Tia smiles, reading my thoughts. “We’ve done well, haven’t we?”
Cara looks up at me and grins before returning her concentration to the food.
“Yeah, we did.”
* * *
The last place I ever thought I’d see Lana and Anna again is the school I teach at, so when I hear them both calling my name, I turn around with my mouth open in shock.
“What are the two of you doing here?” I ask, hugging Anna, then Lana.
“We’re here for Clover,” Lana replies, then points to a cute dark-haired girl in the crowd.
“She’s gorgeous. Neither of you mentioned having a child!”
But then again, neither had I.
Anna’s green eyes widen. “Oh, she isn’t ours. She’s Sin and Faye’s daughter. Friends of ours.”
“Oh,” I say, putting the pieces together. “You’re here to watch her race?”
Today was Field Day, and other schools were here to compete. The younger children came to play team games and have a friendly race or two.
Anna nods. “Yeah, we all came out to cheer for her. It’s her first race. She’s so excited, you should see her.”
Lana looks down at her shoes and shuffles them in the grass. “Why didn’t you call us after we saw you at Rift? We thought we’d all have caught up by now.”
My mind races with how to handle this. I don’t want to tell them the truth, but I don’t want them to think I don’t want to see them either. “I didn’t have your number.”
With social media, it was a lame excuse at best, but Anna’s eyes narrow. “Rake said he gave you my number.”
Well, fuck.
That bastard!
“Well, he didn’t,” I tell her. “Look, girls, the truth is, I’d love to hang out with you both, but I don’t want to see Adam. There’s too much history there, and to be honest, I don’t even want to be around him. Trust me when I say the feeling is mutual.”
Anna crosses her arms over her chest. “Who says Rake has to be there? We can have ladies’ nights; he can do his own thing. It’s not like he told us to stay away from you.”
Now it’s my turn to look down at my feet, as though they suddenly became interesting.
“What the fuck?” Anna growls, her hands falling loose and clenching. “He didn’t?!”
Even Lana looks surprised. “He doesn’t want you around that badly? Damn. That doesn’t sound like Rake at all. He’s normally pretty easygoing.”
“Not around me,” I grumble. “He told me he didn’t want me around the two of you. You’re his sister, Anna—unfortunately he got you in the breakup. I can’t go against his wishes, because if he finds out, he’s going to be in my face and that’s the last thing I want. I never want to see him again if I can manage it.”
Lana and Anna share a speculative glance.
“What?” I ask, dragging out the word.
Anna grins, her eyes lighting up. “Rake’s going on a run next weekend. He’ll be gone for a few days. We can catch up for a drink or two. He won’t find out; it’ll be fine.”
“Famous last words,” I say with an exaggerated sigh, even though all three of us knew damn well I was going to go out with them. “Is he here to watch Clover?”
They both shake their heads, but Anna answers. “Nah, Sin and Tracker are here. The rest of the men had shit to do.”
I look behind the girls and see Tracker sitting on the hood of a black four-wheel drive. Next to him is a man with dark hair. His arm is around a woman who is waving her hands in the air in Clover’s direction. The two men are wearing the vest things I’ve seen bikers wear, and both look extremely imposing.
In fact, all the other parents have given them a wide berth.
Lana pulls out her phone and hands it to me. “Give us your number.”
I put my number in and save it. “I guess he’s going to find out you two saw me here today anyway.”
“Can I ask you something?” Anna says, a serious expression on her pretty face. I already know what she’s going to ask, but I nod my head anyway.
“What happened between the two of you? You were the best couple. I’ve never seen young love like that in my life. Everyone thought you’d get married.”
So did I, but life doesn’t always turn out how you expect it.
I lick my suddenly dry lips. A few words flow through my mind.
Utter devastation.
Heartbreak.
Tragedy.
Pain.
A lot of fucking pain.
“I guess it just didn’t work out,” I tell them, shrugging simply. Understatement of the fucking year.
THREE
NEXT weekend comes around faster than usual. Lana texted me a few days ago and asked if I could meet them at Rift, which was the last place I wanted to be. When I told her as much, she told me that we could meet at a bar called Knox’s Tavern instead. Tia offered to keep Cara for the night so I could go out and enjoy a night with my old friends. Still, I’m feeling a little unsure.
I love Anna and Lana, but being with them brings back so many memories. Having them in my life brings back Adam. My Adam, not the biker badass known as Rake. The Adam I loved, before he broke me. I keep trying to find a love like what we shared, but it just never measures up. And it makes me hate him even more. I need to get over it, I know. But I’ve tried and I can’t. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get to the point where I can see him and not feel anything, good or bad. I wish I could.