He gets up to go. “Oh, and one more thing,” he adds as he walks out my front door. “Faye wants a signed book.”
When I hear his bike pull away, I look at Evie and sigh. “Wonder who else will drop by today?”
Sin is right, but he’s also wrong.
Yes, I love Tracker.
But how am I supposed to just move on and forget everything that happened? I’d kept things from him, but he made me feel like shit when he pushed me away without giving me a few minutes to explain. I hurt him; he hurt me back. Is that love?
And if it is, do I want to be a part of it again?
TWENTY-SEVEN
OUT of all the people I thought I’d see today, the man in front of me wasn’t one of them.
“Lana?” he says, eyes widening.
Staring into the eyes of my high school crush, I square my shoulders and force a smile on my now strained face. “William, hi.”
I glance around the shopping mall, hoping someone will save me, but no one appears, just my luck.
“How are you? You look amazing,” he says, smiling. “It’s been years. Do you still keep in touch with anyone from school?”
Just Allie, if you could count her.
“No,” I say. “Didn’t have many friends in school, if you don’t remember.”
He suddenly looks a little sheepish. “I was a douche in school, I’m sorry. I did like you though. Allyson was a little obsessive with me back then. Wonder what became of her. We broke up straight after high school.”
I don’t have to wonder—unfortunately I know firsthand.
Shrugging my shoulders, I say, “Who knows?”
“Do you want to grab a coffee or something sometime?” he asks, smiling down at me.
“Oh. Ummm.”
“Just as friends,” he corrects himself, but looks slightly disappointed at my answer.
“I don’t think so,” I say, being honest with him. “I don’t think my boyfriend would be happy with that.”
Plus, I have no plans to see you ever again.
“Right,” he murmurs. “Of course you’d be taken. I’m glad you’re well, Lana. Your man, he’s a lucky one.”
We say an awkward good-bye, then part ways.
Seeing William makes me miss Tracker. I don’t want to go backward; I want to go forward.
And Tracker is my future.
If I have to fight for him, I will.
* * *
Tracker and Arrow are standing next to their bikes outside the clubhouse. They must have just come back from somewhere. They both stare at me as I get out of my car and approach them.
“Hey, Lana,” Arrow says, eyes crinkling, then he leaves me alone with Tracker.
“Hey,” I say, looking into the blue eyes that I miss every second of every day. “Can we talk?”
“Got a call about you today,” he says, an unreadable expression on his face.
“A call about what?” I ask, shifting on my feet.
“Someone saw you out with a guy,” he says, jaw clenching so tight it looks painful.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask. “I was at the mall and ran into someone I knew in high school.”
“Who?” he asks, studying me.
“Some guy. William. I had a crush on him back in the day and he screwed me over,” I snap.
“Do you want me to beat the shit out of him?” he asks casually, like he is asking me what I wanted for lunch. “You should have called me. What’s his full name?”
“Umm, no. But thank you for offering,” I tell him.
“Offer still stands,” he says, smiling a little.
“Who saw me? Do you have spies everywhere, or have you got someone following me? That’s a little stalkerish, don’t you think?” I say, annoyed.
Tracker avoids the question. Instead, he nods. “You wanna go inside, or you wanna go for a ride?”
I eye his bike longingly and he chuckles. “Ride it is.”
On the back of his bike, my arms wrapped around his chest, I close my eyes and feel like I’m home. We ride for over an hour before coming to a stop at a scenic view, overlooking the ocean.
“I don’t like that you let other women touch you. You had to have known in the back of your mind that we would want to get back together,” I blurt out as soon as we’re both off his Harley.
He rubs the back of his neck. “I wasn’t thinking, Lana, I was just feeling. Hurting. I wanted to forget, and I guess I told myself we weren’t really together, so it wasn’t cheating.”
I narrow my eyes at his convenient logic.
“I know I fucked up,” he adds. “I told you. I’ll never ever turn to another woman, no matter what happens between us. It was fucked-up and not the mentality I want to use. Some bikers do cheat, but I’m not one of them, at least not with you. Never with you. I don’t even want anyone else, okay? I guess it was almost like trying to go back to what my life was like before you entered it, but it was bullshit because I don’t want to go back. You’re my life now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I hooked up with someone too, so you can’t be mad, going by the rules you made.”
He smirks. “No, you didn’t. You’re not that type of woman, Lana.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “See. How is this fair? I’m a good woman, so I get screwed over and am just supposed to forgive you for everything?”