Faster Dirtier (Take Me...#5) (A Team Ferrelli Novel) (4 page)

Chapter Four

Over the course of the afternoon, Siena and I hammer out a
game plan for the next couple of days. I haven’t renewed my contract with
FullSpeed for the upcoming season, so switching to another team will be no
trouble at all. As if I’d let those guys stand in my way of joining up with a
real F1 powerhouse like Team Ferrelli. Siena wants me to get acquainted with
the rest of the team right away, and invites me to join her in Italy to do just
that. Though my parents were born in Europe, I’ve never been overseas myself.
Hell, I’ve never even been to Canada. I’m nervous about leaving New York for
the first time in years, but Alec encourages me to take the leap. He knows a
thing or two about overseas travel, having served in the Army, but I’m still
nervous.

“Won’t you get lonely without me here?” I ask him later that
night, after Siena and Alfie have departed for their Manhattan hotel.

“Loneliness I can deal with,” Alec tells me, as he whips up
a batch of his famous spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. “What I couldn’t deal
with is you not following your dreams on account of me.”

“It’s just...We’ve been roomies ever since Mom and Dad
died,” I say, hugging his bulky torso as he cooks. “I’m going to miss you.”

“You’re just going to miss my cooking,” he chuckles,
ruffling my hair.

“Well, that too,” I grin.

“But seriously Ace,” Alec goes on, taking me by the
shoulders. “This is your chance to make it big. You’ve got the talent, and the
business savvy, and you’re marketable as hell. It’s time to cash in on all your
hard work and take what you’ve earned. I don’t want you to hold back. Not for
anything. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” I assure him, “All I’ve ever wanted is a
chance at being an F1 driver. I’m not going to let anything mess that up.”

“OK. But you’ve got to pinky swear on it,” Alec says
solemnly, holding up a flour-dusted little finger.

“For real?” I laugh.

“For real,” he says. “Promise me that you’ll give it your
all over there. That you won’t get distracted by the fame, or the money, or all
the Italian dudes who are going to be lined up to get a piece of you.”

“Oh please,” I say, rolling my eyes. “What Italian dude is
going to be interested in my little freckled-faced self?”

“Just give me your pinky,” Alec insists, snagging my finger
with his.

“I promise I won’t get distracted by dollar signs and sexy
Italian men,” I tell him.
Not that I can really promise him the latter.

“Whatever you say, Sis,” Alec says, turning back to his
meatballs. “Whatever you say.”

Siena’s booked me a plane ticket for the very next day, so I
spend most of the evening packing up my few belongings. I don’t have a very
extensive wardrobe, and only a few pieces of clothing I can’t do without. I
pack up a bunch of basic layers—jeans, tees, and the like—as well as an old
wool cardigan of my father’s. I call it his “professor sweater”—it’s a chunky,
cable-knit piece in a warm shade of ivory, with weathered brown elbow patches
and big wooden buttons. It’s the only piece of his clothing I’ve kept, but I
bring it with me everywhere. I suppose it’s kind of like a security blanket for
me.

I can barely sleep a wink all night, try as I might. I
glance around my childhood bedroom, imagining what my teenage self would say if
she could see me now. She’d be excited beyond belief about my getting to join
Team Ferrelli...but she’d probably be just as thrilled that I’m about to go rub
elbows with Enzo Lazio, the team’s devilishly handsome lead driver and heir to
the Ferrelli throne.

What will he be like in person? I’ve seen so many of his
interviews and TV appearances that I feel as though I know him already. But I’m
sure that his confident, headstrong, unapologetic persona is as much for the
public’s sake as anything. What is he like when the cameras aren’t rolling?
Enzo has always had quite the reputation as a notorious playboy, and his
hedonistic behavior has only become more extreme as he’s gotten older. He’s had
a series of incredibly beautiful girlfriends—each more of a knockout than the next.
There was one recently that actually stuck around for a while, some PR type
from another F1 team. But even she couldn’t hold Enzo’s attention, in the end.

