Rush: Part One & Two (The Pitstop Series Book 3)

My knees are shaking as I sit next to Gabriel in the rental car. He’s driving us to the unveiling event, and I can’t help the nervous feeling in my stomach. We’re going to be seen and photographed together, and everyone is going to make a big deal of it. I’m the sister of his teammate. Drama is going to encircle us, and there will be no way of stopping it.

My thoughts are spiraling, and the only thing bringing me back to reality is Gabriel’s hand as it wraps around mine. He’s squeezing it, and I let out the breath I’ve been holding. Gabriel knows I’m terrified, but he doesn’t point it out. All he does is comfort me.

I focus on how handsome he looks in his tuxedo and forget all about the rest of the world. He always looks mouth-watering. I’ve never seen him dressed in something that didn’t highlight how sexy he is, but he looks especially attractive in this outfit. The suit makes me want to rip it off him and ride him in the car. I catch myself, smile, and turn my head in the other direction. If I keep staring at him, I might actually do it. However, a lot of people are expecting Gabriel to be at this event tonight, and I can’t be the reason why he wouldn’t go.

I remove my hand from his to scratch my other arm, and he glances over at me with an annoyed expression.

“Hey,” he complains and takes it back.

I stare at him with a confused look but don’t question his odd behavior. After another couple of minutes, I take my hand away again to see how he will react, and he gives me the same bothered face as before.

“Stop,” he tells me right before he intertwines our fingers again. I can’t help but smile.

I do it once more.

“Seriously, stop taking it away.” He’s even more annoyed with me when I start laughing.

“Why are you so clingy?” I ask him, and he focuses on the road again.

“I’m not. I’m nervous and holding your hand comforts me,” he explains, making me melt on the inside. I put my hand in his, and he smiles at me. “Yes,” he says, victory in his voice, and I grin at him. It surprises me sometimes that a confident man like him has such a soft center.

Gabriel and I arrive at the event minutes later. We take a deep breath at the same time before laughing. He leads me to a carpet surrounded by paparazzi, and, as soon as we step onto it, cameras start to make clicking noises, blinding us with their flashes.

My boyfriend brings me to the middle of the carpet and snakes his arm around my waist, clearly used to all of this attention. I try my best to give them the most beautiful smile I can muster. The one that follows after he presses his lips to my temple is the most genuine one I could ever bring to my face.

“You’re doing amazing,” he encourages, squeezing my side.

I look up at him and he stares down at me until we’re grinning at each other. The rest of the world vanishes for a moment as I get lost in his eyes.

As we walk away, Gabriel whispers sweet things into my ear. I bite my bottom lip and turn my head to show him my smile, which he only takes advantage of by kissing me. People are screaming at us, but I can’t understand a single thing. I’m too overwhelmed by the lights, the cameras, and the handsome man next to me to understand anything. We finish strolling down the carpet, and when we’re finally out of sight, I relax my face.

“God, my cheeks are burning. I don’t think I’ve ever had to smile that much,” I tell Gabriel, and he laughs before leaning down to press a longer kiss to my lips.

He is very affectionate tonight, and I’m enjoying it a lot. He pulls back but presses another quick kiss to my cheek before we walk into the large hall. A server, probably Gabriel’s age, leads us to our table, and I can’t help but glare when she touches his arm.

“Hey,” Gabriel says as he turns to me, and I look at him, my bothered expression fading from my face. “Don’t be jealous. You know you’re the only one for me,” he assures me, and I nod. Still, I don’t want her near him, just like he wouldn’t want anyone else to touch me.

“If she places her hand on you again, I’m going to knock that innocent smile off her face,” I whisper as we sit down, and Gabriel presses a kiss to my neck.

“She was smiling?” he asks, and I look at him with a ‘seriously?’ expression.

“Didn’t you look at her?”

“No, I didn’t. I was too busy looking at you,” he replies, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek.

“Smooth,” I say, and he smirks at me.

“Merci, ma chérie.” He leans to the side and puts his hand in mine. I set my other one on top of our intertwined fingers and rest them in my lap.

Gabriel is greeted by an old friend, and they start to converse in Italian. His hand never leaves mine while I enjoy the way the words sound falling from his lips. I barely get to hear him speak in Italian, so I savor every moment.

“Ilyan, this is my girlfriend Valentina. Val, this is Ilyan. I used to race with him in Formula Three.” I shake the short man’s hand and smile politely at him.

Gabriel and Ilyan continue their conversation in English, and Ilyan even inquires about my life. He leaves after a short while, and Gabriel turns to me again so we can talk about the speech he has to give. Apparently, he is driving the car onto the stage, which is a high honor, and will be asked some questions. I had no idea he was this involved.

