“He really asked you to marry him?”
“Yes. He said even if it was for me to just get a visa and stay, but… it meant more. He wanted more.”
“He does realize you’re nineteen, right?” Stevie sat back on her heels. “How could you keep this from me?”
“It just happened. The day before I left.”
“It was right after sex, wasn’t it?” She tilted her head.
A slow smile curved my face.
“Damn, Whiskey, you make me proud.” She grasped her heart. “You must be exceptional in bed. I should know; I’ve gotten my fair share of proposals after sex.” She shrugged. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”
I jumped on the bed next to her, laughing. “Crap, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Stevie’s black-rimmed eyes turned serious. “And I don’t miss people.”
“I feel honored.”
“You should.” She folded her legs, facing me. “So, I’m figuring you said no.”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath. “Why do I feel like something’s wrong with me? Like I’m broken or something?” I shook my head. “Not for not wanting to marry him; I’m way too young. But shouldn’t I have been excited he wanted me to stay? That he loved me?”
“What did you feel instead?”
My eyes lifted connecting with hers. “Crippling fear. Confusion. I think I love him… but…”
“Oh.” She grimaced, her shoulders drooping, and I knew she understood. Probably better than anyone. “That’s not good.”
Exhaling, I collapsed onto my pillows. “What’s wrong with me? You saw him! He’s the epitome of what every girl fantasizes when they dream about a love affair with an Italian man.”
“Pretty much, but I’d think one of those Italian women would be even better.”
“Same ol’ Stevie.”
“Yeah, poor me. I have even more gorgeous people to sleep with.”
I chuckled but felt exhaustion prick at my lids.
“And you’re not broken. He just wasn’t the one for you.”
“What if he was? I was happy, Stevie… I don’t understand myself. Our time together was amazing. Perfect!” I exclaimed. “I miss him. So what’s the problem? What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t feel that way.” I rubbed my face, my uncertainty only growing. “I hate this.”
“You’re about to really not like me.” Her fingers thumbed the beads on the pillow again, apprehension tensing her shoulders. “Because of what I have to say next.”
I pushed up, dread bleeding into my stomach. “What?”
“I hate being the one to tell you this, but I’d rather you hear it from me. Plus, in this town, you’re gonna find out soon enough.”
“What… Stevie?” I gritted my teeth.
She huffed, rolling her shoulders back, her gaze meeting mine.
“He’s here.”
I knew who she was talking about but hoped I was wrong. “What are you talking about?”
“Hunter.” She said his name like it was a bomb. “I saw him the other day at his job. You know, he’s no longer doing supercross.”
“Oh.” Acid filled my stomach, and every emotion I had blocked away came boiling up, sizzling through my skin. I sucked in through my nose, shoved off my bed, and tried to ignore the instantaneous reaction just his name had on me. “That’s nice.” I folded a shirt that was on the floor, busying myself.
“Whiskey, I thought you should know, and that’s not all.” Stevie was blunt and forward, not caring who she ran over, and yet I could see how nervous she was to tell me this. She nibbled on her bottom lip, her fingers absently tugging at the pillow beads, her gaze not quite meeting mine.
“He and Krista—”
My gut already knew where this was going. “No,” I practically shouted, gulping back. “I don’t care. I closed that door on my life. Moved on.”
“Have you?”
“Have you from Chris?” I snapped, anger rushing up my throat. Stevie sat back, her eyes widening. Crap. Look how fast a simple name could make me lose it. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not like you, Whiskey. You have an open heart. I never did,” she said quietly. “I’m open to everything else, especially sex, but not love. I wasn’t built for it. You are. And you loved him.”
I knew her; she could lie to me, to herself, but I knew she was capable of great love. Her heart was enormous, but she had walled it up a long time ago. Something told me there was more to Stevie’s past than losing her father. Something she buried deep, not allowing me or even herself to recognize.
“Loved him. Past tense.”
