“If you’re having a tough time with it, you know how much Avery likes working on Corvettes,” Knox said through a bit of laughter. “I’m sure she’d be willing to help you out if you’re really struggling and having a tough time with it.”
Avery was our business manager. She was also Knox’s woman. Of course, it took a bit of time and a lot of unnecessary drama to get to the place they were at now. After a bit of a rough patch and a serious chat with me, Knox saw how big of a mistake he was making in risking what they had. Luckily, he didn’t wait to make it right. And now they were both on cloud nine with one another.
It was a bit odd. Not only had I stepped in when I saw what was happening with Avery and him, but I had also done something similar when my boss, Logan, was doing the same thing with the woman who was now his girlfriend, Kendall.
I was happy for them. It was clear Knox and Avery, as well as Logan and Kendall, were meant for one another. I found it baffling how blind they seemed to be in the midst of those trying times. Fortunately, they all came to their senses and were blissfully happy now.
How I managed to encourage them to fix the messes they’d made but I hadn’t been able to fix my own was beyond me.
And now, I was in no mood to have Knox give me shit about his woman being able to handle my job.
“I’m sure I’ll manage,” I muttered.
Knox threw his hand up in surrender. “It’s your choice. I was just trying to offer some help,” he defended himself.
“I’m taking a break right now and going to go eat lunch,” I declared, deciding I needed to walk away from this car before I put my fist through the window. It was incredibly frustrating.
After making a quick stop in the bathroom to wash my hands, I walked into the break room and found Avery sitting at the table. It was clear she’d just finished up lunch.
Shaking my head at the thought of what Knox had just said to me about having her help me, I walked to the refrigerator and pulled out my lunch. As I moved back toward the table, I saw Avery looking at me. She had a curious look in her eye. I didn’t want to know what that was about, so I asked, “So, what? Was the win at the biggest event of the drag racing season not enough for you? Are you reading up on how to take over the road racing circuit now?”
Avery crossed her forearms over the book and glared at me. “I know it might come as a surprise to you and probably the rest of the crew here, but I’m not just a car-crazed girl,” she began. “I do have other interests.”
I let out a laugh. “Oh yeah?” I retorted.
“Well, two other interests,” she clarified. “Reading and Knox. Obviously, Knox is a newfound interest, but he brings me just as much joy as the others. Maybe even more than the others. Reading has been my off-season hobby for a long time. And you want to know the kicker?”
Truthfully, none of it mattered to me. I listened to Avery talk and tried my best to be nice to her because she’d had a shitty life in recent years. I thought she deserved a bit of a break, and she was always genuinely kind to everyone. For that reason, with a mouth full of food, I replied, “Sure.”
Leaning forward, she shared, “I don’t read just any kind of book, Ryker. I only read romance novels.”
I immediately stopped chewing. Her words reminded me of Scarlet. Romance novels were Scarlet’s favorite. I stared at Avery, unable to respond.
And my stunned silence must have led Avery to believe that I was judging her because she continued, “I know I’ve probably just changed every thought you ever had about me being a badass racecar driver, but it’s who I am. I make no apologies for it. And the thing is, this isn’t some joke to me. I’m just as crazy about books as I am about cars. Obsessive almost. In fact, I’m holding out hope that one of these days, I’m going to meet my all-time favorite author.”
Snapping myself out of it before my mind spiraled out of control, I returned, “You never know; it could happen. And I don’t think you’re any less of a badass, Avery.”
“I appreciate that, Ryker. And it really could happen,” she went on. “I mean, I’m kind of hoping it happens somewhere like the grocery store or something. I’d love to be out one day and be completely surprised by seeing her standing there in the produce section deciding on apples.”
I let out a laugh. The girl was crazy. “What are the chances she’s going to be at the same grocery store as you are?” I asked, hoping I didn’t crush her dreams by pointing out the obvious flaw in her plan. “What is the likelihood of her being in Rising Sun?”
“She lives here!” Avery bubbled. “How exciting is that? I mean, the grocery store thing doesn’t have to happen. She’s signing at a used book store next weekend. I’m probably going to go to that and see her there, but I think it would be cool to see her out doing some ordinary thing like the rest of us, you know? Anyway, I should probably get back out to the front office. I told Knox I needed to finish this chapter after we ate. That’s why he’s not sitting back here with me. And now that I’ve finished it, I need to do my job.”
I nodded as Avery stood.
But then something caught my eye. The paperback book on the table. It had closed, and the front cover had two words on it that left me paralyzed.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
My eyes shifted just as Avery pushed her chair in, and I saw two more words.
Scarlet Morgan.
Just above her name, in smaller font, read the words, New York Times Bestselling Author.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
As Avery moved to pick up her book, I reached across the table and snatched it up.
“Ryker?” she called. There was no missing the shock in her tone.
I ignored her and held the back of the book up in front of my face.
Seven years. That was the deal.
Sydney Madden and Raiden Hines made promises to each other. If she called him in seven years, he would be there waiting for her. Unfortunately, Sydney never called, so she doesn’t know if Raiden ever kept his end of the agreement.
Tortured every day by the memory of a man who stole her heart, Sydney does the best she can to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and move on.
But when another seven years pass, Raiden walks back into Sydney’s life.
The haunted look in his eyes tells her she made the biggest mistake of her life. And Sydney is left wondering if she’ll ever be able to mend their bleeding hearts.
It was us.
She used our initials to name her characters to tell our story. Or whatever version of this it was since I hadn’t exactly walked back into her life.
Under the description of the story, she was there. On a small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the book’s back cover was a picture of Scarlet’s beautiful face.
God.
I spent most of my time these days feeling angry and bitter, but right then, all I felt was sadness. I wanted to cry.
“Ryker?” Avery called again.
I started breathing again, not realizing I’d been holding my breath until that point, and looked up at her.
She wasn’t able to hide the concern she was feeling. “Is everything okay?” she asked.