her. He turned his head on the bed and found she was looking at him.
“Was that slow enough for you?” he asked teasingly.
“Yes, speedy. You were just right,” she said, rolling close to kiss him. “Want to join me in the shower?”
She trotted toward the bathroom, and he just lay there staring at the ceiling. His mother always said that fate brought people into his path when they were meant to be there. And he was struggling right now not to make this more than a New Year’s Eve hookup.
Honestly, that was all he had time for, but something about Marielle made him feel lighter, made him feel…stronger. Like he could conquer anything.
It could be because it had been more than a year since he’d gotten laid, but he wasn’t convinced.
“Are you coming?” she asked, leaning around the door frame from the bathroom.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, jumping off the bed and heading toward her.
It seemed like it might be her and not just sex. But then, one night wasn’t going to change his life. His mom might be a big believer in fate, but he’d never seen its proof in his life.
He showered with Marielle, taking his time to wash her, making sure he explored all the places on her body that he might have missed when he’d made love to her earlier. They did it again in the shower and then dried off and curled up in the big king-size bed in the guesthouse. He held her in his arms as she slept and watched her. Tomorrow everything would be different. The holidays weren’t officially over until January 2, but he had a session at the simulation track and if this was going to be the year he unseated the current champion, then this night was all he’d have with her.
He watched the clock and held her, pretending for a moment that things were different, but as much as he enjoyed having her in his arms, he knew that he wanted something more from life. He wanted the title of champion, and these emotions she stirred in him would distract him from his goal. Something he couldn’t allow.
Besides, if they were really fated to be together, then she’d come back into his life at another time.
He drifted off to sleep just before dawn and only woke when his alarm went off at ten in the morning. Marielle rolled over and looked up at him from under tousled hair. “Why is your alarm going off?”
“I have a family breakfast. Do you want to come with me and meet the gang?” he asked. “Scarlet will be there.”
“Yes, I think I would. I better dash out to my car and grab my overnight bag so I have something to wear other than last night’s dress,” she said.
“Why do you have an overnight bag in your car?” he asked.
“Just in case. I liked to be prepared. If I get too tipsy to drive, I can always stay at Scarlet’s,” she said as she got out of bed and stretched before pulling on her dress.
“I like that dress,” he said.
“I do too, but it’s really better for nighttime,” she said.
“Agreed. Which car is yours? I’ll get your bag,” he said. She told him, and he went out to retrieve it.
They got dressed together, which was fun. He wanted her again, but he didn’t want to give in to the craving, so he forced himself to make do with a kiss and held her hand as they walked to the main house. But as they entered the house, they didn’t exactly receive the warmest of greetings.
“Oh my God. Who invited her?” Bianca said, standing up from her seat as they entered the enormous living area. There was anger in her voice. Inigo wasn’t sure who Bianca was referring to at first but noticed she was staring at Marielle.
“What’s going on?” he asked his sister.
“I should be asking you that. What are you doing with Jose’s mistress?”
Bianca… Jose’s ex-wife was here? She hadn’t seen the woman in more than five years, and she’d worked hard to put that horrible day out of her mind. The moment she’d discovered her lover Jose was married had been one of the worst in her life. Seeing Bianca now, all the guilt and shame came rushing back. There was something akin to hatred in the pregnant woman’s eyes, and the look on Inigo’s face made it clear he wasn’t too pleased to find out she had this connection to his family.
To be fair, she’d had no idea who Inigo was when she’d slept with him, but now seeing him next to Bianca, she put the pieces together. They were obviously related. And she now vaguely remembered that Jose had mentioned he had a protégé he thought would do great things in Formula One. Was it Inigo?
“I guess I should be going,” she said.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” Bianca said. “Who even invited you?”
“I’m Scarlet’s friend,” Marielle said.
She knew that the woman had cause to be upset with her, but she wasn’t the only one to blame. Jose had told Marielle he was divorced, and she had been stupid enough to believe him. She soon realized it wasn’t his only lie when she’d caught him in bed with another woman—a woman he’d been seeing for years. She’d felt like a fool, falling in love with another woman’s husband. Seeing Bianca brought back all of those feelings of self-loathing that she’d hoped she’d moved beyond.
“Scarlet’s my sister-in-law,” Bianca replied.
Of course she was. “Honestly, I had no idea that you would be here. That part of my life was over ages ago, and I’m not proud of my role in what was going on in your marriage.”
More people were entering the room, including Inigo’s parents, and then Scarlet and her assistant, Billi Sampson, came in. Marielle looked at her friend, who was visibly pregnant and still looked very sleepy.
“Scarlet, thank you for inviting me last night. I’m afraid I have to run this morning, but I’ll be in touch later,” Marielle said, walking out of the room.
Inigo didn’t try to follow her, which was probably for the best. He had been fun last night, just what she needed to distract her from her own problems. But obviously neither of them had intended for it to be the beginning of a relationship.
Yeah, right.
But she knew that it was over. There was no way she could have any kind of relationship—not that she was looking for one—with the brother of the woman whose husband she’d slept with.
Ugh.
Her mom was always going on about reaping what she sowed, and damn, this was a pretty rotten crop to reap. But this trouble was of her own making. When she thought back to the woman she’d been when she was twenty-one, she cringed. She’d been so shallow. So into her own pleasure and her own life that she had been unable to see past Jose’s lies to the family that she was hurting. It wasn’t that she was so much wiser at twenty-six, but damn, she was a little smarter when it came to men. Or at least she’d thought she was.
No more hookups with men whose last names I don’t know, she thought. Yeah, let’s make that rule one for the new year.
The engine of her Corvette roared to life. She put the car in Reverse and spun out on the gravel drive as she tried to get away from the house and all the people inside it. But there wasn’t a car that had rolled off the assembly line that would go fast enough to take her away from herself.
She had that way of doing this more often than she wanted to. She knew it wasn’t her fault—how in the world had she ended up at a party with Jose’s ex-wife? That was never supposed to happen. She’d followed the teachings of a well-being guru, who had advised her to write a letter apologizing. The guru had said that would bring forgiveness from the universe.
Marielle