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  chin to the midway behind her. “Ride something.”

  A smile spreads across her face, and she quirks an eyebrow. “Anything?”

  I instantly regret the carelessness in my word choice. “A damn ride, Myra. Go be a kid instead of a pain in my ass.”

  “I’m sixteen, Jack.” She pokes me in the chest with her bony finger. “You can’t control me anymore.” Her glittery painted fingernail starts to bite into my skin, and I growl.

  As if I ever could. But I tried like hell to keep her out of trouble. Once Myra began to develop breasts, every boy in town wanted a piece of her. I made sure everyone knew I’d break their fingers if they touched her, and so far, I haven’t had an issue.

  “How much will it take for you to go away?”

  I’m done with her bullshit, and there’s only one thing that gets her ass moving—money.

  She rubs her chin like she’s deep in thought, but we both know how much she’s going to ask me to give her. “Hmm. A hundred bucks.” The corner of her mouth turns up into a smile because she thinks she’s won, but I would’ve paid her twice as much to get rid of her.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a wad of cash, plucking a bill off the stack and fanning it in front of her face. “Don’t find me for an hour. Do not go near Evie either. Disappear, Myra. Got it?”

  She salutes me before snatching the hundred from my fingers and stuffing it in her bra. “One hour. Anything more will cost you.” Spinning around on her heels, she stalks off toward the cotton candy stand, kicking the dirt-covered sugar puff across the midway as she walks.

  I turn my attention back to Evie. The guy has his arms wrapped around her waist, whispering something in her ear. Her hands rest on his shoulders as she laughs. My fists tighten at my sides at their public display.

  I loved her from the moment she walked into homeroom on the first day of eighth grade. The fact that she had on a Nirvana T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans just made me fall even harder.

  Now she stands only feet in front me, a little taller and a little more well-endowed, but still…she causes my heart to beat out of control.

  When the guy spins Evie around, I get my first full glimpse of her face in six years, and the small amount of air in my lungs evaporates. Every muscle in my body tenses, and I’m momentarily frozen as I take her in. My need to talk to her overtakes all rational thought, and I head straight toward her as if I’m on autopilot.

  As she makes another rotation in his arms, Evie’s eyes lock on mine. Her mesmerizing blue eyes go wide as she turns her head, following me as I stalk toward her.

  Picking up my pace with each step, I move through the crowd with ease.

  She wiggles free of his embrace as I get closer, pushing against the guy’s shoulders. For a moment, I think she’s going to run to me and jump in my arms because she has missed me as much as I have missed her, but when her feet touch the ground…

  She takes off in the opposite direction.

  As I chase after her, the crowd surges inward, closing the gap as if they’re trying to keep us apart.

  “Evie, wait!” I reach for her even though she’s too far away. The thought of touching her after all this time sends a shiver down my spine.

  Peering over her shoulder, she glances back with tear-stained cheeks, no longer smiling. Her body’s moving forward, propelling her farther away, but her eyes never leave mine.

  “Evie!” I plead for her to stop, but she doesn’t.

  I know what’s about to happen, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. She’s moving too fast for me to even scream a warning. Her body bounces backward as she hits the parade float and collapses on the grass.

  People rush to her side, but I don’t want anyone to touch her…only me. I push them away, layer after layer of nervous and nosy bystanders, until her motionless body is at my feet.

  She’s knocked out cold.

  “Everyone back up.” I urge them to make way, sweeping my arms in a circle over her body. Stealing a glance at her, I kneel at her side. Even out cold and with blood running from the gash in her head, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. “Evie,” I whisper hoarsely, desperate for her to look at me.

  My heart’s in my throat, pounding so fast that I wonder if the people around me can hear it as clearly as I can.

  I stroke her damp cheek with the backs of my knuckles. “Evie, wake up. Please, wake up for me, sweetheart.”

  2

  Evie

  I’m comfortable in the darkness—it’s warm and consuming in its nothingness—and every fucked-up thing in my life has melted away.

  “Evie.” His voice cuts like a knife, reopening every wound I’ve tried so hard to heal. Nothing could have prepared me to see him again.

  I’m not ready to open my eyes and face Jack, not yet. I want to stay here in the void where I don’t have to confront the man who broke my heart.

  Jack promised he’d wait for me, that he’d always love me, but he lied. Instead, he broke every promise he made me.

  My head throbs, and everything is spinning like I’ve had too much to drink. The voices around me grow louder before fading away again.

