‘It was so violent.’ Abby relived it just for a second and she watched Matteo blink, not once but three times, and then he responded.
‘He should have treated you like glass,’ Matteo said.
‘It was my first time...’
‘Crystal glass, then,’ Matteo amended. ‘And that was not your first time—that’s not sex.’
‘It’s the only sex I know.’
And then her panic came back because they were coming out of the press conference. ‘He can’t see me like this.’
Yet she couldn’t stand.
‘What if we look like we were having an intimate moment—is that okay?’ Matteo gently checked and she nodded.
He just wrapped her in his arms and she saw the yellow leather of Hunter walking past and she heard the increasing thud, thud, thud of Matteo’s heart and his breathing firing into rapid. Abby felt the tension in him and she knew that Matteo wanted to drop her and run and do what her father should have all those years ago.
For her sake he didn’t.
But then, at the last moment, when he recalled Hunter’s “I tend to get there first” line, Abby felt the rip of tension in him.
‘Please don’t,’ Abby begged when she felt him move to run but then his arms came tighter around her.
‘I won’t.’
He wanted to though.
Matteo now could barely breathe.
Abby could feel him struggle to contain himself. Matteo even with a hangover in fierce heat did not break a sweat, yet he was swimming in adrenaline and his shirt was drenched and his breathing was coming fast and shallow.
‘I might need to borrow that paper bag...’ Matteo said.
Still he could make her smile.
And she waited for the questions to start but when her breathing was normal and she peered out from his chest, the only thing Matteo asked was if she wanted some water.
‘Please.’
He went off to a vending machine and got her a drink and Abby drank it down thirstily, and Matteo was right; the panic had passed.
‘Better?’ Matteo asked.
‘Much,’ Abby said, though she was now incredibly embarrassed at what she had told him.
‘So, where do you want to go now?’ Matteo asked.
‘Go?’ It was the last thing she’d expected him to ask her but Matteo squatted down in front of her and looked right at her when, embarrassed by her revelations, she could barely now look at him.
‘We’re still celebrating your win.’ Matteo was insistent. He looked briefly over to the team, who were all on their phones and buoyantly posing for the cameras and Kedah was with them. ‘I’m guessing that you don’t want to go out with that lot...’
‘No.’
‘But you won,’ Matteo said. ‘And you have every day since that bastard did what he did, and do you know what? You deserve to celebrate.’
‘I do.’
‘So, go and congratulate Pedro. Tell him it’s covered tonight, whatever he wants.’
‘Er, I don’t know if you know what you’re agreeing to.’
‘You’re talking to me.’ Matteo smiled. ‘I know what a wild night is. Seriously, with the bet I put on I’m even more loaded than usual. I’ll get Kedah to go along with them. He runs wild but he’s a good sort. He’ll keep an eye.’
Matteo didn’t, Abby thought, look at her like she had two heads; he just chatted away as if she hadn’t just told him her darkest shame. ‘You’re sure?’ she checked.
‘Of course,’ Matteo said. ‘Kedah will cover it and then I’ll see him right.’
He went to the vending machine again and bought a cola for himself and another water for her, and then Abby did what she properly wanted to do but hadn’t had a chance to until now!
‘Pedro!’ She went over and gave him a hug.
‘How good was that?’ Pedro grinned. ‘Hunter’s spewing.’
‘I know that he is. You were amazing, Pedro. I couldn’t believe it when you took him. I still don’t know how you did that.’
‘I’ll tell you in detail over dinner tonight,’ Pedro said.
‘Actually, I can’t make dinner. I’m going to go out and chat up our sponsor,’ Abby said. She saw a little flare of relief in her crew that she wasn’t coming out with him, though they did their best to hide it.
‘Oh, come on, Abby,’ Pedro insisted but she shook her head.
Yes, they all got on, but it was a very male world and she saw the tiny smiles as they realised that they wouldn’t have to behave as they always did around her.
And that thought brought a lump to her throat.
But these were nice tears that she was holding back.
They all did behave around her; she already knew that but she fully realised it then.
Abby’s team really were amazing.
‘Go and have the best night,’ Abby told them. ‘It’s all covered, whatever you want. Kedah will pick up the tab and Matteo will cover it.’
Pedro frowned. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes! Now go and have a brilliant night!’ Abby said. ‘God knows you deserve it but,’ she warned, ‘remember that we’ve got an official breakfast tomorrow.’
‘Tell Matteo,’ Pedro said, ‘that I’ll take him out in the car next time.’
‘I shall.’ She gave Pedro another hug and then she turned and went back to Matteo.
‘Okay, where are we off to?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘I do.’ Matteo had just decided. ‘First, though, we’ll swing by my hotel and I’ll get changed.’
‘I need to get changed too.’
He looked down at her oily bottle-green overalls. ‘Absolutely, you do!’
* * *
‘Buy a dress here...’ Matteo suggested as they pulled up at his hotel. ‘There are plenty of boutiques for you to choose from.’
‘No, I bought a dress ages ago and I promised that if we ever got on the podium...’ Abby shook her head. ‘I just never expected it to be tonight.’
She simply couldn’t believe it.
Podium would have been brilliant—it would have shown that they were serious contenders—but to have come first was beyond her wildest dreams!
For others it was a nightmare—the bookies were panicking, the other teams were regrouping. Tonight, only the Boucher team was floating on cloud nine.
As they got out of his car Matteo was about to ask if she wanted to come up and have a drink while he changed but then he decided against it. Now her comment that first day, about their meeting being held in the restaurant rather than his hotel room, made sense.
God, he could kick himself now for the other night but instead he saw her to a seat and gave her a smile.
‘I shan’t be long.’
Abby sat in the lovely foyer as he went and changed and as she did she saw that she had about fifty missed calls, some from her father, and loads of texts offering congratulations. Where had they all