My Best Mates Sister

42.

ONE YEAR LATER
Rosie

"Charles, come on its time to go!" I shout from the bottom of the stairs. "Chill! It only takes 10 minutes to walk to the factory" he tells me and I tug on my Red polo. He comes down the stairs a few seconds later and kisses my cheek "Come on then Mon Ange! Time for us to get going" I giggle slightly at the fact h is now hurrying me along. We step out of our house and walk towards the coffee shop we visit every morning. We have had the cutest routine since we moved her during winter break, living in Italy is a whole new adventure for us. I accepted the Ferrari job once the news of George moving to Mercedes was confirmed, there wasn't a suitable position for me at Mercedes so here I am in Italy! Maranello is the cutest Italian town and oddly Charles gets left pretty much alone here by the locals although they all know who he is. Getting the position of Carlos Sainz race engineer was exactly what I was looking for. Charles wanted me to be his but I thought if we had a weird situation like before it might make working together a lot more difficult. So we settled with me working with Carlos instead which I have been really enjoying so far. We get along well and he works really hard to settle himself into the team just like I have been. "Usual order?" Charles asks as we reach the cafe "Yes please, Oat milk today if they have it?" He nods and gives me a cheeky smile as he heads into the shop. I take my phone out and send George a quick message to see how he is settling in, I don't get to see him half as much as we used to.

"Right, I will be finished on the simulator at 5pm, when do you think you will be done?" I think "Later than that, we fly out to Monaco tomorrow for the race so I'm making sure everything is ready" he nods "I will stop by the engineering team when I'm finished and see how your are getting on" I agree and he gives me a kiss before we head our separate ways. I head towards my office and feel the now familiar twinge in my hip, its been around since winter testing but I haven't had a chance to go to see the doctor. I walk into the office and see Jake waiting for me, I pass him the Cannoli that we pick him up every morning "Morning!" He grins at me "Thank you! I told everyone I would come a find you, Adam is currently there, ready for your meeting , so lets get a move on" I grab my laptop and follow Jake out of the room. Him and Adam are still going strong, when I left for Ferrari, Adam decided to come too. Its been a god send having both of them here with me, it feels like home here. I walk into the mock garage that we do pit stop practise in and see the whole team, I can speak fluent Italian but its easier for the whole team if I speak in English "Hi Guys, Just a quick meeting today" I start and see the relief on their faces. I quickly let everyone know the plan for Monaco and we get ourselves sorted. It's a long day spent at the factory and I'm actually relieved to see Charles "Hey Mon Ange" he tells me and I get up from my desk "Hey, how was the simulator?" I ask and he smiles "Really great, been setting some decent times" I really want him to do well at his home GP. "Do you think you can leave with me?" I go to say no but Jake interrupts "Take her, she is done for the day Charles" he says and I shoot him a glare "Perfecto, come on then" he says grabbing my backpack off of the chair.

"I'm assuming you have already packed?" Charles asks and I nod but I'm confused "Of course I have why?" He grins "We are flying out to Monaco tonight" I know he has really missed his home so I'm actually not surprised "Great! When do we need to leave?" He looks at his watch "an hour?" I nod my head and rush upstairs to finish packing my things. He chuckles as he follows me into the bedroom "Sorry for springing this on you" I shake my head "Don't be silly, I know you have been missing Monaco" he pulls me in for a hug "Not as much as I used to miss you when you were in the UK last year" It was a difficult year, we spent a lot of time apart when I was living in the UK with Alex. "I'm glad that we live together, I really wasn't sure about taking this job" he traces my spine with his fingers "Everything happens for a reason" I agree "Right, lets get ready to go to the airport" he says and we both jump into action as I change out of my uniform and into something comfortable to wear on the plane. I don't need to pack too much as me still have Charles' apartment in Monaco and we both have clothes and toiletries there. "You look adorable" Charles tells me as I'm pulling my trainers on in the hall. "I just wanted to be comfortable" I shrug "Is your hip still bothering you?" He has been concerned as it hasn't got better "Just a little, it isn't much" I say blowing off his worries "you can go see the doctor in Monaco? Please?" I find myself agreeing "Okay, I will book one" he grins.