Drifting Deception

Chapter Sixteen

SYDNEY 

"And you've settled into your hotel?" Henry asked as I began unpacking my belongings. We'd flown to England for a private charity event at the Santoro headquarters ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix. But for some reason, there had been a miscommunication with the hotel bookings, and so I was in a different hotel from Henry and Theo.

"I have," I chuckled. "Now shut up. I need to get ready for the event."

I heard Henry laugh on the other side of the phone. "Okay. Now remember, I'll be in the lobby at six."

"Roger that." I knew Henry would be shaking his head, and I had to contain my laughter as I hung up the phone. I blew out a sigh of relief. I was worried after our argument in Spain, things would be odd between us. But we'd been fine over these past few weeks. I didn't mean to snap at him like that, but he was persistent. Everything I said was true, but that didn't mean I'd said everything I wanted to say. Over the past few weeks, I had started to develop these odd sensations that I had to call, feelings. Of course, it was all light and casual, but with all the FaceTimes, jokes and touching...I'd started to feel some weird attraction to Henry that I knew was off-limits. Hence my big speech about how I wanted to win Jeremy back. I hoped it was enough for him to not suspect anything. There was nothing more embarrassing than fantasising about someone who had no attraction to you.

I walked to the suitcase and pulled out the garment bag that held my dress for the evening. I hung the bag on the door before revealing the shiny, backless midi dress I'd purchased just for the occasion. It was a cream colour, with a beautiful neckline and slit up the side. I figured I'd tie my hair back and do a smokey makeup look for the event.

Tonight was the charity event held by Santoro Renault Limited to fundraise for the largest hospice service in the UK. All of the big stars and celebrities were invited, and artwork from a local college was to be auctioned off in a giant bid at the end of the night. There were a few tickets also sold to the public, where a tour was going to run all evening and give them a private insight into the factory. All of the motorsport stars associated with Santoro's team were invited to mingle with the guests and promote their work. It was an awesome idea as long as the intent behind it was the sole purpose. I hoped there wasn't some underlying mission to acquire new investors or benefit the team in some way. 

Henry was prompt, arriving at the hotel at exactly six. I saw him immediately upon exiting the lift. He was wearing a tuxedo—note to self, men in tuxes are chef's kiss—and he held a bouquet of red roses.

"What's this?" I chuckled as I closed the distance between us.

Henry didn't respond at first, he was too busy staring at something. I hoped it wasn't my poor makeup or my messy hair. He shook his head and smiled. "Sorry. Um, these are for you. A kid was selling them outside our hotel, and they reminded me of you."

"Roses remind you of me?"

"Yes, Sydney Rose Larsson, they remind me of you."

I blushed. I had no idea he'd remembered my middle name. It was said in complete passing when I told him all the facts a boyfriend should know about me. That was during our first week of "dating".

"Thank you," I said as I inhaled the sweet scent. I clutched onto the flowers before grabbing Henry's arm and heading for the chauffeur.

The town hall was lit a dim pink as we entered. A warm rush of air hit me and made me feel slightly nauseous as I skimmed the crowd. This was the first public event that Henry and I would be seen together. Yes, we'd had team events with paparazzi and guests. But this hall held hundreds of eyes, and Henry was a hot topic at the moment. These eyes could be and would be watching us like a hawk all evening.