I remember

Prologue

Sienna

My dad only had one rule when it came to me dating: no racing drivers. I felt that this was a touch hypocritical as he had been one, and him and my mum had been happily married for nearly 20 years. As far as I know my mum never regretted her decision to be with him.

Not only had my dad been a racing driver, my cousin, Oliver, had started karting at a young age, and had moved up to single seaters as soon as he was old enough. On top of that, my dad, after retiring from racing, had become a manager for other drivers, so growing up I was around drivers all the time. I mean, a girl doesn't stand a chance against guys that love going at high speed and are crazy good looking (mostly). I was like a moth to a flame, and dating a racing driver was pretty much a forgone conclusion, despite my dad's warning.

When I was 17, I fell, head over heels, for one of my cousins' friends. He was part of a group that had pretty much grown up on the track together and were now competing against each other in GP2. I loved travelling around with my dad and Oliver, always begging them to take me with them for race weekends.

Up until that point Oliver' friends had seen me as an annoying little sister figure, always hanging around, just trying to fit in. However, between seasons, I had filled out. Although still petite at 5 foot 5, I suddenly had hips and boobs and the guys started looking at me differently. I was no longer their friends goofy, annoying, younger cousin but someone who made them all horny. It infuriated my cousin and they were all told in no uncertain terms that if they touched me he would kick their ass.

Most of them headed his warning and gave me a wide berth, however, Pierre clearly hadn't got the memo, or didn't care. His looks lingered and his conversations were definitely flirty and suggestive. He was careful not to get too close when Oliver or my dad was around, but I began to crave the secret smiles, the hidden touch of hands and started to seek him out more and more.

When Oliver found out we were dating, he went crazy and enough punches were thrown that they both had to wear make up to cover the bruises for a few of the following races to avoid the media finding out, although rumours still went round the paddock like wild fire. My mum got involved at that stage and gave Oliver the I know you're being a protective older cousin but..... speech, and my dad pretty much had the view that he'd warned me and whatever happened next was my decision and part of growing up.

In hindsight I wish I'd heeded my dad's warning and listened to my cousin. Pierre was a notorious flirt but I was young and in love and it was the first time I had ever felt that way about anyone and I was completely blind to the looks he gave other girls. He also made me feel like the centre of his world, aside from his racing, always coming to me first when he won a race, twirling me around in his arms and he'd talk to me in French which just turned me to mush.

It was an amazing year, or so I thought at the time. Pierre and I went from strength to strength and I spent the season travelling to races, when College allowed, to be by his side. He won the GP2 championship that year and the F1 teams came calling. Him signing to Toro Rosso changed everything. He'd hit the big time and he couldn't or didn't want to ignore the increased attention he was getting from girls. Despite being the perfect couple on the outside, on social media and more importantly for potential sponsors, it turns out he'd been cheating the whole time. I was devastated and swore never to date a driver again, it wasn't worth the heartbreak. Oliver was livid and never spoke to Pierre again. He never said 'I told you so' though, just kept giving me massive bear hugs and kept refilling my tissue box.