by Laura Pavlov
“Maybe next time you should stand up to her too. Don’t let her intimidate you.” I pushed to my feet because I needed some fucking space from the girl. She was all-consuming in the most unexpected way. And oddly, I only wanted more, which scared the shit out of me.
“I might have to take a tip from the Clementine Edington handbook.” She chuckled. “So, you’ve got the fight tonight. Are you nervous?”
“Nah. I’ll go out and do what I need to do.” I kicked at the dirt beneath my feet.
“And Kylie’s coming in town this weekend, right? Are you excited to see her?” she asked, and her gaze locked with mine.
Fuck. I wasn’t much for lying. She’d inquired about Jessica, my homecoming date, and I’d told her we were just friends. And then she’d asked about Kylie because apparently Adelaide Edington had done her research and knew a bit about the college girl I’d had a brief fling with this past summer. I’d let her believe there was something more between Kylie and me than there actually was. Hell, it wasn’t a complete lie. Kylie wanted more. I didn’t. We had good sexual chemistry, and I didn’t mind hooking up with her when she was in town. But she’d been calling and texting a lot more than normal, and I’d cut ties when she left for school a few months ago. I wasn’t looking for anything deep. She asked if we could meet this weekend when she was home to talk about why I’d ghosted her. I’d let Adelaide believe there was something more there for reasons I couldn’t even begin to explain. Adelaide and I were friends. I didn’t need a goddamn safety net from this girl. But for whatever reason, I needed to make sure this friendship never crossed the line. I’d never hung out with a chick this much before, and it made me—uncomfortable.
Chronically fucking uncomfortable.
My dick didn’t know what to do with her nearness, and neither did I.
But I couldn’t seem to stay away.
So, if letting her believe I had a college girlfriend helped set some boundaries, so be it.
But I was irritable about the whole situation. About how hanging out with Adelaide me feel. Made me want things I had no business wanting. Yet, I couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
“Yeah. She’ll be here tomorrow.”
She nodded. “That’s cool. Are you guys going to do anything fun?”
I rolled my eyes. “We aren’t like you and Taulson, Ace. We won’t be singing Christmas carols to the neighbors and talking about our fake future. We fuck. That’s about it.”
Where the fuck did that come from?
She raised a brow and studied me before pushing to her feet. “Good luck at your fight, Jett.”
And she stormed to her car without looking back.
Well, that was one way to keep her at arm’s length.
But I regretted being an asshole to her.
She didn’t deserve that.
Hell, Adelaide Edington deserved everything.
Three fucking brutal rounds later, I wiped my face off with a dirty fucking T-shirt and chugged my water. I’d won the fight in the last round, but I was feeling it. The dude had landed some serious hits to my ribs, and I took a good shot to the cheek. It didn’t help that I’d looked up to see Adelaide sitting with Jax, Shaw, and Coco up front. I didn’t know why the fuck she was there. Coco had come to three of my fights over the past few weeks because she and Shaw were inseparable these days. But Adelaide didn’t belong here. And she was a huge fucking distraction. I didn’t have time to worry about her, but I didn’t know how to not worry about her at the same time. Thankfully, my opponent, Joey T, had tapped out in the end.
Gram had been given a new prescription that was supposed to help with her breathing issues, but it wasn’t covered by insurance. The diner was always slow between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Ma needed help covering all these bills. Clyde handed me a healthy cut of the earnings and I thanked him.
“I got a few fights for you next week if you want in. People are starting to ask about you now that you’ve got ten wins under your belt. But er, we’ve got a little situation,” Clyde said, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Wren wants me to keep your fights to a minimum.” He shrugged. Shaw’s cousin Clyde was a cool dude, but I knew he wouldn’t go against Wren. Hell, Wren owned the place, so he called the shots.
“What the fuck is his problem?”
“No idea. But he’s always asking who you’re fighting, and to keep the fights to a minimum.”
“I’ll talk to him. Plan on putting me on as many as you can, and I’ll let you know what he says.”
It pissed me off that I’d have to deal with the guy. Wren had always been around, and I used to be a lot friendlier to him. Hell, I actually liked the guy before. Looked up to him, even. That was before I realized that he might be my father. He might be the man that wrecked my mom’s life. And that was unforgivable. But if I had to play nice to get a few fights in order to help Ma, I would do it. A few more months and I’d be free of this godforsaken town.
“You got it, Jett. Great fight tonight. See you next week.”
I turned to walk toward my friends at the end of the hallway. My gaze landed on Adelaide’s fine ass, and it took all I had to pull my eyes away. We hadn’t ended things in the best way when she left the lake today, so I didn’t know how to even act at the moment.
“Hey,” I said, giving Shaw and Jax a hard look. They knew I was pissed they’d brought her here by my chilly greeting.
“Great fight, dude. Ten and O. You’re making a name for yourself,” Shaw said, clapping me on the back.
“Yeah, I’m even starting to learn some of the moves. That takedown was badass.” Coco smiled proudly. Shaw put an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Jesus. These two were starting to look like an actual couple.
