Vanni threw Estelle a vaguely annoyed glance. “Sometimes. Not always.”

“Usually,” Estelle said pointedly, taking a bite out of the lemon from her drink with flashing white teeth.

At that moment, her concern about what Estelle had said was dampened by Dean and Michelle Shaw’s arrival. They rose up the steps to the box, both of them out of breath and looking very eager. They greeted Emma and immediately took their seats. The drivers were being announced. Emma recognized the names of several drivers she’d met in the past few days, trying to take note of the number and car announced with their name. She clapped extra hard when she heard Niki’s name, the manic excitement of the event spreading to her. The stands were now packed. She could see that the road leading off the center arena to the main circuit was packed on both sides with people.

“The pace car is off,” Vanni said quietly next to her, obviously remembering that she didn’t speak French. Emma sat forward in her seat, following the car at which Vanni pointed. “It’ll lead the drivers through the circuit once,” he said, “getting them up to pace. The drivers can’t leave their lanes or pass the pace car until the pace car leads them across the starting line and the flag is waved,” Vanni explained, pausing to switch on the video monitor next to him as the drivers exited the main arena. His manner was intent and focused.

“How long will the race last?”

“The best clocked time so far was two hours, fourteen minutes, thirty point two seconds set by Niki during time trials,” he said, staring at the screen. Her heart went out to him when she recognized his barely leashed excitement.

“Vanni,” she said softly.

He glanced up at her.

“Is it too late for you to go to the pits?”

“No, but what’s—”

“I think you should go,” she interrupted softly. He gave her an incredulous glance. “You’re usually in the pits when you’re around for one of Niki’s races, aren’t you?” she said, giving him a fond, remonstrative look.

“Don’t pay any attention to Estelle,” his said with quiet disdain, his voice muted by the cheers of people for miles around reverberating off the mountainside.

“I’m not. I’m thinking of you. I should have realized you would have wanted to be in the thick of things. You came to the stands today because of me, didn’t you?” She saw the slight give in his expression and knew that said she’d spoken the truth. “Go on,” she urged. “It’ll do Niki good to know you are there. And Dean and Michelle are here. They’ll keep me company,” Emma added when he opened his mouth to protest.

“All right,” he said suddenly. He saw her smile and leaned over to kiss her. “I’ll come back here to get you after the race,” he said quietly near her lips a moment later.

“Good luck, Gearhead,” she whispered.

“One more shot of it,” he growled quietly, kissing her hard once more. He met her stare when they broke apart a moment later.

“You’re sure it’s okay?”

“Yes. Go,” she laughed.

In the distance, she heard the roar of the approaching engines. The crowd in the main stands began to stand and cheer. Vanni’s small but unguarded smile and the spark of excitement in his blue-green eyes made the sacrifice of his presence more than worth it.

Everyone in the box began to stand as the cars tore into the main arena, zooming toward the starting line. Vanni said something in Dean’s ear and Dean nodded. The cars began their first lap to a deafening cheer, and Vanni was jogging down the flight of steps. Emma watched him go, a dazed, happy feeling swelling inside her.

“Potent stuff, isn’t it?” Estelle asked quietly from beside her, taking a large swallow of her drink. The beautiful French woman nodded in the direction where Vanni had just disappeared. Emma gave her an arch look.

“Maybe you should go easy on it, then,” Emma said, nodding significantly at the potent raceday punch in her hand. Estelle was on her second glass.

Estelle laughed. “So . . . there is a little more to you than the girl next door?” she said as they sat again. “I figured there must be, to keep Vanni interested for more than an hour. He’s notoriously dissatisfied with women, you know.”

“Did it take him all of an hour with you?”

Estelle snorted into her drink. This time when she smiled, Emma thought it was genuine. A cheer went up in the distance. She turned on her monitor, too excited about the outcome of the race to be overly concerned by Estelle taking a bat at her with her claws.

The drivers were on their third lap. Several cars flew past the picturesque harbor. Niki appeared to be in second place with a green and gold car she recognized as Mario Acarde’s just inches ahead of him. It seemed the Formula One drivers were having a blazing start. Her heart seized slightly when they took a harrowing turn, seemingly not slowing down at all. The car in third place tried to use the turn to gain position on Niki, but scraped against the inside wall, bumping Niki. Emma gasped and placed her hand on her heart as if to contain it in her chest as she watched Niki regain control masterfully.

“Miguel Franco,” Estelle said. She’d leaned over and was watching Emma’s monitor with her. “You’d never guess he was so ruthless having met him, would you?” she asked drolly. Emma shook her head, recalling the polite, quiet-spoken Brazilian driver she’d met yesterday on Niki’s yacht. Then again, Miguel Franco would have to have some fire in him to deal with his gorgeous, flirtatious wife Vitoria on a daily basis. Niki hadn’t only recovered from Miguel’s aggressive move, he’d managed to inch up on Mario. By the time they roared into the main arena, he and Mario were neck and neck.

Emma watched the next several laps with Estelle in quiet awe, getting a feel for the tricky course and gaining a huge respect for the subtle skills and monumental courage of the drivers. Her heart was beating very fast, just watching on the monitor. She’d thought Niki had been teasing her when he was so cavalier about the dangerousness of the sport, but she now realized he’d been downplaying just how harrowing this road race really was.

“Do they crash a lot on these type of races?” Emma asked Estelle shakily.

“All the time,” Estelle said, taking a drink.

“But they’re not usually . . . deadly?”

“Not usually, no,” Estelle said offhandedly.

Emma didn’t find that very reassuring.

“You don’t have to worry about me, you know. In regard to Vanni, I mean.” Emma blinked in surprise, realizing Estelle was casually returning to their earlier topic. The twentieth lap had just finished. People in the box were starting to stand up and get food, and Simon had joined them at the back of the box. “Vanni would never look twice at me. He’s very particular that way.”

“What way?” Emma asked blankly.

“He doesn’t . . . associate with married women. I have a cousin who knows him well. Apparently he’s fastidious about avoiding married women because his father was a philanderer. He’s dead set against interfering in marital bliss,” Estelle said, her mouth curling derisively. “No matter how unblissful the marriage. Very moral.”

“Very inconvenient. For you,” Emma added with a rueful smile.

Estelle looked a little startled at her honesty, but then met her stare. “Definitely not the girl next door,” she murmured speculatively. “Still, I’d watch myself. Vanni isn’t the type to settle down any more than he’s the kind to get involved with a married woman. I know that for a fact from my cousin as well.” She glanced distractedly toward the arena as the cars rounded the main track again. “Oh . . . here she is now,” Estelle said suddenly, smiling and waving. Emma looked at what had caught her attention, her mouth dropping open in disbelieving recognition.

“Astrid,” Estelle called excitedly. Men and women alike in the stands did a double take at the stunning woman with the long, flowing black hair as she ascended the steps. In the four-inch platform sandals she wore, she must have been close to six feet tall. She definitely could have stopped traffic wearing a short blue-and-white-striped dress that optimally showed off tanned, smooth legs and full breasts straining against tight cotton. Against her will, Emma had to admit that the statuesque beauty and Vanni must have looked amazing together.