“Hello, hello, hello.” I don’t even have to turn around to know that voice belongs to Adrian. I get up to greet him, and he compliments my outfit. James walks up behind him, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing.

“Hi, luv,” he says and kisses my cheek.

His dark blue suit brings out his eyes while Adrian is dressed in all black to make his green-blue-brown ones stand out.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“Couldn’t find anyone besides James who wanted to be your date, huh?” I ask my brother, and he chuckles as he sits down.

“I needed a hot date, and he offered. How could I have turned him down?” Adrian replies, and I laugh. His expression turns serious then. “I mean it. I’m asking you how so I don’t have to take him next time,” he teases, earning him a slap to the arm from James.

“I dressed up for you in this uncomfortable suit, and this how you thank me?” Adrian gives him an evil smile, but our best friend returns it. “You know what? I’m going to cock-block you all night for that comment.” Adrian leans toward him and glares.

“You. Wouldn’t. Dare.” My brother hisses every word, but James gives him a wicked grin.

Gabriel covers his mouth with his fist as he places his elbow on the table to lean forward. He’s trying his best to stay quiet but squeezes my hand to let me know how difficult it is.

The waitress from before returns a while after my brother and best friend stopped arguing, and her attention instantly drifts to Adrian. Her hand moves onto his shoulder as she asks him what he’d like to drink. Naturally, James answers before my brother even has the chance to swallow the big gulp of water he just took.

“He will have a glass of warm milk and a bib, you know, in case he has another spit-up accident,” James says, whispering the last half of the sentence. Adrian spits out some of his water from surprise, and our best friend goes to clean it from his face. “See, it’s already happening. Please, hurry,” he says, and the waitress leaves without hesitation.

“You know, the more women you turn off me, the more desirable you’ll start looking,” he warns, and James shakes his head.

“Fine, I’ll stop,” he replies and lifts his arms in surrender.

Mindy, our waitress, returns with a few napkins for Adrian before stepping next to him and offering a flirtatious smile.

“May I clean you up, Mr. Romana?” she asks, and he smirks at her.

“Only if I get to buy you a drink after tonight’s event,” he says, and she starts wiping away imaginary droplets of water from his shirt and thighs.

She drops her number into his lap before disappearing again. Meanwhile, Gabriel is shaking his head and drawing a sunflower onto the napkin before handing it to me with a kiss. He finds all of this amusing, but James has steam coming out of his ears.

“It’s not fucking fair. You make a fool of yourself and get a date! How does that even work?” James complains, but my brother merely shrugs.

“With a face like mine, I could be sitting here in a tinfoil suit,” he replies, and I smack my forehead with the palm of my hand.

Luckily, the event starts soon after. Giuseppe Camilleri, the current CEO of Ferrari, approaches the microphone and gives a long speech, welcoming everyone and making an introduction. Gabriel kisses me when he has to leave to drive the car, and I smile the whole time he is on stage.

He switches between English and Italian, and I don’t ever want him to stop talking. It is either his accent or the fact he’s speaking in Italian that makes my body crazy in all of the best ways. Adrian joins Gabriel on the stage. I’m sitting with James as I watch two of the most important people in my life stand up there, talking about their careers and achievements. I’m so proud of them.

When they finally finish, they walk back to our table. Gabriel kisses the top of my head before he sits down next to me and places his hand back where it belongs.

The rest of the evening goes by painfully slowly, but I enjoy spending time with my three favorite guys and getting to know the people Adrian and Gabriel work with. My boyfriend eventually starts playing with my curly hair, twisting it around his index finger.

My thoughts drift to the day I get to be on that stage, a celebrated Ferrari Formula One driver, like Grandpa, Dad, Adrian, and Gabriel.

“Let’s go, ma chérie?” Gabriel says and brings me back to reality.

“I thought you’d never ask,” I respond with a naughty smirk.

We say goodbye to the people I’ve been introduced to, Adrian, and James before Gabriel leads me back to our car.

“Tired?” he asks me when we’re almost back at the hotel.

“Not even in the slightest,” I admit.

My body has been waiting for us to get back since we left six hours ago. My mind has been running wild, and those thoughts are only strengthened when he briefly looks me up and down.

“Me neither,” he tells me in a low, raspy voice.

His hand moves to my leg and his index finger starts tracing circles. Shivers run down my spine, but I stop his hand when it moves up and toward my ache. I need his fingers to be as far away from there as possible, otherwise, we won’t make it back to the hotel room before I rip his suit off.