“As if
you
could,” I murmur to myself, staring up at
my darkened ceiling. I don’t seriously think anything romantic could ever
happen between me and Enzo Lazio. Siena says that he’s going to be my mentor as
I train to become an F1 driver. He’s going to teach me everything he knows.
That in itself is a dream come true, I don’t need to complicate a perfect
scenario with a lingering schoolgirl crush. He’s almost a decade older than I
am, and impeccably handsome. And talented. And built like a marble sculpture—

“Jeez. Get a grip!” I chide myself, rolling over in my
narrow twin bed. I have more important things to think about than Enzo Lazio.
No matter how much of a perfect sex god he happens to be.

Chapter Five

Just as I suspected, my FullSpeed manager Bruno hardly bats
an eye when I swing by the track the next morning to tell him I won’t be
returning for the upcoming season.

“Ah well,” he shrugs, “I’ll miss having some eye candy
around this place. What’re you going to do instead? Getting married to some
rich guy or something?”

It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to punch the
slimy bastard in the face. Siena made me promise not to tell anyone about my
joining up with Team Ferrelli just yet, so I can’t even rub my promotion to the
big leagues in Bruno’s smug face. But that doesn’t mean I can’t give him a
little
taste of his own
medicine.

“Just figured I’d be better off as a free agent than wasting
my time getting talked at by the sad washed up men around here,” I smile,
turning on my heel. “Later, Bruno!”

A smile spreads across my face as I march away from the
FullSpeed track. Just yesterday, it seemed like my only choice was to rot away
with this small-time team, wasting the best years of my life and all of my
potential. But now, I get to move on up to one of the best teams in the world,
where I’ll be trained by all manner of expert coaches. My hopes soar as I think
of the amazing exposure I’ll get, once Siena introduces me to the rest of the
F1 world.

Her plan is pretty genius. I’m flying out to Rome today,
where I’ll be staying at the Lazio family’s Villa until I get a place of my
own. Later this week, Team Ferrelli is hosting a huge party to welcome the
whole crew back from their post-season vacation. It’s there that Siena plans to
unveil the newest member of Team Ferrelli:
me
.

Saying goodbye to Alec is a hell of a lot harder than
bidding my mediocre F3 team adieu. My big brother accompanies me to JFK
International Airport, where Siena and Alfie are waiting. It isn’t until we
arrive at the gate that my heart starts to ache with anticipated homesickness.
Alec is my best friend in the world. I hate having to say goodbye to him. It
reminds me of those terrible months he spent serving overseas, when I spent
every waking hour worrying for his wellbeing. Only this time, it’s me who’s
flying the coop.

“I’m so proud of you, Ace,” he mumbles, wrapping me up in a
big bear hug.

“I haven’t done anything yet,” I reply, laughing to try and
keep from crying.

“Sure you have,” he insists, looking down at me with his
hazel eyes—the exact same color as mine. “You’re going off to become F1’s first
female contender. No matter what happens next, you’ve already won. Not just for
you, either. Think of all the scrappy little girls out there racing box cars
who will have someone to look up to now.”

“No pressure or anything though, right?” I smile nervously.

“You’re gonna kill it,” Alec assures me. “You’re a Vaughn
after all.” A tinge of melancholy interrupts his enthusiasm as a voice over the
PA tells us it’s almost time to board. “Mom and Dad would be proud of you too.
You know that, right?”

“Now you’re just trying to make me cry,” I sniff, giving him
a light shove as Siena leads Alfie away toward the security line.

“I’m serious,” Alec says, planting a big kiss on my
forehead. “You’re doing us all proud, Ace. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whisper, resting my cheek against his
chest.

“Before you go, I want you to have this,” he says, reaching
into his backpack. My eyes sting with tears as he produces a dusty camouflage
cap. “I wore this when I was off at war. I thought you should have it as you
fight your own battles.” He sets the well worn cap on top of my strawberry
blonde hair, a sad smile on his face.

