“Of course I am,” Rocco said, shrugging him off. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Maybe there was a silver lining here. Tomorrow he’d be hitting the track for the first practice session. So would Nico. He hadn’t seen her since she’d left his parents’ house. But if none of this had happened, how was it going to look between them on the track? They never did figure out how they were going to manage a relationship while racing.
And he knew why. Because it wasn’t possible.
You already knew that, you idiot. And then you go and not only start up something but do it with another driver, a driver on your team—Nico Angelini of all people!
Rocco blinked when he suddenly realized Dario was staring at him.
“Is there something you’re not telling us, Rocco?”
“Like what?”
Dario remained silent.
“Like maybe you fell for the girl?” Celeste ventured.
Rocco’s eyes widened as he felt the pulse in his wrists throb and his palms sweat. “What?! Why do you say that?”
“Maybe because your face says it?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all.”
Celeste peered at him so intently it felt like she was trying to pierce his skull and read his thoughts. He turned away.
Celeste sighed. “Rocco, I’m so sorry. But …”
“But what?” Rocco snapped.
“Well, when she did that on New Year’s Eve, she didn’t know you.”
“She knew damn well who I was. She called me by name.”
“She knew who you were, but she didn’t knowyou. Remember what it was like between you two? The stuff that you were saying on social media?”
“She was saying shit too!”
“Exactly. That’s my point. I don’t believe she went into that bar with a plan to con you. How could she? She didn’t know you’d be there. But once she saw you, well, I guess, given some of the things that were said when you two were feuding, I can understand her wanting to—well, do what she did.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn’t have looked to do something similar given the chance—back then? If you could? Remember that tweet about the coffee? I mean, think about it, she didn’t even know you’d be racing on the same team.”
“Even if I would have, and I’m not saying I would, it’s not the same. I haven’t made a career out of lying and conning people. What about everything after that? Why not just tell me? Who knows what thatuncleMickey had planned. He sat down to dinner with my family, slept in their house. I heard him talking about some business with my parents and grandparents. Who knows what kind of con he was planning, how much money he might have stolen from them.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean she was intending to do whatever it was he had planned.”
“You don’t know that. How can you believe anything she says? How can you trust her? You can’t. Period. She conned not only me but my family the minute she stepped foot in that house. Even before that with my nieces. It’s bad enough not owning up to what she’d done were we just teammates, but …”
He couldn’t finish that thought. He felt sick thinking of what he’d told her, what he’d done with her, and all the while her knowing he was clueless, making him look like a fool.
“Everything about her is suspect,” he huffed. “That business about, her mamma dying, her nonno, Templeton. It’s all bullshit.”
Rocco slumped in a chair, holding his head in his hands. He rubbed his eyes to forestall any tears.
“Okay,” Dario said, “I get it, about not trusting her. But we don’t know for certain that everything she said was a lie. And who is Templeton?”
“A pet rat—supposedly.”
