Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: February 8th, 2023

CL: How do you feel about wine?

Red or nothing. A good blend or a nice cab, but I'm not that picky :Caroline

CL: Elle est une sommelière!

Tu le sais :Caroline

CL: Busy tonight?

Nope :) :Caroline

CL: I'll be at your apartment at 6.

Caroline was practically skipping through the clinic that day with a cheshire cat-like grin plastered on her face. She had never been very good at hiding her emotions. For the past week, she and Charles had been texting and it made her borderline nauseous with anxiety to think about. Their conversations had been light and filled with the basic getting-to-know-you questions and answers, but she was shocked when he continued to respond to her. She had stopped herself multiple times from texting him paragraphs or 7 texts in a row, opting this time to play it more cool. Almost in an instinctive reflex, Caroline caught herself getting excited, smiling at her phone.

"What an insane idea, Care. He's Charles freaking Leclerc and you're no one. Not an instagram model, not an influencer, not even European. Just be grateful that you've actually got a friend here."

The thought grounded her for a moment, transferring her thoughts towards the excitement of having a friend to hang out with tonight. Besides, the idea of having another man in her romantic life made Caroline shudder with anxiety. She still had several suitcases of baggage left to unpack from the last guy who had her smiling at her phone. She set her phone down and looked back up at her laptop.

"Back to reality," she thought to herself, diving into her work.

**

At 5:58 there was a knock on Caroline's door that caused a rush of adrenaline through her body. She hated that as much as she could try to control her thoughts and actions, she could never truly control her subconscious. Pushing away the nervous energy, Caroline opened the door to a casually dressed Charles. He wore a cream sweater and black joggers, his cheeks and the tip of his nose light pink from the brisk walk to her apartment.

"So you're a punctual guy?" Caroline said, stepping outside to join him.

"Punctual?" He said, cocking his head to the side in a cute dog-like manner, expressing his confusion.

"Ummm... it just means you're on time, that's all. It's a word to describe people who like to be on time." Caroline rambled out as she locked the door.

"Ah oui, ponctuelle." He replied, letting his accent drag out the word. Caroline had to stop herself from melting into a puddle right then and there at the sound of him speaking French.

"So," Caroline said, a bit too excitedly. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Wine and a movie?" he replied, searching her eyes for approval.

"That sounds perfect." Caroline responded, not letting her brain take her to the subconscious thoughts of them cuddling on the couch. Caroline replaced that thought with all of the wine and movie nights that she had with her best friends, not letting herself read into the situation.

The pair arrived at the local wine shop, where Charles was greeted by all of the staff. For a moment, Caroline forgot just how famous he was. He wasn't wearing any sort of disguise today so he graciously took photos and signed autographs for the fans. Caroline quickly got distracted by the absurdly large collection of wines and wandered away from the group. Charles watched out of the corner of his eye as she intensely stared at each bottle, reading about each one. He liked how much care she took in holding the bottles, softly turning them over in her hands as she read the labels. Caroline was gravitating towards one Italian blend in particular, but the price tag caught her eye and she felt like her jaw was about to hit the floor.