Book 1 of Monte Carlo Series
Escaping her chaotic past, Katrina moves to Monaco to start a new life. With a single bag and a guitar, she sets on a brand new journey to reacquaint with herself and maybe find love along the way.
The morning after, Katrina woke up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast for Charles, who was heading out to pick up his mom. She was setting the table when Charles walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning," she greeted him with a smile.
"Why are you up so early?" he asked, approaching her.
"I usually jog around this time, and I figured I'd fill your stomach before you meet your mom," she replied.
"You didn't have to do this," he said, appreciating the gesture.
"I want to. Now, eat your breakfast, and then go pick up your mom," she urged.
"Thank you for this, Katrina," Charles said sincerely.
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jkhale : breakfast is better when you get to share the meal with someone. Thank you for taking the photo charlie boy
↳ sofialeclerc : why didn't you invite me!
↳ jkhale : were eating in the kitchen, join us
↳ sofialeclerc : tagging charles_leclerc
charles_leclerc started following you
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"What the hell?" Katrina blurted out, catching both Leclercs off guard.
"What's wrong?" Charles asked, surprised by her sudden reaction.
"Why do you have 15.7 million followers on Instagram?" she asked, clearly baffled.
"You don't know who my cousin is?" Sofia asked, raising an eyebrow, amused.
"Nope, I don't. Should I? No offense, Charles," Katrina replied, glancing at him.
"None taken," Charles responded casually, still chewing his sandwich.
"Don't tell me he actually caught your interest, and that's why you spent the whole night chatting with him?" Sofia teased, grinning at her cousin.
"Well, yeah. Your cousin has the same sense of humor as me. He was fun to talk to," Katrina smiled back.
"I told you, I'm not that bad," Charles chuckled.
"You're one of a kind, Katrina," Sofia said, smiling with genuine affection.
"So, who's going to answer my question now?" Katrina asked, still curious.
Charles grinned. "Well, I'm a Formula 1 driver. I race for Ferrari."
Katrina blinked in surprise. "Oh..."
"You don't know what that is, do you?" Charles laughed.
"Sorry..." she muttered, a little embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like you're supposed to know who I am. Honestly, it's probably better that you don't, and yet you've still treated me like a regular person."
"So your colleagues... they also race in Formula 1?" Katrina asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Yep. Even though they looked pretty trashed last night, they're among the top 20 best drivers in the world," Charles explained.
"Wait, if you drive fast cars for a living, why were you so freaked out last night when I was a little above the speed limit?" Katrina asked with a mischievous grin.
"I'm used to driving fast cars, but when I'm in the passenger seat, I hate it. Honestly, they would've felt the same if they were sober last night," Charles explained, just as his alarm went off, signaling it was time for him to head out.
"Drive safe, Charlie!" Sofia called out, waving goodbye to her cousin.
Once Charles left, Katrina took the opportunity to ask Sofia all the questions she'd been dying to know. Sofia was more than happy to explain the ins and outs of Formula 1, starting with the teams and the current drivers. Katrina learned that Alex raced for Williams, George for Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton (who she recognized as Nicole's ex), Daniel raced for a team called VCARB, Charles raced for Ferrari, and Max was with Red Bull. It amused her to discover that Max was the reigning world champion, and she couldn't help but laugh at how she'd been surrounded by celebrities without even realizing it.
