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“A prickly princess,” he says, and I glare at him. “It’s one of my favorite parts of you. Going on the attack is a great defense.”
“Insults are one of my least favorite parts of you, surfer boy.”
His smile is sinful. “You’ll need to try harder than your brother, Princess.” The last word oozes out of him. Boone coined the surfer boy moniker, and it always riles Jake up.
“Why are you here?”
I meant the particular stretch of country road, but all Jake says is, “You needed me.” I would protest, except he scoops me until I lie across his shoulder. “Don’t kick me.”
“Then put me down.”
“Gladly.” He drops me into his truck’s passenger seat, pulling a seatbelt across my chest and waist. “You’re coming with me,” he says.
“This is kidnapping.”
“No, Princess. I’m rescuing you.”
“I’ll press charges.”
Jake smirks. He actually smirks. “No, you won’t.”
No, I won’t.
Dammit. After months of not speaking, I’m back in his carand heading to my place. It’s not fair. This cannot happen again. “Wait. Before we go, there’s tiramisu in my car. It’s supposed to be dinner tonight.”
2- Jake
“Thank you for taking me home,” Sarah says and slowly taps the front door. “You don’t need to worry any longer. I can take care of the rest tomorrow.”
“Yes, you can. I doubt there’s little you can’t accomplish once you set your mind to it,” I say because it’s undoubtedly true. The rest doesn’t deserve a response. “Nice place. How long are you staying here?”
Her ‘home,’ with rustic furniture and a small television mounted on the wall, is an obvious vacation rental. If it were permanent, there would be at least one family picture somewhere. Instead, there are a few mountain scenes and a deer head on one wall. Sarah never allowed me to come to her place, but that doesn’t matter. I bet she decorates it with pink and lace.
A stack of paperbacks sits on the edge of a table. The top book features a half-dressed man covered in tattoos. More interestingly, there’s no evidence Sarah is sharing her little cabin with anyone else. No board games or matching coffee mugs exist, and reading is a solitary activity.
Interesting.
“Two more days,” Sarah answers. She remains by the door but releases the knob.
I step further into the living space, pointedly telling her I’m not leaving yet. “What do you have to drink?”
“Water,” she says flatly. “Tepid water.”
“Delicious. That’s my favorite.” This is fun. “What are wedoing for dinner?”
“I already ate.”
Sarah returns with my glass of water. It’s half-full and lukewarm like she promised. I take a sip. “Perfect. You remembered how I like it.” That isn’t true, but Sarah’s frown is worth it.
She tries again. “You don’t need to stay any longer, Jake. I have it from here. Boone and Maddie will arrive in the morning, and you two can’t be together. We both know it would end in disaster, and you’d enjoy it.”
Now, that part is true. The rivalry between her brother and me approaches legendary status. It started over a dispute two years ago and grew worse when he spun me during Talladega last season to take the win. We nearly came to blows in the next race, and Sarah dumped me right after. We came to blows before then, too, which was also a problem.
The last time we spoke, I promised to do better, but she accused me of being the same as the rest. Then she told me about her boyfriend, making sure I knew he was not a race car driver. Whatever our relationship was, it ended before it had a chance to start.
“I can be friendly. It’s your brother that’s the problem.” Sarah glares, ready to defend Boone Rivers. That’s the other problem between us. She’ll always pick him over us, even when he’s at fault. We were doomed from our first kiss. “Besides, if you told your brother, he would already be coming. Boone would have already called the local police to check on you. Find another excuse, Princess.”
After months of her ignoring me, Sarah thinks I’d leave with nothing but a polite handshake. Her disappointment arises from the fact that saving her in winter is an excellent reason to stick around. It’s embarrassing to admit how often I think of her.
