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And she wasn’t actually as much of an ex as she should be. Not that she knew that.
Bristol Donovan was the love of my life, who I couldn’t have.
She was also still my wife.
And she didn’t know it.
And I was pretty sure she hated me. Faced by that, I would rather be barreling down the Talladega straightaway at 200 miles per hour, wearing no safety gear, than go home to throw myself at the mercy of the girl I’d left behind.
Two
Bristol Donovan
“Are you excited?”
I looked up from where I was shelving books at the Cherish Cove library and wondered what Helen Prewitt was even doing here. I’d gone to high school with the pretty blonde, and I was fairly sure she would rather do anything but read. I wasn’t saying she couldn’t, but she had one-hundred percent been the type to pay or con someone into doing her schoolwork, in whatever way was necessary. That wasn’t judgmental; it was a known fact. I knew that because I had been one of the people she’d conned a time or two. I was pretty sure things hadn’t changed in the six years since we’d graduated high school.
“Excited about what?” I asked, sure she’d fill in the details to go with her question. In addition to not being all that into schoolwork, she had the rumor tree down pat—in fact, she was probably the CEO of the town’s gossip chain. If you ever needed to know anything, ask Helen. She wasn’t malicious, just knowledgeable.
“About Axel.”
With difficulty, I bit back a growl when she practically squealed her reply, his name echoing through the quiet library. I didnotwant to talk about Axel Pendleton. Six years… It had been six freaking years since he’d left. You’d think that just hearing him mentioned wouldn’t hurt so much. But no, it always scraped open a big, gaping wound that barely ever scabbed over.
I hated him.
And that was saying something. I loved everyone. Mostly. And even those I didn’tlove, I didn’thatethem.
“What about him?” I scoffed. “Did he drive off a cliff?”
In my ire, I shoved a book onto the shelf harder than necessary and hurriedly had to right it before the whole lot went tumbling. Annoyed, I picked up the next book on my cart then pushed farther down the aisle to where it belonged.
The last thing I wanted was to discuss my ex, the man I’d dated all through high school and had been sure I’d marry—we’d talked about it enough. We’d even pretended to have a wedding during an impromptu trip during spring break our senior year. Axel and Bristol forever!Brixel. Until he left me and Cherish Cove in his dust when he’d run away to pursue bigger things in life…like driving on the highest, most prestigious circuit of professional stockcar racing.
Did I follow his career? No.
Did I hear all about the racing star everyone gushed about as if they’d had a direct hand in his meteoric rise to national fame?
Unfortunately.
Did I know all about his recent bad boy antics?
Also yes, unfortunately.
To my great frustration, if I didn’t see the latest news about Axel, someone always made sure to I knew because they were “sure you’d be interested”. No one had needed to tell me about the video of him tromping naked through that fountain in California last night. Nope. That had tripped onto my social media all on its own this morning. I hadn’t watched it, but I wasn’t fooling myself into thinking I wouldn’t eventually see it.
Sometimes, I was my own worst enemy.
“He’s coming to town this week.” She practically hip-hopped in place as she said it. You’d thinkshewas his long, lost girl. But wait… If she were, she wouldn’t be so excited to see him, would she?
Despite myself, my heart sped up a little at the news. Surely it was from anxiety and anger.
“Oh…has he decided to slum it awhile? Is he bringing his camera crew to document him hanging out with the little people?”
Bitter? Me? Nope. Not at all. I knew where I stood with Mr. Too Big for You. If you got specific, I would be thelittle peoplehe was too good for.
Did I know he’d gottenRookie of the Yearwhen he’d driven in the circuit below the one he was in now? Yes. Did I know he was considered one of the up-and-coming drivers in his current series, the top level for professional stock car racing, NASCAR, and that last year, he’d nearly won the year’s top prize, the Cup championship? Yes.
Did I hate that I knew that?
