The Playboy and the Single Mum (Vintage Love Book 2) (16 page)

“
Él duerme
,” she whispered.
He’s sleeping
.

Daniel slipped quietly out of the room and went in search of Lexy.

Lexy couldn’t settle. Her whole body seemed to itch on the inside. The hangover was mostly gone, thank God, but it had left in its wake a terrible sensation that it was the beginning of the end. As much as she tried to dismiss Wesley’s threats, what if he was right? What if it was the best for everyone? As much as she loved Daniel, how could it work out for them long-term? When Max started school, would she stay behind in England or France while Daniel continued racing? She was not going to end up like her parents. It would be better to end things now, while she still had fabulous memories and not the bitterness of clinging to a relationship that had died long ago.

“Excuse me; I’m going for a walk,” she said to Daniel’s father, Grand-Papa, and Maya. The four of them had been sitting on the terrace in the late afternoon sunshine. Maya had been entertaining the two older men with stories of her great-grandmother.

Daniel and Max were kicking a football around on the grass. Her son’s squeals of delight for once didn’t lighten her mood. Genevieve and Miranda were having a tea party complete with hats, feather boas, and gloves. Lexy had tried to join them earlier but as soon as she’d approached, Miranda’s eyes had sunk to the ground and she’d stopped talking. It seemed Genevieve was the only one who could reach the little girl still traumatized after the death of her parents.

“Would you like to join us?” Santiago asked as she passed. He and Jacques were doing a blind taste test of a half dozen bottles of wine. The labels were covered and they were attempting to identify the grape varietals by taste alone. One sniff of wine and Lexy’s stomach protested.

“Thank you, but no. I’ll leave it to you experts. Okay if I wander around your gardens?”

“Please, be at home,” Santiago replied.

She strolled around to the side of the house. Not because the flowers looked more interesting there, but because it would stop her staring at Daniel. More snippets of last night had come back to haunt her. Getting drunk was one thing—while it was a first for her, she was fairly certain it was a more common occurrence for others. It was the utter loss of control that worried her.

She was stroking the velvety petals of a rose when she sensed she was being watched. Daniel stood a few paces away, his hands thrust in the front pockets of his jeans. The look on his face said he wasn’t sure if she wanted him near or not. She gave him a hesitant smile, and he closed the distance between them. None of this feeling of unease was his fault. He’d done everything possible to make her feel special and loved.

Daniel wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled against him. God, he felt so good. “Feeling better?”

“Much. I’m sorry about last night.”

“Don’t be. I’ve had a few nights like that as well.”

“Are there pictures all over the Internet?”

“Not any more. Jacques had his hacker guy delete them. He’ll keep an eye out for the next couple of weeks, but these things blow over pretty quickly. There’ll be someone else dancing naked in the fountain tomorrow.”

“I didn’t, did I?”

He paused and she glanced up at his face. “No, of course you didn’t. I’m not about to let anyone else see what’s for my eyes only.” He kissed her leisurely before pulling back. He searched her eyes, worry clearly evident in his. A shiver coursed through her.

“Lexy, we have a problem.” He said it with such seriousness she pulled back. Had Wesley talked to Daniel as well? Threatened to end his career if he didn’t let her go? As gifted a driver as he was, he still relied on sponsorship. If the Hardings used their political clout to end that…

“What?” She held her breath.

“Dude is dead. I went to feed him this morning and he was belly-up in his bowl. Max is going to be devastated.”

A slightly hysterical laugh erupted from her throat. All this worry for a fish? If only he knew what was really at stake. “We are currently on Dude version 6.0. I’ll just tell Max he’s resting and get another one as soon as we get to a town.”

“Oh, good.”

“Were you really upset about a fish?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, Dude and I have had some pretty intimate moments over the past few weeks.”

“True. I was a bit jealous of that fish.”

He put both hands on his cheeks, his eyes huge. “
Mon Dieu
, you didn’t kill him, did you?”

