always made him think of relationship goals. But they had gotten together back when life was simpler. Now the world was faster, meaner and more connected. He had to hustle a lot to stay relevant off the track while still winning races on it. There was no time to find someone and get to know them in the real world the way his parents had.
But someday he did want that…when he was like thirty or, hell, maybe forty, depending on how his career went.
“Which girl are you looking at?” his father asked when his mom spotted one of her favorite Food TV chefs and wandered over. This party had everyone at it, and frankly it was the kind of shindig that he tried to avoid except when his sponsor made him attend.
Sponsors and family. They were the only two things that he ever allowed to pull him away from racing.
“Dad, you can’t call women girls anymore,” Inigo said. “But she’s the blonde in the blue dress over near the French doors.”
“You know I meant no disrespect,” he said. “Hell, you and your brothers still look like boys to me. Guess it’s my age.”
“Don’t be all aw-shucks with me. If Mom or Bia heard you, you’d be in trouble,” Inigo scolded.
“I know. Maybe I’d better go back and find that lady who thought I was Antonio Banderas,” his dad said.
“I wouldn’t. Unless you want to start the new year with Mom ticked off at you,” Inigo said.
“True. How’d you get to be so smart?” his dad asked.
Well, Inigo hadn’t been drinking all night, the way his father clearly had, which made everything sharper, but he smiled at his father and winked. “From you.”
His father clapped him on the back. “Of course you did. I like your gir—woman. Have you talked to her?”
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for, son?” his dad asked. “She’s alone. Go.”
His father gave him a nudge toward the blonde, and at that moment she glanced over at him to see his father pushing him toward her. Their eyes met, and he knew that he was hooked when she shook her head, smiled at him and crooked her finger.
Marielle Bisset had almost skipped tonight’s party. It wasn’t her normal scene, but her good friend and fellow social media influencer Scarlet had been insistent that she at least make an appearance and meet representatives from some of the brands that she’d been working with. Scarlet had been her mentor for the last six months. And once she’d realized that the other woman was pregnant, Marielle realized this might be the chance she’d been waiting for.
Scarlet had taken Mari under her wing when Mari had come back from a disastrous year abroad. Scarlet had been more than a mentor to her; she’d been really good at teaching Mari how to accept her flaws and own her past mistakes so she could be a better person.
She’d been slowly growing her YouTube channel and working on increasing her numbers so that she could become a style guru like Scarlet, but it was hard to build that kind of influence. Marielle had been doing it for a little over a year now and felt like she was just starting to find her own place in the noisy world of influencers.
She’d come back to the Hamptons and her parents’ home after a disastrous affair with a married man that had left her shattered. She shook her head, wishing it were just as easy to shake off how bad she’d felt when she finally realized he was married. She’d been hiding out in East Hampton for the better part of the last five years in between traveling the world and searching for answers about herself. She’d been making peace with her mistakes, keeping a low profile and building her internet-based influencer business. The scandal and hurt she’d caused had left her broken.
Glancing around the room, she locked eyes with a hot guy who was being shoved in her direction by an older man.
He had dark brown hair, but from this distance she wasn’t sure of his eye color. He bore a strong resemblance to the older man, who was laughing. She couldn’t help but smile at them. It was clear that they had a strong bond—probably father and son.
Her gaze locked with the man’s, and she felt a zing go through her. Dang. It had been a long time since she’d felt anything like that. He looked embarrassed, which was cute, so she crooked her finger at him, and he arched one eyebrow at her as he made his way across the room.
“So someone thinks you should meet me,” she said. “But you needed a shove?”
“Uh, no, that’s my dad. And he’s in full-on party mode,” he said, then groaned. “Not that I needed my dad to push me toward you or that I always hang out with my parents.”
She just laughed. He seemed so genuine and real that for a moment she wasn’t sure he belonged here. “It’s okay. Your dad seems like a lot of fun. I haven’t seen you at any of the other parties this holiday season, so I’m guessing you’re not local.”
“No. Texan born and raised. Are you a local?” he asked.
“Sort of. My parents have a house here. I grew up in the city but summered out here,” she said. Oh God, she was rambling. But it was totally his fault. Up close she saw that his eyes were a deep, dark chocolate brown and that he had a small scar in his left eyebrow. His jaw was strong and his mouth firm, but he smiled so easily that it distracted her.
“How do you know Scarlet?” he asked.
“She’s sort of my mentor. She’s been so great about answering all of my questions and helping me to come up with a business plan as an influencer,” she said. Scarlet had been the first person to take her seriously when she’d suggested that she wanted to make a career out of social media. Her father had been disappointed that she hadn’t landed a husband by now.
But that was her dad. Always making her feel like a disappointment. Not like this dude’s dad, who was watching them and smiling in a sweet way. His dad seemed like a really nice guy. Or maybe a silly drunk, she thought as he turned and moved toward the bar. She realized she’d seen him at the bar a few times tonight.
“Your dad is too funny,” she said.
“He’s a mess. He’s just enjoying the fact that all of his kids are here tonight. Normally at least one of us is away on every holiday, so he’s thrilled we all are here.”
“That’s so cute. Usually it’s the mom who’s like that,” she said.
“Yeah, my mom is a newscaster in Houston, so when we were growing up, she was gone a lot and Dad was the one who did all the school pickups. They are both pretty fabulous,” he said. “I’m pretty lucky in that they both made us a priority but weren’t too overbearing.”
“Must have been nice,” she said. As the only daughter in a family of five children, she’d always had a little too much attention from her parents. Her dad had been overprotective when she was younger, but once she was eighteen, he thought that she should find a good man and settle down. He was very old-fashioned about stuff like that.
“What about you? Are you here with anyone?”
“Um, no.”
