A SECOND CHANCE MAY BE TOO HOT TO HANDLE
They say there are no second chances, and for Lily Onassis, ever since she walked away from Formula World driver Max Becker, she's considered this true. Instead of a glitzy, glamorous life on the auto racing...
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MAX
I flop around on the sofa in the hotel suite, trying to get comfortable. It's ten at night and I haven't yet heard from Lily. Her stuff was delivered two hours ago, and Tanya had told me earlier that she'd showered at the track and gone directly to the sponsor dinner, and that she had a key to the suite.
I really shouldn't care so much, but I do.
Annoyed at myself, I flip the TV channels, wishing I'd been assigned to that dinner. But according to my contract, I only must do two sponsor dinners per race, and this isn't my night. I'd insisted on two nights off before each race, and normally I like the downtime, chilling in the hotel room, meditating and exercising and just catching up on much needed sleep.
I flip to ESPN, and the talking heads are chattering about basketball. I only half-listen, because I'm wondering how Lily is doing at the party. She's not really a social creature, and she normally shied away from such events back when we were together.
There's a sound at the door, like the lock is disengaging, and I sit up and grab my water. Then I realize I look too eager and set down the bottle and sprawl back into the plush cushions. Better to have her think I'm half-asleep.
She peeks in and enters quietly.
"Hey there," I say.
She jumps, startled, and presses a hand to her chest. "Oh! I didn't see you there. Gosh."
"Sorry that I startled you." I sit up.
Her eyes dart around the room, and I stand up, then realize I'm not sure what I should do once I'm on my feet. I'm wearing gray sweatpants so I can't even stuff my hands in my pockets. Holy shit, she looks incredible in those tight jeans and red boots.
"Someone from the team delivered your suitcases," I say, wanting to be helpful.
"Oh, good." She lets out a breath. "All I want is to take a real shower and go to bed. I feel a headache coming on."
"Yes. Those dinners can be really stressful. How was it?"
She nods. "It was quite nice. I caught up with Anh. The tacos were amazing. They were street tacos. I think I ate like ten of them."
Laughter slips out of my mouth. "You ate ten of those big stuffed things?" I hold my hands about a foot apart.
"No, silly, you're thinking of burritos. Street tacos are small." She smiles. "Anyway, everyone was quite gracious, and asked about Dad. People really love him."
"There's a lot to love. He's a good man who cares for his team and his family."
We stand there and smile awkwardly, me near the sofa and her near the door. She looks down at her boots, then looks up at me.
