Page 9

Chapter 9

A New Order

LEV

W hen Chance invited me to attend tonight’s dinner at the Country Club, I didn’t commit.

I was almost positive I would pass on an evening rubbing elbows with whatever group of constituents Scott wants to woo this time. The great food at the Club’s restaurant isn’t enough of an incentive to get me to wear my “Sunday best” and sit through long-winded speeches for the best part of the evening.

Chance also asked me to be there for his first meeting with the new stepsister, and that was a no brainer. We always support each other, and I was curious anyway.

I was hoping Kelly’s daughter would be hot, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

Zara.

I thought I would never see her again, but I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t thought about her from time to time.

As usual, there’s no one in my house but the housekeeper. My parents always work late into the evening; they always have, but once I was old enough not to require a nanny, they even stopped calling to check on me.

They’re probably going to be at tonight’s dinner. They’ve been close to Scott even before the twins, Chance and I came along.

They’ll probably change at their office. They both have a full closet there. This big mansion is just a place to crash at night and a status symbol, not a real home.

Their distracted, cold parenting style used to bother me when I was younger, but now I’m used to it. I actually enjoy the complete freedom of practically living alone.

Without anyone stopping me to ask me about my day, I get ready in record time.

I walk back to Chance’s front door just in time to see Zara step outside with my best friend in tow.

Earlier, I tried to be discreet when I checked her out. Now?

Day-um .

She’s a vision in a little black dress with a sweetheart neckline that shows off her perfect tits, but manages to stay on the right side of classy. The same thing is true for the way the flowing skirt flirts with the creamy skin of her lower thighs, showcasing a pair of gorgeous, shapely legs.

I don’t know about Chance, but I’m very interested in finding out if his new stepsister is still the little daring, wild thing she used to be two years ago.

Zara heads toward the back door of Chance’s truck, and I’m by her side in a heartbeat.

“You should have shotgun, pretty girl.” I guide her to the passenger door by putting my hand on the small of her back.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” I whisper, her smile reward enough for giving up the front seat.

Chance has been following the whole exchange, and his amused smirk tells me that he noticed my interest in his new stepsister.

Truth be told, I haven’t seen Chance smile like that since the last time Zara was hanging out with us. Since that fateful day when his family got ripped apart on the racetrack, my best friend—and the rest of his family—hasn’t smiled that much. Not even winning a state championship with our hockey team has put that genuine smile on his face.

The same thing can be said about Scott. The only time I see our new mayor smile is when Zara’s mom is around.

Maybe these two women are what the Hunter family needs to heal and feel whole again.

That doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna throw my hat in the ring if Zara is single and interested in exploring the attraction that hopefully is still there. I know it is for me.

“So,” I smile, leaning against the front seat. “Is this crazy or what? What are the chances that your mom got engaged to Chance’s dad?”

She meets my eyes in the front mirror. “I’m still trying to process the shock. I just flew back from my friend’s house in Florida this morning. I had no idea that Mom was even dating anyone.”

Chance turns to look at her for a split second, before focusing back on the road ahead. It’s impossible to miss the way his jaw ticks. “You seriously didn’t know?”

“My mom and I,” she sighs, “haven’t exactly spent a lot of time together since the last time we all saw each other. She decided that boarding school was the only way to tame me, and shipped me off to Connecticut. I was pretty mad at her at first and then… I guess the distance between us grew and neither of us knew how to build a bridge between us.”

That makes sense. As someone who might go weeks without actually bumping into my parents, I don’t have a problem believing that.

“Well, it was a really nice surprise to see you again.” I use my flirtiest tone. “And it sounds like we’re all going to school in town?”

Zara nods. “Yeah. Me coming to school here and living at home is supposed to be a fresh start between Mom and I. I was a little nervous about living with people I didn’t know, so it was a relief that at least we have met before.”

Our eyes are locked in the mirror and I can’t resist the urge to wink at her. “I’d say the last time we got to hang out, we hit it off.”

Her pink lips quirk up in a little smile, her green eyes twinkling. “Yeah, I’d say so too. So you really didn’t know who my mom was?” the question is directed at Chance.

“I had no idea. Back when we met, you said your last name was Fields. Your mom’s is Smith.”

“Yeah. Mom went back to her maiden name the second the divorce with my dad was final. She still can’t stand to be in the same room with him after ten years. She missed my graduation when she heard Dad was coming.”

Fuck. That’s rough. Ironically, my parents wouldn’t have missed my graduation. They might be distracted, but anything that can get their law firm any positive attention—like a son winning a hockey state championship, or being valedictorian—turns them into the most attentive parents in the state.

“So, are you excited to start college soon? