Laughter erupted as Emmit helped me slip into the car and get buckled in. A few minutes later he was driving a hundred miles an hour as he inched his way closer and closer to the wall. My heart was racing and I was sure my face was going to freeze in this position as I grinned from ear to ear.

“God, I’ve missed this!” I shouted into the mic as Emmit laughed.

I knew he stayed out longer than he should have and I knew he did it for me. When he came to a stop, we sat in the car for a few moments as I got my breathing under control. Looking over at him, I said, “I didn’t think you could ever get better than you were before. But holy shit . . . that wall was less than an inch from my window, I swear!”

Emmit laughed as he motioned for someone to come and help me out of the car.

As I stood off to the side, I watched as Emmit gave each person a ride of a lifetime. Every one of them said it was the biggest adrenaline rush they’d ever experienced. Adrenaline rush was Emmit’s middle name. Everything he did was fast. Everything except making love. That he took his sweet time with.

Biting down on my lip, I thought back to the last time Emmit made love to me. Closing my eyes, I was taken back to the moment.

Slow. Passionate. Full of love.

And I walked away from him. Stupid idiot.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were day dreaming about old times.”

My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. Ashley, Emmit’s younger sister, stood in front of me. “Ashley!” I shouted as we both embraced each other with a scream.

“Oh my God! Did my big brother shit his pants when he saw you or what?” Ashley said as she looked me over.

I let out a chuckle as I shook my head. “Something like that.”

Ashley smiled. “Uh-huh. Well, that explains last night.”

With a confused look, I asked. “What do you mean?”

With a wave of her hand like it was not worth repeating, Ashley said, “Nothing. So, have you missed the scene?”

“Yeah. I didn’t really realize how much I had been missing it.” My stomach dropped slightly knowing what all I had missed out on these last few years.

Emmit had pulled up and the last person got out the same time Emmit climbed out.

After taking some pictures and signing a few things, Emmit gave his sister a wave and excused himself. Walking up to Ashley, he pulled her into his arms and whispered something into her ear. Ashley nodded and then raised her eyebrows.

“So, you and Adaline catching up?”

There was my full name again. For some reason, every time Emmit said Adaline instead of Addie, it felt like a knife sinking deeper into my heart.

“Yep! We just got here and walked up when I saw her.”

Emmit nodded. “She’s graduated nursing school. A year early on top of that.”

Ashley wiggled her eyebrows. “She always was a smarty pants.”

I let out a chuckle as I looked at Emmit. I wanted to tell him I had pushed myself hard and took extra classes so that I could finish and be with him. Of course, I’d use the excuse of seeing Momma and Daddy, but the real reason would always be Emmit.

“Well, I wanted to try and finish up as fast as I could,” I said before I even knew it was out of my mouth.

Emmit’s eyes pierced mine, and I swore it looked like he was holding his breath.

“Really? How come?” Ashley asked with a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

I glanced down to my feet and kicked an imaginary rock. “I guess I wanted to be able to catch a few races . . . see . . . um . . . my parents more often.”

Ashley gave me a you-ain’t-fooling-anyone look as she said, “Is that so?”

My eyes met Emmit’s as we both seemed to get lost in each other.

Dropping my mouth open, I fought for the words to tell Emmit how foolish I was, but nothing came out.

“Addie,” Emmit said as he took a step closer to me but stopped when some girl called out his name.

“Emmit!”

Emmit looked over my shoulder and frowned. Ashley attempted to intercept the two girls, but failed. The one threw herself into Emmit’s arms as she said, “I couldn’t wait to see you again.”

My stomach twisted into a knot as I imagined what she was talking about. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Emmit’s neck as he reached up and pried them off of him. Giving her a slight push away, Emmit gave her a polite smile. “Yeah. The club was fun.”

Club? When did he go to a club? And where is the blonde who was related to Jack?

“Oh, it was more than fun,” the young bleach-blonde said as Ashley grabbed her arm.

“Cookie, let’s go check out some other places.”

Cookie lifted her finger in a motion to get Ashley to wait as she took a step closer to Emmit. “So, are we going to finish what we started last night? Maybe in your bus?”

Oh God. He slept with her.

My head was spinning. But what about the blonde? What about the way he just looked at me?

With a shake of my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. I looked into Emmit’s eyes and it was clear to me, he had been with this girl last night.

Trying to find my voice, I finally said, “Excuse me, I’m ah . . . gonna go . . . somewhere.”

Quickly turning, I heard Emmit call out my name. Picking up my pace, I tried like hell to get as far away as I could. The idea that Emmit was out fucking some girl while I laid in my bed last night dreaming of his hands on me made me feel sick to my stomach.

Emmit clearly had moved on and no matter how much I tried to get him to talk to me, he’d never forgive me for leaving him.

Bumping into someone, I wiped my tears away and mumbled, “Excuse me.”

“Adaline, sweetheart, are you okay?”

I looked at Jack and attempted to smile. “Jack, hi how are you?”

My eyes immediately looked at the woman who had been on Emmit’s arm the last few days.

“It’s race day. It’s always a good day!”

I let out a nervous chuckle and nodded my head. “Adaline, I don’t think you and I had the chance to talk much last night. I know my uncle was introducing me to everyone on the team. I’m going to start working for him.”

Trying to be polite and cheerful, I couldn’t help but think how convenient that would be for Emmit. A girl who would be traveling with him to each race.

“How exciting,” I said as looked between Jack and his niece. “Lynn, isn’t it?” I asked, as I tilted my head and tried to seem like I gave two shits about this woman.

“Yes. My Uncle Jack was telling me you and Emmit used to be high school sweethearts.”

I swallowed hard and barely said, “Something like that.”

“Emmit was nice enough to show Lynn the racing side of the business. She’ll be working in the main office back in North Carolina, marketing is her thing.”

Wait. What?

“Oh. Really?” I asked as my voice sounded a tad bit too chipper.

Lynn looked at Jack and nodded. “My fiancé just left for a long tour of duty and my Uncle Jack thought coming to the race would keep my mind off things.”

“Your . . . your fiancé?”

Lynn smiled a bright smile as she nodded. “My high school sweetheart.”

My hand went over my stomach as I let out a chuckle. Emmit wasn’t dating her. He was babysitting her!

“The drivers’ meeting is about to start, Lynn, why don’t you head on over with Emmit and take it all in. I want to talk to Adaline for a bit.”

Pointing to myself, I asked, “Me?”

Jack took me by the arm and led me toward the bus pad. “Yes. I have a business proposition for you.”

“SHIT. WHERE IN THE HELL did this rain come from?” Robert asked as he sat in my bus. Robert had been on my pit crew since day one and had become more than a friend to me. He was like my brother.

I pushed the air out of my lungs as I glanced over to the TV and shrugged. “Who knows, it’s Texas. The weather here can change in a heartbeat.” Lola barked and jumped up as she looked at the door.