I don’t have any words strong enough to thank him. Instead,
I plant a big kiss on his scruffy cheek. The final boarding announcement rings
out overhead, and I brush an errant tear off my cheek. With one last wink from
Alec, I tear my gaze away. Hoisting my carry on over my shoulder, I square
myself toward the gate and take the first step of what is sure to be the
craziest, adventure of my life.

“Ainsley? Ainsley, wake up,” says a gentle, feminine voice
beside me. “We’re just about to land.”

My eyes flutter open, and for a moment I have no idea where
I am. But as I spot the beautiful blue eyes of Alfie Davies staring at me from
the window seat, I’m jerked back to the present moment. I’m on the plane to
Italy with Siena, waking up from the most vivid sex dream I’ve ever had in my
life...that just happened to star her big brother and my soon-to-be-mentor.

Well,
this is awkward,
I think to myself, sitting up straight as my cheeks
flush red. Hopefully, I didn’t call out his name or anything. What’s gotten
into me, having dreams like that? What am I, fourteen years old again? I need
to get a hold of myself.

I let go of my lingering embarrassment as the plane begins
its descent toward Rome. Peering around Siena and Alfie, I watch as the
sprawling, ancient city swims up to meet us. I can’t believe we’re here
already. My first European adventure, at last.

We gather up our luggage and head outside, where yet another
Ferrelli vehicle is waiting to ferry us home. This time, it’s a limo that bears
us back to the Lazio villa, my home for the foreseeable future. Siena was nice
enough to promise me the property’s guest house for the time being. She and her
husband, the amazing F1 driver Harrison Davies, split their time between the
villa and a townhouse in London. Siena’s mother, Camilla, also lives at the
villa, and Enzo even stops by once in a while, or so she tells me. Just
thinking his name makes my cheeks glow hotly. I need to get this fan-girl
nonsense out of my system before I start working with him.

“So, when do I get to meet my esteemed mentor?” I ask Siena,
on that note.

“God only knows,” she laughs, wiping a smudge of chocolate
off Alfie’s plump cheek. “Enzo comes and goes as he pleases. No one even
bothers trying to pin him down on anything these days, least of all me. The
last couple of years haven’t been easy for him, or any of us. Not since we lost
our dad.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” I tell Siena. “I
lost my parents too, when I was a bit younger. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever
been through. Helps to have a sibling you can lean on, at least in my
experience.”

“Oh, in mine too,” Siena assures me. “Enzo’s my rock. Always
has been. Sure, he can be a bit too overprotective at times...”

“I feel that, too,” I laugh.

“But he’s always got my best interests at heart,” Siena goes
on. “Honestly, I just worry for his sake, these days. He went a little off the
rails after we lost Dad. Started training like a maniac. Don’t get me wrong,
it’s been great for his career. But as far as his personal life goes...well, he
hasn’t had much time for anything
but
training lately. I had to force him to take a vacation. He’s been off hiking in
Austria for a couple of weeks by himself, just to clear his head. So I hope he
comes back a little less on-edge.”

The image of Enzo Lazio storming up the side of a mountain,
his hair windblown, his face alive with exertion, nearly sends me back into a
fresh wave of sexy daydreams. I have to take a deep breath to steady myself
before going on.

“Well, I guess I’ll meet him at this big fancy party you’re
throwing, if not before,” I smile. “Have you told him anything about me yet?” I
ask, a bit bashfully.

“I mentioned what I had in mind, as far as bringing a
promising new driver on board,” Siena tells me. “But again, he’s been kind of
distracted lately. We’ll get him all up to speed when he gets back though,
don’t you worry. I’m sure he’ll be as impressed with you as I am, Ainsley.”

“I hope so,” I mutter, turning to watch the Italian
landscape roar past the tinted window.

