“Yeah, you did. You didn’t hear him out, you never even asked how it went down, you just blamed him, and worse, you didn’t blame me. You hit him where it hurt, you threw something on him, but you let me get away with it when it was equally my doing. You broke him, and you did it because you wanted him to hurt because of what he did to you...”

“Oh God,” I rasp, putting my face in my hands.

“Don’t make you a bad person, but you can’t blame him for feelin’ the way he does. You were his friend, above all else, and you never let him explain. You blamed him, you got on your parents side when they tried to take him down, and then you came back here and tried to ask for forgiveness.”

When he puts it like that, I feel like a monster.

And that’s what I am - a monster.

“God, what have I done?”

“Past, Tom Cat, you can’t change it now...”

I meet Cade’s eyes. “Thank you, for telling me.”

“Ain’t tellin’ you nothin’ you don’t already know, deep down. I will also tell you I don’t want you playin’ around with Spike right now; he ain’t good for you, Tom Cat. You had the right to know about the past, but now, you need to stay away.”

“I need to fix what I broke,” I protest.

“You can do that, but you need to keep your pants on when you do. Trust me, Tom Cat, I ain’t doin’ this to be an asshole, I’m doin’ it ‘coz he ain’t no good for you.”

“Isn’t that my choice?” I whisper.

“Not if I’m fuckin’ around,” he growls and I sigh deeply. No point in trying to react right now, he won’t hear of it. “Now, I’m goin’ to head home and find my fiancé to punish her some more. We good?”

“We’re always good,” I smile weakly.

Cade returns my smile with full force. He steps forward, jerking me into his arms for a hug. I return it, wrapping my arms around his large frame.

“You know, for a biker, you’re kinda sweet.”

He grunts and pulls back. “You women, don’t know what you’re fuckin’ talkin’ about.”

I giggle, and he flashes me another grin, before gripping his keys and walking to the door. When he gets to the opening, he turns and looks back at me.

“Don’t chase him, Tom Cat. I mean it...let this one go, yeah?”

“Later, Cade,” I say, ignoring his speech.

He nods at me, and steps out the door, and I find myself smiling. My heart hurts, my body aches for Spike, yet I’m smiling.

I’m smiling because there’s a chance.

It might be tiny, but it’s a chance.

And that’s something - and something means I’ll keep fighting for the friend I lost.

CHAPTER 3

PAST - CIARA

“Who’s the motorcycle man?” Cheyenne asks me, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and peering out the window.

“That’s Danny. He’s a friend.”

“A friend Mom and Dad won’t like.”

I shrug. “They won’t know.”

Chey turns and smiles, twisting her hair and securing it with a clip. “You into him?”

I snort. “No, he’s just a friend.”

She grins and her eyes twinkle with humor.

“Seriously, Chey, he’s just a friend. Now, I have to go.”

“All right, well you better be home before Mom gets here. You know she’ll flip if you show up with Motorcycle Man down there.”

I wave a hand, and grip my purse. “Yeah, I’ll be home before her.”

I turn and rush out the door, then down the stairs. I walk through our large home, until I reach the front door.

I step out, and instantly I smile. Danny is on his bike, grinning at me. He’s beautiful in a way that just can’t be described. His hair is long, sandy blonde and tied in a ponytail behind his head. He has these brown eyes that sometimes look black, they get so dark. I wave and hurry down the front stairs, surrounded by blooming red roses my mother planted months ago, grinning as I near him.

“Hey Tom Cat,” he grins.

He’s called me Tom Cat since the moment we met at a friend’s party. As soon as he saw my oddly colored yellow eyes, he decided the name suited me.

“Hey Danny.” I smile, getting on the back of his bike and taking the helmet he passes back to me.

“You ready? We’re goin’ to have a sweet day.”

“What are we doing?” I ask, wrapping my arm around his waist.

“Secret, hang on.”

He pulls the throttle and the bike lurches forward. We speed off down the street, and I breathe in deeply, getting a mix of the sea air and Danny’s scent. God, he smells good. I might only be eighteen, but I know enough to know that Danny is the kind of man that has girls swooning. I wrap my arms tighter around him as we speed down the road.

I’ve been friends with Danny since I was seventeen, and since then we’ve spent most weekends together. He even picks me up for work in the mornings and drops me off in the afternoons.

We cruise down the highway, and I try to decide where it is Danny is taking me. When we pull up at a picnic ground with rolling hills and cute little picnic benches, and a massive swimming lake, my heart skips a beat. Danny doesn’t show a great deal of affection. He can be hard when it comes to his feelings, but he shows them in other ways - ways like this. I slip off the back of the bike when Danny parks it, and lift my helmet off. My breath hitches as I admire the scenery; it’s absolutely stunning. Danny gets off the bike and steps up beside me, and for a moment we’re both quiet.