“Nothing.” She shrugs. “Honestly, you’ve done more than enough. I didn’t even realize I was triggered by him showing up out of the blue, let alone the word home.”
My brows pull. “What?”
“You asked if I wanted you to take me home, and my first thought was how much I hate home, but then how messed up that is, because I didn’t always hate home. I actually kind of loved it until my dad showed up when I was a little kid and ruined everything. And then, I remembered I don’t technically live in that house anymore despite being the owner of the stupid thing, and?—”
“You own the house?”
“It was my mom’s.” She sighs. “I know it’s not much to look at, but since my dad was never married to my mom, only a very toxic and abusive relationship that was on and off half the time, she left it to me. However,”—she kicks another pebble with the toe of her shoe—“since I was a minor when she disappeared, mydad gained control of everything until I turned eighteen, and the idea of kicking him out felt like a massive headache and a fight I wasn’t ready to tackle, so…” Her nose wrinkles. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you my life story. I guess I just…” She peeks up at me. “Thank you. For standing up for me back there.”
“Anytime, Vi.”
Her mouth bunches on one side as she looks around the airfield, lost in thought. “You know what? Let’s stay.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” she decides. “At least for a little while.”
“Okay.” Grabbing her hips, I lift Violet up, setting her on the tailgate and jumping in beside her. The stars are out as revving engines echo in the distance. The race has started. Part of me wants to ask if she’s ever been to a drag race, but considering the look of awe and curiosity as the sound of engines rumbles through the air, I have a feeling I already know the answer.
“Just wait ‘til they drive around…”—I grab her chin, pointing her toward our left—“thatbend. It’s going to be loud, but you’re going to love it.”
“Love it, huh?” She peeks up at me, those coffee brown eyes shooting straight through my hollow chest. If only I knew what she was searching for.
Slowly, I lower my hand from her silky skin, forcing myself to stay in check no matter how hard it is.
“You know,” Violet murmurs, “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
“What did I say?” I ask.
“About keeping your distance until things settle down for your…business, or whatever.”
I frown. “Okay?”
She nibbles the inside of her bottom lip, second-guessing herself.
“Say it,” I push.
Giving in, she points out, “If your goal was to keep your distance, jumping my dad, then walking straight toward me was a pretty crappy way of doing it.”
The girl deserves more credit than most give her. She’s right, too. Sure, I planned for people to see us together tonight, but beating the shit out of her dad wasn’t exactly on the agenda. Even so, I wouldn’t take it back. I’d like to say I’d do it for anyone, but the truth is, I’m usually too caught up in my own life to notice shit like that. Hell, Virgil’s been making bets since Ford opened shop, and we never had any issues. Not until Violet showed up at our estate, demanding we give back her money. Not that we listened.
Resting my forearm on my bent knee, I study Violet’s silhouette in the moonlight, blown away but how pretty she is. Button nose. A dappling of freckles. Pretty pink lips, though I’ve never seen them with anything but chapstick. Light blonde hair that looks more silver than gold in the moonlight. I rub my fingers against my palm, preventing myself from reaching out and touching her skin again to see if it’s as silky as it was two minutes ago.
“Jag?” she pushes. “Are you having an,oh, shit, you’re totally right, what was I thinkingmoment, or…?”
A low laugh rolls through me. “Not exactly.”
“Oh?”
“I already figured it out,” I reply.
“Oh, really? Care to fill me in?”
The edge of my mouth curves up. “Maybe later.”
With a laugh, she bumps her shoulder against mine. “As long as you don’t decide to ditch me as soon as someone sees us together, then I guess I’ll let you keep your secrets.”
“Nah, it’s no secret,” I reply. “I’m telling people you caught my attention tonight, and I would’ve been a fool to ignore it.”