She laughed again, more genuinely this time, and snuggled into his chest. Damn, she was going to miss this—his strong arms and the way he could make her laugh. “No, I figured I could do things for you the fish couldn’t, so I was pretty safe.”

“True. Now on to the next issue. Santiago wants to ask Genevieve to stay here in Argentina. Evidently she’s the only one who has been able to reach Miranda. The girl hasn’t spoken to anyone in three months.”

“Of course. The two of them seem to have really bonded. Maybe it’s a shared trauma thing. Miranda is probably helping Genevieve as well. I can look after Max in Abu Dhabi; my father will also be there to help.”

“And Jacques and Maya. They’re heading back to Chile the day after tomorrow with Grand-Papa, but said they’d come to the race.”

“I’m glad. I like Maya, but your brother scares me a little.”

“Don’t let Jacques intimidate you. He’s a big softie.” He turned her face up to his with a finger under her chin. “Are you ready to tell me what’s bothering you?”

No!
But he deserved to know. She’d already kept enough secrets from him. “Wesley was at the hotel yesterday when I returned from the track. He’s given me an ultimatum: get back together with him or he’ll fight me for custody of Max.”

“You can’t,” Daniel blurted out. “You can’t marry that bastard again. Tell me you’re not even considering it.”

“I have to consider it. My son will have a father and everything he could ever want in life. Wesley said I can go back to school, become a research scientist, and his family will fund my investigations into the neurological causes of food addictions. And I won’t risk losing Max.”

“What about us? I love you, Lexy. I can give you and Max everything Wesley offered and more.”

She put her hands on either side of his face, drinking in the love in his green eyes. “We’ve had the most incredible two months together—beyond my wildest fantasies. But the adventure is ending and I have to face reality. What kind of life can we have together? The episode in Rio just proved that I can’t drag Max around the world with us; his health is too precarious. And what about when he starts school? It’ll kill me to stay at home while you race. God, I couldn’t even do it in Rio. Not to mention the sheer stress of seeing you put your life on the line. I’ve had more binge eating relapses in two months than I had in four years. I need stability, Daniel. I need boring.”

“I don’t have all the answers right now, Lexy. But if we love each other, we’ll find a way. Promise me you won’t do anything rash.”

“I told Wesley I’d give him my decision on December first.” Already her heart felt like it was flat-lining.

She had two weeks to come up with a solution. But hey, everyone loved a deadline.

***

The hot, dry Arabian wind blew across the track, making the car unpredictable. He’d already had two spins. But so had the rest of the field, so he was in good company. For the first time in years Daniel was looking forward to the end of the season. He just prayed he wouldn’t be alone.

It had actually been hard to leave Argentina. They’d stayed five days, and each day his father had gotten a bit weaker, was awake fewer hours each day. Daniel had read the entire
Great Gatsby
book to him, although how much his father actually heard was anyone’s guess. As they’d said goodbye, Daniel had had to wipe away the tears as he’d kissed his father’s cheek and called him “Papa” for the first and probably last time.

Lexy had wept for an hour on the plane until she’d fallen asleep. Although she’d done her best to be upbeat for Max, Daniel knew the decision about their future weighed on her heavily. And every solution he’d been able to suggest still came with compromises—too many.

He was at the top of his career. One more win. It was the litany that had pushed him for the last five years. He couldn’t imagine not racing. But neither could he imagine racing without Lexy at his side.

“Box, Daniel. We’ll try for a few more runs when the wind dies down.”

He headed back to his garage and climbed out of the car, which in the heat had turned into his personal sauna. Lexy was at the hotel with Max, so Daniel studied the telemetry and other data they’d managed to gather in his few successful runs. The Yas Marina circuit required complete concentration for the entire lap. Plus, as the race was run late in the afternoon and into evening, the lighting conditions were constantly changing. But with the two long straights, it was easier to pass with a fast car like his. Robert, however, had the same car beneath him and seemed to favor the night races, so it was anyone’s guess who would take the championship.

