Page 28 of When I Had You

“She uses every opportunity to get back at me.” I push up, dragging myself back into the light of the living room. I sit on the couch as he takes the chair Marina possessed for too short of a time last night.

“I know you like to talk to him before a race, but you can’t let this define your day.”

“I won’t.” I don’t know whether I even believe myself at this point.

He taps on his phone a few times, then sits on the coffee table in front of me. “I hate piling more shit on top of you, but the media is having a field day this morning, and my brothers are fucking furious.”

Marina.

I still play dumb, glancing between the phone and him. He picks it back up and reads, “The bad boy of racing wins the heart of racing royalty.”

Scrolling, he flashes a photo of Marina and me . . . Fuck. We’re holding hands as we exit the nightclub. “Beauty and the Bad Boy.”

He says, “You’re not rested. It was careless and—”

“I can explain.”

“You better because they’re discussing the procedure to fire you.”

Fuck my life.

8

Marina

“Get in, movie star!”

The tires had barely stopped screeching when an unfamiliar car came to a stop in front of me. Normally, I’d run in the opposite direction for safety, but fortunately, I knew the voice. Poppy Stanfield. Prom queen to my homecoming crown. Blond to my brunette. Voted most likely . . . that’s all, just “Most Likely.”

And she hasn’t changed a bit. I love that about her.

Bending down, I peer into the car and am greeted with my best friend’s smile.

“I thought you were trying to kidnap me, Pop.”

“I am. Get in, and let’s go.” She waggles her sunglasses on her head. “Though I’m only taking you to the apartment.” Looking every bit the troublemaker with a wicked smile, she asks, “Unless you want to go on a spontaneous road trip? I’m all for that.”

“Love to, but I have filming tomorrow. It’s the only reason I’m back.”

She pops the trunk. “You standing around here all day, or are we getting you out of here?”

“Sounds like you’re breaking me free from the penitentiary.” I drag my suitcase to the back and load it into the trunk. When I slam the trunk closed, I hear my name being called in the distance. I jump into the car and say, “We’ve been spotted.”

“It’s so kind how you include me in the chaos of the paparazzi when we both know they don’t care about me one bit.” She’s pulling away from the curb faster than is legal in an airport zone. I look back and laugh. “I’ll always come to the rescue like Thelma and Louise.”

“Can we skip that ending, though? That was brutal.”

“Yeah, no cliff diving for us. So . . .” She glances over at me. “Apparently, we have lots to discuss.”

In an act of desperation, or maybe it was despair at that moment, I sent her a simple text:

Corbin’s been cheating. I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m stuck in a bathroom in Miami. I’ll be back in Vancouver tomorrow. Chat then.

Okay, maybe not that simple since it contained the facts of everything going on in my life, but if it got her here in my hour of need, I’m not complaining. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I contacted Lauren, and she gave me your flight details.”

“How are you here? You have a job in Seattle.”

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