I fold my arms over my chest. “Well, that’s just too damn bad. You should’ve thought about that before you decided it was a good idea to sleep with other women behind my back.”

Jackson nods. “You’re right. I was an idiot, but your new boyfriend is never going to give me the chance to make it up to you and earn your love back.”

I tilt my head confused. “You’re only saying those things to me because you’re jealous and don’t like that I’ve found someone else. Besides, Trip doesn’t own me. I can talk to whoever I want, whenever I want.”

“He’s not an idiot, Holl. He can feel the connection between us. He isn’t going to let you be alone with me long. But, I’ll tell you one thing Trip’s got his signals crossed on.”

“What’s that?”

He steps even closer and reaches up and touches my cheek. “What we had was never just fucking.”

My legs grow weak and I fall forward into his waiting arms. It’s nice to have confirmation that I actually still mean something to Jackson, even though he became an asshole and pretended like what we had was nothing.

“Jackson—” Before I have a chance to say anything else, he leans in to kiss me. I push my hand into his chest. This feels too fast—plus, how’s it going to look if I’m supposedly dating Trip. I can’t let Jackson have me again so easy. After what he did to me, he needs to suffer like I did. “Don’t.”

“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.

Chapter 7

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.