When Cesar returned she looked up at him from the round glass table where she’d taken a seat. “After putting your life on the line at the track, I can see why you choose to come here to unwind. This is paradise.”
He took his place across from her. “You say that with such a tragic look in your eyes, I feel the weight of the world in them. May I offer you something to eat first?” She shook her head. “A little wine perhaps?”
“Nothing, thank you. Cesar, please forgive me for bursting in on you like this unannounced. I had no way of knowing whether you were alone, or—”
“I am alone, as you can well see.”
She bit her lip. “The thing is, you have every right to assume why I’ve come, but it’s—”
“It’s not because you’ve been dying of love for me and couldn’t stay away from me any longer?” he broke in with asperity. “You think I don’t know that, ma belle?”
Olivia averted her eyes, suddenly feeling like an idiot.
“Contrary to most people’s opinion, I’m not quite the shallow fool everyone believes I am, so in love with myself and my love of speed that I imagine the whole world revol
ves around me and no one else.”
“I never said that,” she murmured.
“You didn’t have to. You were a fan of mine long before you met me. Believing all the hype about me goes with the territory. If I hadn’t learned to live with it, I would have gotten out of racing a long time ago.”
So there was a dark side to Cesar, too. Maybe it was inherent in the Falcon genes.
He finished the last of the cheese before eyeing her frankly. “There’s only one person’s opinion who truly matters to me besides my parents’. We used to be as close as brothers,” he said with bitter irony. “These days he hates my guts.”
She kneaded her hands nervously. “You’re talking about Luc.”
His eyes grew bleak. “Who else? I gather that’s why you’re here. To talk about him.”
“Yes.”
“Because you’re in love with him.”
“Yes.”
“And he’s being difficult.”
Olivia almost choked on the word.
“I can see that he is,” Cesar drawled. “Where do you want to start?”
“At the beginning.”
He threw his arm over the back of his chair. “In the beginning, there was Luc. My hero. I wanted to be like him, do everything he did. But he was brilliant in math, fantastic at any sport, and could have any woman he wanted without even thinking about it.
“I on the other hand was a late bloomer who struggled in school, was only passable at most sports, and believe it or not, was scared of women.”
“That’s how it was with me and Greer,” Olivia blurted. “She was the oldest. The smart one with all the ideas. She could do anything! She had so much confidence. Men adored her. I…worshiped her.”
Cesar eyed her with compassion. “We’re both victims of the youngest-child syndrome.”
She nodded.
“One day Luc and our cousins took me to a Formula I race with them. Though Luc had no interest in being a competitor, it was a sport my brother loved to watch.
“When the winner of the Grand Prix walked up to the podium to collect his prize, I saw admiration in Luc’s eyes. That was an electrifying moment for me. I decided I would learn to race cars so that Luc would admire me like that one day.
“Over the years the sport has been good to me, and with all the endorsements, I’ve been able to invest in several businesses.”