Throttled (Dirty Air 1)

Sure enough, Noah grabs the extra glass and fills it up. He sits in the seat next to me, ready for questions.

My eyes dart between Noah and Santi. “Wait, he can’t join. I don’t have questions for him.”

“Ask him the same ones.” Santi offers me a quizzical look.

“Lovely.” My jaw hurts from my teeth grinding.

Noah dares to look smug. All right, he asked for it.

“If you could go on a date with any celebrity, who would it be?” I give the camera a warm smile before turning toward the guys.

Noah coughs. I did try to stop him.

“Definity Taylor Hill. That girl is fine,” my brother blurts out.

My hands fidget in front of me, anticipating whatever response Noah comes up with.

He mutters a curse before speaking. “Hmm. Adriana Lima?”

If glares could kill, this man would be dead on the spot.

“If anyone from the VS fashion show is listening in, please invite these guys. It’ll make their year.”

My brother chuckles while Noah keeps quiet, pleasing me.

“Favorite F1 team besides Bandini?”

My brother strokes his chin as Noah takes it away.

“McCoy for me. I like the guys and their work ethic. They’re great competition, always pushing us to do our best.”

“I like Kulikov. That’s a given from our previous history. There’s no bad blood since I left. And the guys hustle.”

I move on. “Name five things you look for in your dream girl.”

“Attractive, smart, into F1…” Santi pauses. “Oh, family-oriented, and nice.”

Noah takes a few seconds to come up with an answer, his intense gaze warming me up inside. I become fascinated with picking at the label of the tequila bottle.

“Beautiful, both inside and out. Funny enough to get my asshole sense of humor. Someone who wants to have a family and likes me for me, rather than for fame. And a girl who will travel around the world with me because this job is constantly on the go.”

I think my ovaries explode but it’s hard to tell. Moving on.

“Best sex story?” Did the camera catch my cringing? I’ll have to re-watch later while I edit.

My brother takes a breath before talking. “Well, there was this one time—”

My elbow hits him in the ribs. Hell. No.

Noah winks at me before knocking back his shot like the Champ he is. Oh, what a simple wink can do to me. My lips tip up in a telling smile.

The game keeps going with questions taking a turn away from sex and love interests. Bless.

For the first time since Santi started at Bandini, he and Noah get along. It gives me hope that they can be friends after Noah and I come out about our relationship.

But you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

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