“Thanks. He was the toughest guy I’ve fought yet.” My gaze locked with Adelaide’s and she looked away. “Hey, Ace.”
“Hi. Good fight.” She refused to meet my gaze and her smile was forced. Clearly, I’d hurt her feelings and I was surprised that I felt like shit about it.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“So, we were thinking, maybe we’d go sit out at the lake for a while. Maybe start a bonfire so we don’t freeze our balls off. Are you up for it?” Jax asked.
“Sure,” I said, unable to stop staring at Adelaide.
“All right, let’s do it,” Shaw said.
Coco and Adelaide agreed to meet us there, and Shaw and Jax walked beside me.
“Dude, you swear there’s nothing going on with you and Addy?” Jax asked.
“We’re friends. Why?”
“Well, if you’re not into her, I’m thinking of asking her out. She’s fucking hot and she’s sweet too. I know that shithead Taulson is threatening everyone that they aren’t allowed to ask her out, like he fucking owns her. But I don’t answer to him. Just want to make sure you aren’t into her.”
My hands fisted at my side. “No. You can’t ask her out.”
Jax and Shaw both let out a belly laugh and Shaw pulled out a ten-dollar bill and placed it in Jax’s hand. “That was far too easy.”
“Fuck off. What are you talking about? We’re friends. But she’s not going out with your ass. That’s all I’m saying,” I huffed as I walked toward my bike.
“Sure, you are. You just showed your cards, asshole,” Jax said through his laughter.
I flipped him the bird and followed them down to the water. There were spots where everyone liked to hang out, and we parked near the south end of the lake. There was a group of kids down on the beach and two spots with fires burning already. The girls stepped out of their car and we walked beside them down toward the water.
“Jax,” Lydia yelled out and he jogged over to talk to her. She was a cool girl that went to school with us. I still wasn’t sure if he was into Adela
ide or just giving me shit, but either way, I didn’t like it. And that made no sense. She wasn’t mine. Not by a long shot. Who was I to act like a possessive shit like Taulson? I wasn’t about that.
But something about Adelaide made me feel protective of her. And I had no idea why.
Shaw put an arm around Coco and whispered something in her ear and she laughed. I moved closer to Adelaide so only she could hear me. “Sorry about being an asshole earlier.”
“That’s big of you.” She stared straight ahead.
“Are you seriously pissed at me?” I mean, the girl was as tolerant as you got. Her dickhead boyfriend had fucked around on her and she didn’t hate the dude. I made one asshole comment, and now she wouldn’t talk to me?
She came to a stop. “Well, why were you so rude?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Sometimes I’m rude.”
“That’s a lame answer, Jett. I tell you everything about my life, so I didn’t think asking about Kylie would make you mad.” She dropped to sit on a log that had been there for as long as I’d been coming out to this side of the lake. Shaw and Coco said they were going to gather wood to start our own fire, and Jax was still off with Lydia doing God knows what.
“I wasn’t mad. I just don’t have much to say about it. It’s not all that deep.” I looked up and she finally met my gaze. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm while we waited for the fire.
“Okay.” She looked away and gazed out at the water.
I unzipped my hoody and handed it to her. “Peace offering.”
She smiled now, and it was goddamn worth freezing my balls off for. “No way. You’ll freeze.”
“Trust me, I’m fine. Take it.”
She pulled it over her shoulders, and the navy fabric hung around her small frame like a blanket. Her hands were buried inside the sleeves somewhere and she pulled the hood up over her head.
Fucking adorable.
Jesus, dude. Pull your shit together. Adelaide Edington was not someone I could mess around with. We were friends.
Nothing more.
“Thank you. Are you hurting from the fight? It looked like he got in a couple good kicks to your ribs.”
“Look at you… paying attention to my fights, huh?”
“Something like that,” she said as she stared out at the water again.
“You shouldn’t be hanging out there, Ace.”
She rolled her eyes. “I like watching you fight. And Coco invited me, so I went. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. I’m surprised Kylie wasn’t there to cheer you on.”
What was her deal with Kylie? Jesus.
I didn’t want to dig myself into a bigger hole.
“Kylie and I aren’t really a thing anymore. I ended it a while back.”
She turned to look at me. Studying me as if she were trying to figure me out. “I thought you were seeing her this weekend?”
“I am. She wants to talk about why I ghosted her.” I shrugged.
“Why did you ghost her?”
“Hell, if I know. Just not feeling it,” I said because it was the truth.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
Now it was my turn to look out at the water. “I don’t know, Ace.”
There was a group of kids walking down by the water, and laughter pulled my gaze off to a patch of oversized cypress trees to the right. Adelaide and I both stared as Alec and Karina walked out of the trees and down by the water. It was obvious they’d hooked up by the way she was hanging on him. He had a beer can dangling from one hand, and he was stumbling around like an idiot.
“I wish he’d just date her,” she whispered.
“Do you? It wouldn’t bother you?”
