “Don’t tell him I said so, but nobody saves his ride the way he can. Anyone else would have been on the floor with that move.”
Anna knew nothing about racing or motorcycles, but Vince’s move with his knee and elbow had been impressive. “He must have incredible core strength.” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until Catarina replied.
“Exactly. Nobody rides like Vince Vasquez, even if they all try.” Her voice hushed as she spoke into Anna’s ear. “He’s totally ripped. They both are. You should see their training regimen. We’ll have to go with them to a hotel pool or to the beach in Portugal.”
Anna’s cheeks flamed, imagining Isaac in far more detail. Immediately, she was wracked with guilt before remembering that she was single.
Catarina nudged her with her shoulder, “Don’t feel bad. There’s nothing wrong with admiring from a distance. We all do.”
Anna wasn’t sure if it was better or worse to be one of many admirers.
Catarina leaned over the barrier built of old tires around the track. The second rider slowed up nearby and stopped with a wave. Isaac pulled off his dirty black-and-white checkered helmet and grinned. Anna’s stomach lurched. Covered from neck to toe in orange dust, with his hair disheveled and flushed from exercise, he was oh so sexy.
Anna’s heart hammered as she tried not to visualize his hard, defined muscles. Stop it, she told herself. Her cheeks flooded with heat. Who was she to think someone famous might be interested in her? Nobody. She must have imagined his interestearlier. Besides, she couldn’t afford that kind of distraction or to be disappointed. She’d practically asked him out. What had she been thinking?
“What brings you two out here this evening?” Isaac’s voice sounded pleased at the surprise. He directed his question to Catarina in English, but his eyes flicked to Anna while he spoke. She appreciated that once again, he used English to make sure she understood, and she smiled. His eyes lingered on her. Maybe her interest in him wasn’t one-sided. At the very least, she could use another friend.
“I asked Vince for a favor, and he said to come by after six to discuss it,” said Catarina, checking the time on her phone with a quirked eyebrow. “He’s running late. Did you know that I’m coming on the road with you two this season?”
