He saw her tight smile and read it.
Someone with a far bigger cash pot would snap him up very soon.
‘Treat him like a star, then,’ Matteo said. ‘Make him never want to leave.’ He saw the set of her lips. ‘What’s his latest gripe?’ he asked and her mouth relaxed into a soft laugh at his perception.
‘Well, some of the other drivers have suites with their own gym and lap pool.’ She looked at Matteo, who said nothing. ‘These guys are incredibly fit. You have to be to race at that speed. I know how taxing it is just doing a few gentle laps.’
‘It didn’t look particularly gentle to me,’ Matteo said. ‘So, what’s it like?’ he asked. ‘Driving one?’
And she knew the line the guys used but that would really tip her into flirting with him.
‘It’s amazing,’ she said, instead of saying that it was better than sex.
It had to be.
Her one experience had been hell after all.
No, she would not be flirting.
‘Pedro doesn’t like using the hotel pool and gym,’ Abby said. ‘And I get that, I do, but...’ She loathed talking about money, but that was what they were here to do. ‘Our budget’s tight.’
‘And Pedro doesn’t want to hear that?’
‘He’s been really good,’ Abby said. ‘They all have been. It’s hard watching the others swan off to fancy restaurants when we’re heading for the burger bar. We all want better things and know that we have to work for it. It’s just hard juggling egos. And also I know that Pedro’s right—he’d do better with more resources and I’d do better if I had more time to focus on the car and the opposition.’
‘Instead of playing bookkeeper?’ Matteo asked and she gave a low laugh.
‘And PA, and travel agent...’
‘I get it.’
How could he? ‘How come you want to invest?’ she asked him.
‘Well, I think you’re going places,’ Matteo said. ‘And I want to be securely on board when you do. I have a thing for outside chances.’ He looked at the wine menu. ‘What are we drinking?’ Matteo asked.
‘Water for me...’
‘You’re a cheap date.’
‘This isn’t a date, Matteo,’ she said.
‘Actually, no, it isn’t.’ He put down the menu and was serious. He was interested in sponsoring the team. Seriously so. Matteo was a gambler by nature but this was a huge one. He wasn’t thinking about the necklace or her father now. Matteo’s head was in the game and if he was going to be a sponsor, then there had to be rules. ‘My relationships run into hours rather than days. Believe me, you don’t want to know...’
‘I already do!’ she said.
‘Which means, if we want this to work, then it’s hands off each other.’
‘I’m good with that,’ she said.
‘Anyway,’ Matteo added, ‘I don’t date.’
‘And I don’t drink.’
‘At all?’
‘Nope.’ She shook her head.
‘Ever?’