Page 37 of Big Trouble
11
Two weeks later
Lo
It had been an utterly crazy couple of weeks.
Ever since Jack Cairney and his shitty attitude burst into my office, life in Cali Cross had changed for the better, become more bearable, enjoyable even.
I had friends.
I had a promotion.
I had a boyfriend.
Okay, I had a friend with certain benefits. Considering we’d spent pretty much every night together for the last two weeks, whatever label it had, we were heading towards the relationship zone with alarming speed. Jack had even introduced me to his mother.
We’d been invited to the Cash’s house for a barbecue. The men were gathered around the grill, all I-am-man-I-have-fire-see-me-cook, waving away anyone who dared get close to them.
It was one of the first times Ciara wasn’t around to be my wing-woman. She was out of town for a friend’s birthday. I didn’t feel alone or out of my depth though. Lyla and me had been chatting non-stop since I’d arrived. Aside from Ciara, she was the one I had gotten closest to. Her brother’s girlfriend, Willa, was nice enough but she was consumed with taking care of Scarlett. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to be alone and pregnant at just twenty-five.
“How’s it going?” Lyla asked, with a meaningful look in Jack’s direction as she topped off my glass with some more wine.
“Surprisingly well. You guys know he isn’t the easiest to deal with, but I think we’re doing okay.”
“Ha, you’ve managed to tame him!”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that.” Jack could still be prickly and spiky. His volatility tended to raise its head when I pushed him harder in his recovery than he was ready for. The make-up sex was fantastic though. We’d worked hard, both in the clinic and at home to build up the strength in his ankle.
“He’s definitely more chill than when he first came home though.”
“He didn’t know whether or not he’d be able to get back on a bike again.” I took a sip of my wine. “And it scared him.”
Jack hadn’t been willing to admit it at first. As we’d grown closer, I’d encouraged him to talk more about how he felt about the accident and little by little, his true feelings came out. He’d confided in me the flashbacks he’d experienced and how they’d knocked his confidence. The racing world was full of tragic incidents where racers didn’t walk away unscathed and he wanted to be one of the exceptions.
“Seriously? Jack Cairney? Scared?” Lyla’s eyebrows shot up. She glanced over in his direction, seeing him laughing and joking with Maddox and Andre. Right now, he looked anything but.
“Don’t tell him I told you. He’d kill me.” I’d promised him whatever we talked about was private, some sort of therapist/client confidentiality, but it was hard to keep that promise when another of his friends wanted to know the truth though.
Lyla brought a finger to her lips. “I won’t say a word. Is he going to race again?”
I shook my head. “Not this season. They’ve got a reserve rider in for the remaining races. His team wants to make sure he’s fully recovered before he goes back.”
I didn’t like the thought of Jack being away for months at a time. He’d explained he could come back between races. A lot of them were in Europe rather than North America though, which meant he’d be spending an awful lot of time travelling if he did come home. It felt strange to think of Cali Cross as home. If you’d have asked me two weeks ago whether I’d go back to Chicago, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. And I never thought I’d be the type of girl to stay somewhere for a relationship. Turned out Jack Cairney was one very special guy.
Jack
My gaze kept wandering over to Lo, where she stood chatting with Lyla. Being at one of the Cash’s legendary get togethers was like old times. Everyone was there. Me, Andre, Maddox, Willa, Scarlett, Lyla, Mr. and Mrs. Cash, Maddox’s Aunt Penny, my Mom. Wes’ absence hit me hard. I wished I’d been around when it had happened, but I’d had my own shit to deal with. Meeting Lo had more than made up for it though. As someone who hadn’t wanted to settle down, the depth of feeling I had for Lo surprised me. Whether it was everything conspiring together to tell me to wake up and smell the coffee, I wasn’t sure. But I sure as hell liked the way that coffee smelled.
“You and Lo?” Maddox quirked a brow. “Serious?”
I shrugged, trying to throw him off. I loved how Lo challenged me, both physically and mentally. Although I hated it when she pushed me too far in physio. Sometimes that kind of pain was too much to bear, even though I was healing.
“Come on buddy, don’t keep me hanging. You have no idea what they’re talking about over there.” He waved his beer bottle in the direction of the girls.
I caught Lo looking over at me. She fluttered her fingers, a shy smile playing on her lips. I grinned back, not able to stop the stupid shit-eating beam crossing my face.
“I imagine they’re talking about me.”