“You know I always liked you and Hunter together. When everyone else was against you two, I could see how perfect you were. I truly believed you two were meant for each other, but now?” She clicked her tongue. “The faster you can leave this town, head to college… I think it’s for the best.”
I held my tongue, the plea for her to tell me what she knew, but nothing good would come of it. Hunter and I only caused each other pain. We always had.
I was home for a few months, then going back to college. If I could keep clear of him, it would be better for all. And deep down, I already knew what she was going to tell me about him and Krista. I just couldn’t handle hearing it.
Was she his fiancée… or his wife?
Chapter Thirteen
“Jay-Jay, breakfast!” Mom’s voice rang out from the kitchen. I continued to stare at the ceiling like I had most of the night. I didn’t want to recount how many times I tossed and turned, blaming it on jet lag. I berated myself when my mind kept looping back to what Stevie told me. He was here. In this town. So close, but so far away from me.
After Krista had hung up on me, I made a point to avoid all news about supercross, which wasn’t that hard in Florence. Only one night of too much wine and bad decision-making led me to type his name in the Google search bar. Headlines like “Talented Supercross Career Ended Too Soon” or “A Career Ends Before It Really Began: The Devastating End of Hunter ‘The Haze’ Harris.”
My very muscles ached as I read those headlines, knowing how much he must hurt. I wasn’t strong enough to read about or see Hunter from afar and not want to be there for him. When I woke in the morning with tear-stained cheeks and a pounding head, I decided I would never do that to myself again. I was strong, but Hunter was my weakness, my addiction. To stay clean, I had to keep all temptation out of my life.
I never looked again.
“Jayme!” Mom yelled again, forcing a groan from my lips. I rubbed my face, swinging my legs out of bed. The clock on my nightstand announced 10:15 a.m.
“I’m coming!” I shouted back, as my little sister burst through the door.
“Mom has your breakfast ready, Jay-Jay.” She rolled the knob back and forth with irritating clicks. “You slept in late! I already ate mine forever ago. You better come, now.”
“Yeah, I heard.” I pinched my nose. Day one and I already wanted to run screaming. I had been living on my own, not answering to anyone for a year. Being back under my parents’ roof with my every move documented felt constricting.
“Your eggs are getting cold.” Reece lifted her eyebrows, like I was about to get in trouble.
“I’m coming in a moment.” I stood, stretching, sensing the weight of exhaustion riding over my bones. I had slept all of three hours.
Reece trailed after me through my room, following me to the bathroom like a shadow, her toes nipping at my heels. “Reece, can I pee in private, please?”
“Reece, get your bottom back here and leave your sister alone,” Mom called to her from the kitchen. My sister ignored her and wiggled the doorknob after I shut it behind me. Irritation crept up my spine. I had missed my family, but we had all too quickly slipped right back into our roles.
Click. Click. Click.
“Stop it, Reece.” Coffee. I need a pot of coffee.
“Will you play Barbi
es with me?” Reece asked through the door, twisting the locked knob back and forth.
“Later, okay? Can I wake up first?” I tossed cold water on my face, the summer heat already starting to cook the house. As I stared at my reflection, the walls seemed to be closing in around me. This was all so strange. Just a couple days ago, I woke next to Luca. It had been a great morning of cafe con leche, croissants, and sex until we got into our fight. Now I was back in my childhood bed, being told when to eat. My little sister annoying the crap out of me.
The lure to call him and tell him I was coming back was tempting, but I pushed the feeling aside, knowing I was tired and cranky.
As I meandered into the living room, my sister danced around me in circles, tugging on my arm, not giving me an inch of space. I headed for the coffee pot and grabbed the biggest cup I could find.
“Reece, go change into your swimsuit. Grandma Penny is already sitting outside.” Mom pried Reece from me, pointing her down the hall. “Thanks.” I dumped the rest of the pot into my cup.
“She just missed you.” Mom leaned into the counter, smiling at my cantankerous attitude.
“I know.”
