Page 49 of Austin

“Do you understand how psycho you sound right now? You’re following him?” I ask in both shock and fear.

I have no clue if Gregg and Austin hang out outside of the races.

“Only a few times,” he says, trying to defend himself.

“That’s a few times too many, Beckett. You lost your car. Fair and square. You’re not going to get it back.”

Guilt runs through my stomach. I know I should tell him I have his keys, but I’m not ready to give in yet. He needs to learn his lesson, and if he gets it back right away, I have a feeling he won’t.

“I will, Jalynn. With or without your help!”

To my surprise, he ends our conversation, and I’m shocked when I look at my screen to see Call Ended written across the top before my home page comes into view. I drop my phone and give my attention back to the television when Eva walks into my room.

“Hey, girl. Where were you tonight? You missed spin class,” Eva says from my doorway. She’s got a lavender workout outfit on against her gorgeous skin with caramel undertones. Her toned arms are flexed as she rests them on her hips.

“Why would I work out when I can watch Deadpool and eat my year’s allotment of popcorn in one sitting?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Because you’ve been sitting on your ass at a desk job for the last few weeks. I want to make sure you keep that ass tight.”

I pause mid-bite of popcorn. “Are you saying, I’m getting chubby?”

“Is that movie-style popcorn?” she asks with a raised brow.

“No,” I lie. “Anyway, I was working late with my boss.”

“Getting cozy with Mr. Sexton?” She waggles her brows and sashays her body in a little dance.

“No. He asked me to compile some research on a racing exposé. Did you know they think James Dean wasn’t actually driving the Porsche when he crashed?”

“Uh-huh, ‘research.’” She holds up her hands in quotation marks. “Sure …”

I throw a pillow at her. “He doesn’t want anyone in the newsroom working on it with me. It’s …”

How do I explain that I’ve volunteered to work on a story about underground street racing proposed by my boss’s wicked stepmother just so I can protect the identity of his brother, who also happens to be the guy I kissed? Twice. In a janitor’s closet. And in his office. Oh, and the article is actually bullshit, but I have to work on it anyway, so the stepmother doesn’t let someone else do it, who would let everyone know who Falcon really is.

It’s all quite confusing; even I’m having a hard time keeping up.

Eva laughs as she spins around. “Get your story straight and then come find me. I’m going to take a shower.”

I would throw popcorn at her, but that would just be a perfectly good waste of a kernel. So, I do the next best thing. I stick my tongue out at her.

When she’s gone, I turn on my movie and am swooning hard for Ryan Reynolds when my cell phone vibrates with a text message.

I’m picking you up at eight. Be ready.

Hello to you, too.

And … NO. You didn’t ask nicely.

I’m picking you up at eight. Be ready. Please.

I might have plans.

Do you have plans?

Well … no …

Well, now, you do.