  “Evie, wake up,” Jack pleads. When he touches my cheek, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand, and my skin pebbles with goose bumps, just like it did when we were together.

  “Should we call an ambulance?” a woman asks in the distance.

  “No,” he growls all possessively, claiming his ownership like he did when we were kids.

  Jack doesn’t own me. Not anymore.

  Man, I fucked up good.

  The moment we locked eyes, I knew I had to run. After what happened, I couldn’t face him. My mistake wasn’t running away from him; it was my inability to resist catching one last glimpse of his beautiful face—the same one that has haunted my dreams for the last six years.

  I know I can’t lie here forever, and Jack isn’t going to walk away until I do. There’s no way around it. I have to face him.

  My eyes flutter open, slowly blinking to adjust to the sunlight as I stare up at him. “Jack,” I whisper, unable to resist saying his name. A name that has brought me so much pleasure and pain. A name I have tried so hard and failed to forget.

  “Evie.” He smiles, exhaling a sigh of relief. When I try to sit up, he gently pushes me back down. “Don’t move.” His face is soft as his eyes search mine. “Are you okay?”

  I turn my head, averting my gaze because it hurts too much to look at him. “I’m fine.”

  That’s not true. I’m crumbling into a thousand pieces on the inside. I remember the way he looked at me as though I was the only girl in the world who mattered to him. That wasn’t true, though. It was all lies. The promises we made meant nothing to him. His actions proved that long ago, and yet, being here with him now, all those feelings and memories bubble to the surface.

  “I love you, Evie. This isn’t goodbye…”

  I thought he’d love me forever, but it didn’t take him very long to move on after I left. When he did, he ripped my heart out, leaving a gaping hole in its place. Jack shattered me and every illusion I had about love. He destroyed me in the worst possible way.

  He deserted me.

  His hand slides down my side, resting just above the waistband of my shorts. His touch is intimate and shouldn’t cause a thrill of pleasure to shoot through me, but it does and that terrifies me. “Are you sure? Wiggle your toes.”

  “I’m fine, Jack.”

  His grip tightens, but I ignore the silent warning. My hand pushes against his chest but lingers a little too long.

  Good Lord.

  He’s huge.

  Even after all these years, he still takes my breath away. I shouldn’t fawn over him. I know it, but I can’t stop myself. Six years is a long time without laying eyes on the man I loved—and if I’m being honest, I still haven’t gotten over.

  Everything about his face is the same. I memorized every inch of it down to the dip in t
he middle of his top lip that creates the perfect M. Somehow, his nose is still straight and perfectly symmetrical even after all the times I saw his face take a punch. His chiseled jawline and high cheekbones are more pronounced than I remember, but it’s his eyes with their piercing blue color that captivate me.

  He leans back, ripping the shirt from his body. He mirrors something straight out of an all-male revue. I gawk at him openmouthed, unable to find my words as if I’ve never seen a bare chest before.

  Jesus.

  I blink a few times, but I can’t stop staring at him. He’s perfect in every way but one—he lied to me. Every time he moves, his muscles ripple and the sunlight bounces off his golden-tanned skin, turning me into a bumbling idiot.

  I push myself off the ground and start to sway. I don’t know if I’m dizzy from the hit or lust. Maybe both.

  Grabbing my arm, he steadies me and presses his torn T-shirt against my head. He’s like a superhero, swooping in to save me like a damsel in distress. Only I’m not his to save anymore. “Keep this against your wound, and I’ll carry you.”

  I gawk at him.

  It’s all I can do.

  Jack is really here and trying to take care of me like he cares about me at all.

  The fact that I’m standing next to him is still surreal. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s touching me, I wouldn’t believe my own eyes. I’ve craved his touch for so long, despite the pain it brings me.

  He lifts me into his arms, and the air surges out of my lungs when our bodies collide. He’s holding me against his chest—the same rock-hard chest I spent way too long staring at.

  “Relax,” he tells me.

  Like that’s going to happen.

  My senses are in overdrive with the side of my body plastered against his; my skin tingles at the contact.

  I’m so screwed.

  How Jack still affects me like this, I’ll never understand. I’ve spent so long convincing myself that I hated him, when it was all a big lie. One minute in his arms and I can’t escape the fact that I still love him. I’ve always loved him. I’m on the verge of hyperventilating as my head spins out of control.

  He holds me tighter, pushing my head under his chin as he carries me down the midway toward the parking lot. “I’ll take care of you,” he promises.