“You don’t look like you slept well.” Mom, on the other hand, looked beautiful. She was always stunning, even without makeup. Today she wore jean shorts and a flowy tank, looking more like my older sister than mother.
I snorted, pouring a little milk and sugar in my coffee before guzzling it down.
“I know it’s gonna take you a few days to adjust, but I was hoping you could run a few errands for me?” She shoved off the counter, grabbing a sheet of paper off the fridge. “Grandma Penny’s prescription needs to be picked up, and we need a few things at the supermarket.” She placed the list on the counter. “Plus, I thought you might want an excuse to get out for a few hours.” She darted her gaze down the hallway to where my sister was.
“Yes. Errands sound good.” I nodded.
“Your dad is at work, and Grandma said she’d watch Reece while I get some work done. I have a huge deadline coming up.”
When I was abroad, Mom finally quit her job at that horrible lawyer’s office and had transitioned into working more in the field she wanted, marketing for a small boutique pet store opening up soon.
“If you’re hungry, your breakfast is right there.” She signaled to the table. “It’s good to have you home.” Walking by, she rubbed my arm, heading to her bedroom, where she had set up a little office for herself.
At the sound of my sister’s shrill voice, I shot into the bathroom before she spotted me. I had missed her, but my annoyance level was cranked to an all-time high. I wanted to blame it on jet lag too, but this mood had coated me like a second skin from the moment Stevie brought up his name last night.
Screw you, Hunter. I am doing just fine.
That chapter was over. Shut down for good.
My red jeep rolled down the street with the air conditioner cranked all the way up, blasting my hair back as I sang loudly with the radio. I bounced to the beat of the song as I cruised to the store. I loved the public transportation in Europe; it was so easy and convenient. Barely any high school kids died in drunk driving accidents because everyone took the bus, train, taxi, or underground.
But.
I could not deny the freedom of being in my jeep again. I didn’t have to wait for my stop, I could play my music as loud as I wanted, and I had no timetable but my own.
Dad kept it in the garage while I was gone, and it hadn’t been touched since the day I left. It took a few times to get the engine warm and a light blinked on my dashboard, but right this minute, I was loving the freedom too much to take it into the shop. Tomorrow. On my list for tomorrow.
The music shifted to another kick-ass song. Turning it up, I curved down the long back road leading to the grocery store on the other side of town, pushing on the gas pedal.
Clunk. Hisssssss.
A noise came from the engine, my gaze darting to the gas needle. It was still half full. A loud sizzle sputtered; a puff of smoke wound up from my hood.
Shit.
This time I spotted the heat gauge pushing way past the middle mark where it normally hovered. In the middle of the summer, cars overheating here was normal, but this was me just being careless. The car hadn’t been checked in a year, and it was abnormally hot for June, while I cranked up the AC.
The smoke billowed in thicker plumes. Pulling the car over on the desolate road, I cursed myself. I purposely came this way because it was the long way to the store, and I had been in no hurry to get back home.
Climbing out, I glared at the car, knowing enough not to touch the hood until it cooled. The radiator continued to whistle and hiss like an angry snake, smoke wheezing from the engine.
Great.
Calling home was pointless. Mom couldn’t really help me, and Dad was more than forty-five minutes away, and the local garage was a number I really didn’t want to call.
“Be a freaking adult, Jayme.” I sighed, leaning in, and grabbed my cell from my bag on the passenger seat. “Pull up your big girl panties.” My thumb hovered over the button, knowing this wasn’t a comfy six degrees of separation from Hunter; this was one step: Doug. Growling under my breath, I hit call and shoved the phone to my ear, my lids squeezing closed.
Maybe he no longer worked there. Some random employee I didn’t know would answer.
“Hello? Doug’s Garage. May I help you?” the familiar cheerful voice said into the phone.
Wow, it was his shop now? When did that happen? Doug had not been the typical go-getting entrepreneur.
“Hey, Doug.” I gnawed on my lip. “This is Jaymerson.”
