My Formula 1 System-Chapter 565: An Early Summer? 2

Luca actually felt his heart throbbing with a kind of excitement he hadn’t tasted since childhood.

This anticipation was rare, and it had been a long time since something carried such weight, apart from his back-to-back championship races.

And unlike those races, he wasn’t prepared at all for this one.

With every word that escaped Simon and Ester’s lips, his smile became broader and more cherished.

They led him into the property, not from the front door, but back down the same path they’d emerged from earlier.

Guiding him, the cousins showed Luca the way through the side and into the decorated backyard, where the air was filled with the perfume of flowers.

There, Luca’s eyes landed first on a small clique of wide-eyed children who froze at his arrival, staring at him as though he were a colossal beast that came to eat everyone.

Before Luca could engage with them, Simon’s hand gestured beyond the kids, toward the far end of the backyard, where a damsel sat gracefully.

Isabella’s pupils dilated the instant Luca’s gaze fell on her, a storm rushing through her chest.

But then, the backyard dulled into silence as Luca’s cherished smile surprisingly softened and then faded, leaving behind a neutral expression.

A different kind of storm rushed through Isabella’s chest as she wondered what that could mean, since Luca had been quite unreadable recently.

Did he not like what she arranged for the day? He didn’t like the dress she picked? Or perhaps, he was too transfixed by finally seeing her that he fell into an abyss of no expression?

It was the last for Luca, because with every step he now took toward her, Isabella looked just like the flowers in the garden.

As for Isabella, Luca looked like a walking pillar of hormones as he approached, her breath shallow with the sudden urge to devour him right there and then.

By the time Luca closed the distance, he was smiling again, but mildly. With hands in pockets, he stopped about four feet from the young lady.

On the other hand, Isabella couldn’t hide her own joy, so her lips remained stretched uncontrollably, eyes wide and dreamy as she gazed up at Luca.

There was a long pause that stretched for at least thirty seconds before Luca finally broke it, saying, "This is a very early summer party."

Isabella chuckled, lowered her gaze for a moment before lifting it back again, her voice playful as she replied, "I was... impatient."

Luca smiled and nodded, his eyes roaming over the lively backyard as he lifted a hand to wave at the children still staring at him in awe.

"Where’s the baby? And mother?" he asked.

"They’re inside, in the living room," Isabella answered. She turned her head to the side door where Evelyn stood at her post. "Evelyn, kindly lead our guest there," she instructed.

Luca turned and followed Evelyn toward the side door. He easily noted the striking resemblance to Laura, so he asked Evelyn if she was her sister.

Evelyn answered positively as they stepped into the house, which had gotten darker, prompting her to put on some lights.

They soon reached the living room, where seven figures sat together—Laura among them, alongside her mother, and her uncle and aunts, discussing family matters.

In between their talk, there were restless sounds of an infant, as if the baby was struggling against something.

As Evelyn announced Luca’s presence, every head in the room looked up at the approaching F1 driver.

In that instant, Laura’s only uncle sprang to his feet, excited because he was a big fan of Trampos Racing, and most importantly, Luca Rennick.

~~~~~

Some babies grew quite big, others small, most at the moderate growth size.

Martin fell on the line right between moderate and big. According to Luca, the baby was enormous, the biggest he had ever seen.

But Luca hadn’t exactly encountered many babies in his life to make a fair comparison, so this was poor judgment.

At first, Martin refused to be carried by him, squirming and sobbing the moment Luca lifted him from Laura’s arms.

But after Luca refused to set him down despite his cries, Martin was strangely humbled, unlike children who usually screamed louder when denied.

Soon enough, the baby found his own way to cope, chewing on his tiny fist before turning his curiosity on the strange man carrying him.

Martin began to slip his fingers into Luca’s mouth, drooling over his face, and even licking his nose.

To everyone’s surprise, Martin eventually settled easily with Luca, as though Luca was the father.

One of Laura’s aunts, who worked as a medical practitioner, explained that Martin’s reaction made sense because the child had never known a father figure, and the baby was starved of masculine presence.

So, it was basically biology in manifestation, since babies were sensitive to pheromones and even the testosterone-driven aura of men.

Laura was fascinated.

With Ansel’s son finally where he had always wanted—in his arms—Luca used about twenty minutes to engage warmly with the Brahms family.

Most of that time, he remained in the living room, steering the conversation with the family toward matters surrounding the child’s growth since birth.

He listened intently to Laura, her mother, and the aunts as they recounted Martin’s milestones and health, nodding in approval at their diligence.

Luca felt satisfied with what he heard, yet naturally he took the lead in shifting the discussion toward the future, asking direct questions and laying out where and what he wanted to begin putting his hands in for Martin’s betterment—his education, health, and general upbringing.

At other moments, he made sure he didn’t forget the other children in the family.

Their excitement was impossible to contain, their eyes sparkling as they surrounded him with endless requests for attention.

And Luca gave it freely, crouching down to their level, letting them touch him, ruffle his hair, and slap his palms in rapid-fire high-fives.

By the time the meal prepared was laid out, Martin was asleep, so Laura tucked him in the cot nearby as everyone made their way out to the backyard.

So at last, Luca found himself with the chance to take his seat beside Isabella, who had been waiting for what felt like an eternity.