  A promise I’ve heard before.

  I’m woozy, but being in his arms is like being home again. A calmness comes over me as I snuggle into his embrace. His gentle demeanor and strong hold make me forget about everything that’s happened. I could melt into his granite-hard chest and stay this way forever. Warm and protected in his arms.

  What’s wrong with me?

  I’m not with the man five minutes, and I’m already forgetting his broken promises.

  He never even said he was sorry.

  He just stopped writing and never thought about me again before banging most of the girls at Ridge Hollow High.

  Renee, my best friend, made sure to fill me in on every gory detail even when I didn’t want to hear it. Eventually, I stopped talking to her too because I couldn’t take the constant reminder of what I’d lost any longer.

  He leans forward, and every dip and ridge of his abdomen scrape against my side as he sets me on the tailgate of a pickup truck. I bite down on my lip to stop the tiny wanton moan that wants to break free.

  “Let me look at your head.” He gently turns my face to the side with his fingers.

  In the distance, the Ferris wheel is turning, and the riders are screaming with excitement. Kind of like my insides at the close proximity of Jack.

  Traitor.

  “Evie!” Evan jogs toward us, his eyes moving between Jack and me.

  Oh God. Evan.

  Jack has me so distracted that I forgot about Evan. I’m officially the world’s shittiest friend.

  “Who’s he?” Jack asks, and based on his tone, he isn’t happy.

  “Evan.” I keep it short and super vague.

  It isn’t any of Jack’s business anyway. He gave up any right to be privy to the intimate details of my life when he let me go.

  I’m guessing he thinks Evan and I are a couple because he’s growling like a bear about to attack. I have to suppress a small smile threatening to appear at the thought of Jack being jealous. It serves him right. He deserves it after the way he treated me.

  “Who the hell are you?” Evan asks Jack like I’m not even sitting here.

  “Jack,” he grunts without taking his eyes off me. The intensity directed at me is overwhelming.

  I widen my eyes, silently pleading with Evan to help me out of this situation. He knows all about Jack. About our past. About my heartbreak.

  Evan’s eyes narrow as he pushes Jack’s shoulder. “I’ve got her.”

  He doesn’t budge and snarls at Evan. “I’ve got her.”

  Evan isn’t backing down and tries to nudge Jack out of the way again, but Jack doesn’t move. Evan’s effort accomplishes nothing.

  Uh oh.

  This could go from bad to clusterfuck in about three seconds.

  Don’t get me wrong. Evan’s built like a brick shithouse too, and they’d probably go a few rounds before someone would have to give in or get knocked out.

  If Evan weren’t gay, I totally would’ve swooned over him when we met. In fact, I think I did until he made it quite clear I didn’t have the bits and pieces he was interested in. It doesn’t hurt that he’s drop-dead gorgeous and covered in muscle—not Jack-size muscle, but hard just the same.

  Jack’s fingertips continue moving through my hair, delicately checking the spot I assume is bleeding like a faucet because I can feel the wetness in my hair.

  Placing his fingers under my chin, Jack forces me to meet his gaze. “You’re going to need a stitch or two,” he tells me like Evan isn’t even here. “I can take you to see Dr. Carlyle.”

  I give Evan a sideways glance, hoping for a little backup. “Evan will take me.”

  Jack turns to face Evan, sizing him up with flared nostrils, daring Evan to challenge him.

  Evan widens his stance, folding his arms in front of his chest to put on a show of virility. “She isn’t yours anymore, Jack. She’s none of your concern. I’ll take her.”

  I give Evan a halfhearted smile because he’s trying to rescue me, but I know Jack well enough to know he’s not going to back down so easily.

  “Evie will always be my concern,” Jack says, stepping toward Evan.

  Oh boy.

  “You lost that right a long time ago.” Evan moves forward, and they’re less than a foot apart.

  “Like hell, I did!” Jack’s voice is raised.

  This is going south fast. I rush to my feet, scrambling to make myself a human shield between them even though I’m half their size and dizzy as hell.

  “Boys.” I press my palms against their chests, trying to keep them apart. “Let’s calm down.” I smile nervously, my eyes moving between them. “Jack.” I see the fire in his eyes, alerting me to defuse the situation before someone gets hurt. “Thank you for helping me.”

  His face softens as he glances down at me. “You’re welcome, Evie.”

  My heart aches at his beauty, but I remind myself he’s not mine anymore.