Page 48 of The Brave and the Reckless

“No,” he huffed.

“Wait. I didn’t fall off the horse all week. You owe me answers.” I pointed my chicken nugget at Adriana. “What does he mean bypulling an Adriana?”

“Phone.” She held her hand out.

I pulled it from my pocket and unlocked it for her. Within a few swipes, she had Spotify open.

Adriana winked at me from an album cover that was fifty per cent her wild honey curls and fifty per cent her freckles and big smile.

Adriana Banks – Now/Here.

“I was nineteen when I was ‘discovered’ by some big-shot producer in Nashville,” she said, “so I packed my bags, recorded an album and went on tour to open for Brooks Monroe. I was living the dream for a few years.”

“Holy shit.” I didn’t even listen to country but even I had heard of Brooks Monroe. He was old school. Pretty sure my dad had played his Christmas album on repeat every December for the last ten years, though we hadn’t even celebrated Christmas before Sinan had brought Zuri home three years ago.

“Yeah,” she sighed, “but then you refuse to take aprivate meetingwith some asshole in a suit one too many times, your record label drops you, and you remain a one-hit wonder.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds awful.” I dragged my eyes from her to Lucas, who was very busy arranging the nuggets on my plate into categories. “But then why are people so shitty around you? They act like you poisoned the well or something.”

Adriana bent over the bar and tapped a polished fingernail against the album cover. “Twelve songs about how I couldn’t wait to get out of Wild Fields, about how stifling small-town life is, how the boys have no ambitions beyond drinking beer and driving their daddy’s truck– sorry,Lucas– how I didn’t want to be stuck here and pop out two kids, bake pie and go on a family holiday once a year.”

“Oh.”

“Yup.” She shrugged. “Anyway. To get back to the point, Lucas, I didn’t find a boyfriend out on the road either. So your options pretty much suck anywhere. Sorry.”

“Well, this just got way too depressing. I wanted to have a fun, flirty, fearless summer. So I’m not going to be girlfriend material for you.” I pointed at Lucas. “But I will be your fun friend. I will get drunk and watch bad Western movies with you when you need to.”

“I’ll bring the ice cream if there’s room in your bed for a third person.” Adriana grinned.

“I’m declaring my bed afrivolousfun zone from now on. Allplatonicfun will happen on the sofa.”

“Not to burst your bubble, but sofas are much more fun than beds if we’re being technical about it,” she said. “Like you might want to switch your sex and friend spaces around.”

“I’m not having sex on the sofa in a shared living space,” I hissed.

“Everyone else is,” Lucas threw in, “you just have to time it right.”

“What?” I gaped.

Both him and Adriana shrugged as if that wasn’t completely insane.

“Ew.” I didn’t even want to think about who might have done what in the living room, let alone discuss it further, so I just dunked a nugget in ketchup and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth.

Chapter Fifteen

BAKER’S DOZEN

Step inside our bakery and fill your saddlebags with sweet treats fresh from the oven. From cactus cookies to tumbleweed cinnamon rolls and caramel-filled gold nugget pastries, sugary delights await you at Baker’s Dozen.

NOAH

“What the hell was that for?” Esra whirled on me the second we made it to Ace Ryder’s hideout and the orange light flickered on above the door.

“What?” I barked back even though I knew exactly what she meant.

I’d missed almost all my marks. I’d barely even managed to buckle her in. Every time I got my hands on her, my brain produced images of Lucas’s hands roaming over her body instead.

“I almost face-planted out there!”

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