By six o’clock they realized there would be no more running today, and he made his way back to the hotel. As Genevieve had stayed in Argentina, they were going to order room service rather than drag a jet-lagged Max out for dinner. Daniel was greeted at the hotel room by an ever-excited Max and a slightly worn-out Lexy. He felt like a real dad coming home after a day’s work. His chest swelled.

He liked it. His family. For how much longer?

***

“Lexy, are you okay?” Maya’s Canadian accent infiltrated Lexy’s stupor. She was trying so hard not to think about food, it was all she could think of. A fully loaded hamburger and thick-cut fries were her current obsession. But she couldn’t give in. Instead she forced another spoonful of plain, non-fat yogurt past her lips. Having dropped five pounds in the last two weeks, her skin hung off her even more. It was so disturbing she’d insisted the lights be off before she’d undress in front of Daniel. She was repulsing him, pushing him away, just like her mother had predicted.

“Sure, I’m fine. Where’s Max? Is Jacques tired of him yet?” She searched the playground for her son, who was shouting encouragement to go higher on the swings as his pseudo-uncle pushed him. Despite there being no official relationship between her and Daniel, Max had started calling Jacques and Maya ‘Uncle’ and ‘Aunty’, much to their delight.

“No, Jacques loves him. It’s good practice as well. He’s both thrilled and terrified of becoming a father.” Maya rubbed her still-flat belly.

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yep. Just seven weeks, so there’s ages to go yet. But we’re excited. I’m kind of hoping this first one is a single to give us a chance to get used to having a baby. But my twin brother just found out that his wife is expecting twins. I haven’t told Jacques. He freaks out enough as it is, making sure I’m eating properly. Who needs a pregnancy guide when you’ve got an overprotective husband?”

Lexy turned away at the look of love on Maya’s face.
Why can’t I have that without losing either my son or my sanity?
“Congratulations. I’m sure you’ll be great parents no matter how many you have.”

“Thanks. So what’s up with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and crush you under it. What’s the problem?”

“My time’s up and I don’t know what to do about it.” Maya looked alarmed and Lexy hurried to explain. Well, sort of. The fewer people who knew about Wesley, the better. “Daniel and I, we agreed a short-term affair until the end of the race season. In forty-eight hours that will be over.”

“Ah, I see. I thought that’s what I was getting into with Jacques, just a casual affair. It’s all fun and games until someone falls in love. Do you love Daniel?”

“Yes, more than I thought possible to love a man.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Even taking her ex-husband out of the equation, there was still no easy answer. “I don’t deal well with stress. How can he cope with a girlfriend who falls apart on a regular basis when his very life depends on his being able to concentrate one-hundred percent on race day?”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’m not a shrink, so I’m not going to give you advice. But I will leave you with this question: Do you think maybe you’re easily stressed because you haven’t had the support of someone who loves you unconditionally? I was a wild child, lurching from one disaster to the next until I met Jacques. Now I get all the excitement and stimulation I crave from being with him. I’m a bit of a feminist, so I’m not going to say that Jacques completes me or anything. But he sure as hell fills in all the gaps and crevices so I’m able to function to my full capacity.”

“Love isn’t the issue. It’s the rest of our lives that is complicated. I don’t want to end up like my parents, having to choose between the well-being of my child and my marriage.”

“Don’t discount love, Lexy. It is amazingly powerful. But you have to believe in it and trust it with all your heart. Half a heart won’t work.” With that pronouncement, Maya strode off to join Jacques at the swing set.

“You’re not going to the track for qualifying?” Lexy turned to find her father a few feet away.

“Papa, what really happened between you and Mum? Was I the reason you divorced?” Because even if she could figure out a way to keep custody, if things went wrong with Daniel, she didn’t want Max to feel it was his fault.