She laughed. “I know. It makes no sense. It should bother me, but it would almost be a relief. He’s acting like he wants to get back together, which complicates things for me with our families. If he’d move on, I think it would make things easier on both of us.”
“You dated the dude for years. I’m surprised it doesn’t hurt you to see them together.”
“It’s been very eye-opening for me too.” She shrugged. “Because it honestly doesn’t hurt me even a little. I don’t think we really knew each other at all. I realize now that we never really talked about me. It was always him telling me what our future would look like. What he wanted. We’d never talk about anything meaningful or real, you know? I just thought that’s the way it was supposed to be. But stepping away from him has shown me just how broken our relationship was. And I don’t miss it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He’s a selfish asshole.”
She laughed. “He’s not a bad guy, Jett. He’s a little selfish and entitled, but that’s not totally his fault. He’ll find his way, at least I hope he will.”
“Why are you so fucking nice to him?”
“Because he’s family. Because his mom has been like a second mother to me. Because I’ve known him a long time and I want him to be happy,” she said, turning her gaze to the water.
“What about you? What do you want?” I asked.
“I want to go away to school. I want to study journalism. I want my family to support my dreams. Hell, I’m still figuring it out. But I know I want—more.”
“Good for you. You deserve all those things. And you aren’t going to find them in Willow fucking Springs.” I rubbed my hands together to create some heat, scooching closer to her because I needed to.
Like my life depended on it.
“Why do you hate this town so much?”
“I don’t know. For a lot of reasons. Why do you love it so much?” I asked because I really wanted to know. Adelaide was smart and witty, so it surprised me that she had such blind faith in this place.
“What time are you meeting Kylie tomorrow?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
“Tomorrow night. Why are you avoiding the question?”
“I’m not. Good. We had to move our Magic Willow breakfast to Sunday because Ivy’s grandparents are in town. Meet me at the diner at ten tomorrow morning. We’ll have breakfast and then I’ll show you why I love this town so much, and I’ll bet you ten bucks you’ll love it by the end of the day too. And you’ll be done with plenty of time to meet the girl you keep ghosting.” She laughed.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But I’ve been everywhere in this shit town already, so keep your expectations low.”
“We’ll see about that.” She laughed as Coco and Shaw finally showed up and dropped some wood down in front of us. He bent down and started the fire, and Jax and Lydia walked over with a few other kids.
I didn’t know if I was suddenly warm because of the fire burning in front of us, or because I was spending the day with Adelaide Edington tomorrow.
Either way… I was warming up in ways I couldn’t explain.
Chapter Thirteen
Adelaide
“Hey there, sweetheart. Where are the girls?” Mae Stone asked me as she dropped a menu off in front of me.
“Hi. I’ll be here with the girls tomorrow. I’m actually meeting Jett here for breakfast today.”
Her entire face lit up. “Really? He didn’t mention it. But I was asleep when he got in last night, and of course I left long before he rolled out of bed this morning. I swear that boy could sleep all day.”
The Rusty Pelican was the oldest diner in Willow Springs. There were views of the water out the back wall of windows. It always smelled like blueberry muffins and maple syrup. Mae looked a lot like her son, with chocolate brown hair and dark eyes, and a strikingly gorgeous face. Although she was petite in size, I knew she was a strong woman. She worked long days and had raised her son by herself. I respected her, and she’d always been so nice to me.
“I’m taking him on an old-fashioned tour of Willow Springs. He can’t seem to get out
of this town fast enough, so I’m going to show him why I love it here so much.” I chuckled, dropping the menu beside me because I had the whole thing memorized.
“I think that’s a great idea. Good luck with that. I swear that boy has been planning his escape for years,” she said just as Jett came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. He towered over her, and I found myself short of breath as I took him in. Thick brown hair tousled on his head, a sharp jaw, and a perfectly angular nose. Jett Stone was carved to perfection in every way. His tall, lean frame was surrounded by strong arms and cut muscles. I’d found myself entranced during his fight last night. I’d told my own little white lie, as Coco hadn’t even invited me to go see his fight. I’d invited myself because I’d hated the way we’d left things at the lake yesterday, and I wanted to make sure his fight went okay.
We were spending an awful lot of time together. More than I’d ever spent with Alec. Oddly, I spent more time talking with Jett than I’d ever spent talking with Alec over all the years I’d known him.
He’d become a friend.
A good friend.
“Hi, Ma.” He moved to sit in the booth across from me.
“I hear you’re getting the full tour from Addy today,” Mae said, brushing down the front of her apron, pressing out the small wrinkles.
“Whatever. She’s got zero chance of changing the way I feel about this place, but I’m down to let her try.”
“She? Her? You do know I’m sitting right here?” I said, raising my brow in challenge.
“So easy to infuriate. Can’t say I don’t enjoy it sometimes. And yes, I see you sitting there with a shit-eating grin like you think you’re going to change the world today. Just don’t want you to be disappointed, Ace.”
Mae rumpled his hair. “Watch that mouth, Jett. So, do you know what you want?”