As we clear the outskirts of Rome and ascend into the hills,
I let myself revel in the excitement of the moment. I try and drink in every
second of this grand adventure as it unfolds, but it’s already too awesome to
take in all at once. And I’ve barely even gotten started yet.

“Here we are,” Siena says, as the limo rolls up to a
stately, wrought iron gate.

I watch in wonder as the portal swings open, allowing us to
turn onto a long, tree-lined drive rising up along the hillside. My nose is all
but pressed up against the window as we roll along. Finally, over a rise of
earth, the Lazio family villa reveals itself. Only, “villa” is hardly the first
word I’d use to describe this place. “Estate” maybe, or even “slice of
paradise” would be more accurate. The family home stands tall and proud, a
gorgeous structure of marble columns, rosy tiled roofs, and elegant doorways in
which gauzy white curtains wave. A wide veranda sweeps along the front of the
house above a circular driveway. Off to one side, across a tiled patio that
sports a spotless swimming pool and Jacuzzi, is an equally gorgeous second
structure. It looks like a miniature version of the main house.

“There’s your new home Ainsley,” Siena says, nodding at the
smaller house. “Like what you see so far?”

“Are you kidding me?” I splutter inelegantly, hands clasped
together with glee. That beautiful little abode is the guesthouse? This place
is incredible, and I tell Siena as much.

“We love it here too, don’t we Alfie?” she says, turning
toward her button-nosed boy.

“Home sweet home!” he babbles, grinning up at me as he
bounces on the leather seat.

My knees are practically shaking as I step out onto the
stately driveway, staring wide-eyed at my beautiful surroundings. The air up
here is crisp and clean, and the property surrounding the villa is totally
private. It really is like a little patch of heaven.

“Come on,” Siena says, taking me by the hand. “I’ll show you
around.”

Alfie runs off into the main house to find his grandmother
as Siena leads me across the patio, toward the guest quarters. My eyes go all
wide as we step inside through the front door and I get my first look at this
new home of mine. The ground floor is taken up by a sunken living room,
complete with flat screen TV, sectional, and fireplace, as well as a
well-stocked kitchenette. A small terrace off the back of the house looks out
over the rolling Italian hills beyond. Upstairs, there’s a cozy bedroom waiting
for me, featuring a cloud-like queen bed and full, luxurious bathroom. I almost
squeal with delight as I spot the deep, claw-foot bathtub. I love a good bath.

“So? What do you think?” Siena asks with a smile, leaning
against the bedroom doorway as I look around, flabbergasted.

“I think...I’m the luckiest girl on the planet,” I say
sincerely, turning to face the Italian beauty. “What are you, my fairy
godmother or something?”

“Nope. Just a fellow F1 aficionado,” she laughs, “Looking to
give an up-and-comer a hand. But if you want to think of me as your fairy
godmother, I won’t stop you.”

“It’s official then,” I grin. Before I can think twice, I’ve
wrapped Siena up in a huge hug. She’s a good bit taller than me, but then so is
everyone. She returns my eager embrace warmly, and I find myself wondering if
we might become friends someday, rather than just colleagues.

“I’ll let you get settled here,” she says, “You should have
plenty of time to sleep off your jet lag before the party tomorrow night.”

“Thank god,” I breathe, “I could definitely fall asleep
standing up right about now.”

“Try and stay up for a few more hours,” she advises, “You’ll
be sorted out in no time.”

I’m about to reply when a high pitched giggle cuts through
the air between us. Siena and I turn toward the small balcony that leads off
the bedroom, overlooking the pool and patio. With one eyebrow firmly cocked,
Siena marches across the room and throws open the doors that lead outside. I
peer around her just in time to see a gorgeous woman swan dive into the swimming
pool, where a second babe treads water, giggling as a splash of water brushes
against her tanned skin. It would seem that a very different sort of party is
already underway at the Lazio villa.