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Jameson turns the ring carefully to read what’s inside. “ ‘Through the fire.’ ”

“It was supposed to be a testament to their love. Doesn’t seem like it worked.”

“Sure it did. It saved you.” His gaze meets mine.

Did he hear my heart crack open? The entire world must have.

The feelings in my chest are suddenly way too intense. It’s one thing to hook up with Jameson, another entirely to feel as if he could make my heart stop beating with a glance or a word. I flop onto my back, feigning casual as I tuck my head into his shoulder.

“What would you have done if you hadn’t gotten into the academy?” Jameson’s voice rumbles through his chest.

I’m grateful to have the question to focus on. “Go back to Ohio State, get my degree. After graduation, I was planning to open a garage with my dad. One where we didn’t have to report to anyone besides ourselves. He could retire and be comfortable.”

“And then what? When your dad was comfortable, what was your dream?”

The hotel lights move beyond the curtains. “I don’t know. I figured if I got that far, I’d already won.”

He’s quiet a minute.

“What did you want to be before you wanted to be a driver?” I ask.

“I never thought about anything else,” he says. “Figured if I gave myself a safety, I’d give myself an out.”

“Life doesn’t always go to plan.”

“Then you need a better plan.”

“That simple, huh?” I admire his conviction. Still, it’s easier to have conviction when you’ve grown up surrounded by opportunities.

“I didn’t plan on you,” he says.

His lips brush my temple, and I blink in surprise at the sweetness of the gesture. My fingers curl around his forearm before I can stop them.

“Mmm. You trying to get in my pants again?”

“I’m still in them.” I can feel his smile against my skin.

He threads his fingers through mine. It’s unsettling how in the dark with the sheets pressed against my skin, we’re just two people. It doesn’t matter where either of us came from. What we’re capable of.

I’m not cold but I have the sudden urge to pull the duvet over my body. To remember that my heart has been beating fine for the last twenty years without syncing up with his.

“So if you always have a plan, was it your bold plan to run me over with the Turbo on the first day of school?”

His shoulder tenses under my head. “No.”

“You never apologized,” I say absently. It’s one thing I still can’t square with everything I’ve learned about him. “Now would be the ideal time,” I suggest.

His thumb stills. “I can’t.”

There’s an edge in his voice, and frustration rises up in me to match.

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

I push up to a seated position and fold my arms, feeling the scars in my skin. The ones that will probably be there forever thanks to another person’s carelessness, the actions they can never take back.

“You’re too much of an Ashford to admit you fucked up?”

He leans back on his hands, watching me with those cool eyes. “It’s not healthy being obsessed with the past. Trust me.”