“You can’t be serious about that joker, Holl? Come on. We belong together. You know that. One kiss, for old times sake.”

He tries again, only this time I push him back a little harder. “I mean it, Jackson. I’m with Trip.”

He grabs my hips, and tries to pull me into him. I need to get out of here before I let him gain the upper hand—like he always does—and completely ruin everything. If I ever get back together with him, I need to be in charge this time around.

I push him away again. “No, Jackson. It’s not going to be that easy. You hurt me and I don’t trust you anymore.”

Jackson drops his arms to his side. “I deserve that. I’m going to get you back, Holl. I’ll be damned if I let another man take what’s mine.”

I step away from him and lock my gaze with his. “Who is to say he hasn’t taken it already.”

I don’t give Jackson a chance to say another word. I can’t risk standing here and allowing him to call bullshit after the plan to make him suffer is already in motion. I turn and walk away.

Jackson calls my name, but I don’t bother looking back.

I take a deep breath once I’m on the porch, and am thankful for the space. I need to clear my head and wrap my mind around what the hell just happened in there. Shit went from zero to sixty too fucking fast. My hand rubs my forehead. I need to find Trip and find out what I need to do next. Hopefully I didn’t screw things up by pushing him away so harshly.

As soon as my feet hit the gravel in the parking lot, I spot Dad coming out of the garage where we keep extra bikes. He looks worse today. His skin has a sort of grayish tone to it and he moves like he’s about ninety instead of forty-seven.

He needs to see a doctor soon.

His feet shuffle over the gravel and smiles the moment he spots me. “Hey, honey. Trip is in garage gearing up to test our track for the first time. Do you mind going out with him? He’ll need your expertise. I already hooked him up with some gear.”

I nod. “Sure thing. He’s who I’m looking for anyhow.” We pass each other as we head in opposite directions and I turn towards Dad as he goes by. “Jackson Cruze is in the office.”

Dad tilts his head. “You don’t say. What’s he want?”

I shrug. “He asked me last night if he could come by and ride.”

Dad’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “You sure he’s just here for that and not you.”

“Dad,” I say, dragging out his name. “Jackson and I are over.” Panic hits me as I realize my dad is about to walk in there with my ex who now believes I have a new tattooed, sexy boyfriend. “But, he does think I’m sort of dating Trip.”

Dad scratched his head. “Why would he think that?”

“Because Trip and I made Jackson believe we’re a couple.”

His lips twist. “Why would Trip agree to that?”

“We ran into Jackson at the restaurant last night. After I filled Trip in, he came up with a brilliant plan to make Jackson jealous by pretending to date each other.”

He rubs his face. “Honey, I know you’ve been in love with Jackson for a long time, and he hurt you real bad, but this seems like an awfully dangerous way to go about getting his attention. Sometimes things that start out as a game can get very serious and very out of hand quickly when it comes to playing with people’s hearts.”

I take a step towards him and throw my arms around his thin shoulders. “We’ve got it all under control, Dad. Don’t worry. I promise no one will get hurt.”

He sighs into my hair. “I can’t help but worry. You’re my baby. I don’t like to see you upset.”

I hug him tighter. It’s nice to know at least one person in this world loves me.

I Said It

TRIP

I yank the black and white jersey over my head and then readjust my vented pants that Bill just gave me to ride in while I’m here. If I go into this business I need to see if Lanie and Aubrey’s new advertising company can get the Black Falcon logo on some track wear. That would be badass.

“You look good,” Holly says as she walks in the garage. “You look like the real deal.”

I glance down at my new gear. “It’s pretty sweet. I never knew these pants were part rubber, though.”

She leans against the bike I’m standing next to. “Haven’t you ridden before?”

“Of course I have, but only for fun, never on a track like this,” I admit to her.

She tilts her head. “I was under the impression you were a bike riding expert. That’s why your friend, Mr. Snare, hired you.”

I laugh. It’s kind of cute that she’s so clueless. “I’m an expert at many things, but riding a bike isn’t one of them. You won’t see me doing any crazy jumps today, not that I’d be afraid to learn.”

She smiles. “Awesome, now I have something to give you in return for helping me out with Jackson. I’ll teach you some basic tricks.”

“You can do that shit?” When she nods, I swear she just got a little fucking hotter. “Awesome. I’ll take that deal. Speaking of deals, I’m glad things are going well with the asshole.”

Holly pinches my arm. “Let’s not call him names. He wanted to kiss me. This actually seems to be working pretty well. He’s totally jealous.”

I grab the helmet off the bike handle and glance over at her. “You didn’t let him kiss you, did you?” She shakes her head, and for some crazy reason I feel relieved, which is really fucked up. The plan is working. The guy wants her. I should be thrilled. “Good. Don’t let him. You need to play hard to get a while longer.”

She licks her lips. “So we need to still pretend to date?”

“Oh, yeah, his suffering has just begun.”

She laughs. “I think I’m beginning to enjoy your sadistic way of thinking. Payback is exactly what Jackson needs. This is the best I’ve felt in a couple weeks.”

I tilt my head as I study her. “Are you sure about that? It seemed like you were feeling pretty good at the bar when you were with me.”

She throws her hands on her hips. “Are you ever going to let that go? I told you I was drunk. I’m not normally so forward.”

I chuckle. “Oh, believe me, sweetness, I learned that yesterday.”

Holly wears a smug grin. “Why because I didn’t fall for all the lines you threw me about getting into my pants. Being so direct won’t always get what you want, you know.”

I shove the helmet back onto the handlebar. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s worked pretty well for me so far in a lot of aspects of my life.” I nod towards the bike that’s parked next to mine. “Come show me around this place.”

She smiles. “All right. Let me go grab my gear from the house. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”

I nod. “I’ll push the bike out and wait for you.”

Holly turns and walks out of the garage and I can’t help but to watch her ass as she leaves. It’s pretty fucking great. Too great in my opinion for Jackson—guys like us don’t deserve nice girls.

I flick the kickstand down into the gravel and lean against it while I wait on Holly. The screen door on the office slams shut and Jackson comes sauntering out. The suit he’s wearing is identical to mine—only I wear it better.

Jackson smirks as he eyes the bike behind me. “You’re a rider? How come I’ve never seen you around here before?”

I pull a pair of sunglasses out of my pocket and slip them on my face. “I’m new in town.”

“Is that right?” I don’t care for the snide tone in his voice. No one challenges me even a little bit and gets away with it.

I stiffen my back. “Yeah. That’s right. What of it?”

Jackson raises his eyebrows. “It’s just I know all the riders around here.”

“Like I said, I’m new, and to be honest I don’t care for the fucking third degree you’re trying to give me. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll back off. Now.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Maybe you don’t get how things work around here, so I’m going to fill you in. I run this place. Nothing goes on around here without my okay.”