“Jaymerson?” He hesitated for a moment like he had forgotten the name. “Ohhh! Right. Hunter’s old girlfriend.”
My right eye twitched.
“What can I do for you?” His tone became more relaxed, like he had been doing his “professional” voice before.
“My car overheated, and there’s lots of smoke. I’m not sure what to do.”
“No worries, we can get you, bring you back here, and check it out,” he responded. “Where are you?”
“Fuller Creek Road.” I searched the motorway for a landmark, the dense vegetation and trees increasing the humidity around my body. I couldn’t see any road marker indication where I was. “Uh… I think I’m about a mile out from Main Street.”
“Okay. Sit tight, girl. Sending someone your way now,” he said before hanging up.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, I played with my phone, swinging my legs back and forth for about ten minutes when I heard a car pull up behind me, spotting a tow truck and an outline of a guy in the front seat.
“That was fast,” I muttered to myself as I slipped off my seat. Tugging at my tiny ripped jean shorts, I turned to the person climbing out of the tow truck. “You got here really—” The rest of my sentence died on my tongue.
The guy froze in his place, his nose flaring as he sucked in a breath.
Oh. God. No.
I couldn’t move, breathe, or think. Everything shut down as the world tipped sideways, plunging me into oblivion with nothing to hold on to. I had to remind myself to stay standing.
Shock stuck in my throat as a chill overtook me, despite the summer heat. My gaze fastened on the last person I expected to climb out of the truck.
Hunter Harris.
Last night I imagined multiple circumstances of how I’d run into him, how I’d respond, but nothing prepared me for reality. Seeing the real man before me kicked everything out from under me. And man was exactly what he was. He never looked like a boy to me, but the last year had matured him. Hardened him… physically. My god. My gaze dragged over his physique. His tall athletic body was even more built and toned. Corded tan arms bulged under his grease-streaked white T-shirt, his chest straining the fabric. His defined jaw was covered with a little more scruff than I remembered, his hair a little longer, curling at his neck.
Holy shit.
The pieces of my heart I had thrown over the bridge suddenly grew back, slamming painfully against my ribs.
He worked for Doug? As a mechanic?
Hunter’s blue eyes pierced me in place, as though I were a bug in a science experiment. Slowly his eyes ran over me, his gaze feeling like fingers, trailing down my heated skin, but no emotion leaked through, except for the angry twitch of his jaw.
“Jaym-er-son.” Slowly. Deliberately. A sneer lifted his lip as his tongue curled over each syllable.
Seeing him was hard enough, but hearing his deep husky voice… saying my name. I realized with a profound, acute awareness…
I never should have left Italy.
Chapter Fourteen
My head whirled like it was in a blender, my chest feeling as if it had been punched. I breathed through my nose, trying to keep myself vertical. I wasn’t ready for this. Not yet.
But watching him slam the door and take a step toward me, I realized I would never be ready to see him. He had a power over me no one else in the world held. And I hated that in a matter of seconds everything I worked hard to build was ripped away.
“Hunter.” His name rose thickly from my throat, my nails digging into my palms.
He folded his arms, his head turning to the side. “You’re back.”
“Yes.” I swear I was going to pass out from the temperature overheating my body, sweat beading down my lower back.
“Doug didn’t tell me it was you.” Tension clipped every word as if each one was torture to utter.
“Oh.” In that moment I realized it was not good-looking men who could make me go dumb. Luca was sexy as hell, almost beautiful, but I never lost my mind around him. It was Hunter alone who turned me into an inarticulate idiot. A scoop of ice cream on the searing concrete.
Tension weaved around the silence, neither of us speaking, the air pulsing like it had a heartbeat. The crickets and bugs hummed in the dense foliage, as if they were giving us background music for this encounter.
“So… um…” I cleared my throat, motioning at the engine. “My jeep overheated.” Yeah. Duh.
Broken Love (Blinded Love Series Book 2) Page 13