“So, he’s Leo now. No more Sir Stick Up His Ass.”
“No, he’s still Sir Stick Up His Ass. The man can’t change his essentials.”
Clarke
Clarke sat staring at his brothers on the big screen during their weekly group FaceTime call. Of course, they were all beaming. He’d justwon another race. He’d been up on the podium for every race since Barcelona.
“So our little brother has his mojo back,” Porthos boomed.
Aramis grinned. “Both on and off the track.”
Clarke’s brow wrinkled. “What do you mean off the track?”
“We have eyes,” Athos said. “I like the girl.”
“I do too,” Aramis agreed.
“Ditto,” said Porthos.
“I wanted not to like her,” Athos said. “Because … well, you know. But I couldn’t.”
“Same,” said Aramis.
“Ditto,” said Porthos.
Life is good,Clarke thought as he ended the call.
How could he have anticipated that Ceci Rivers would be the woman to make him this happy?
From the moment he’d taken his first bite of that Krispy Kreme burger, she’d begun to unleash the man he’d been before that disastrous ski down the mountain.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ceci
This is an official date, so it should have been my choice where we go,” Ceci huffed, doing her best to sound perturbed and failing miserably, as her spine slackened and her body melted into the deep cushioned booth, feeling fuzzy and warm from all the good food and wine.
Officialdates were part of the agreement, but Ceci and Clarke were now seeing each otherunofficiallyevery chance they got.
“We had to come here,” Clarke said, “because they have the best brigadeiros in all of São Paolo. And I’ve never had a brigadeiro.”
She ran her hand up his thigh. When she reached his erection, she watched his jaw tighten and felt him flinch. She grinned. She liked seeing Sir Stick uncomfortable and on edge. She tried to detect if he was blushing, but it was difficult to do in the dark corner of the intimate restaurant.
They were here for the São Paolo Grand Prix, which Clarke had won. Anker had come in second. It should bother her that Clarke had won, shouldn’t it? But it didn’t. It made her recall what Nico had said.“It doesn’t mean you lose … They become a part of you. So long as one of you wins, you never lose.”But that wasn’t the case with her and Clarke. It couldn’t be. There’s no way Clarke would feel like that if Anker had won.
Just then, the waiter brought over a plate with what looked like chocolate truffles.
Ceci loved good food and wine. Who didn’t? But indulging and imbibing with Clarke was especially delicious. He always knew what to order. The man had an impeccable palate, she thought gazing at his mouth.
He picked up one, took a bite, and placed the rest of it back on the plate. “It’s good. Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
She sat up. “What? I haven’t even tried it yet.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
She took one and bit into it. The dense chocolate melted in her mouth. “Damn, thatisgood.”
“So now we can go.”
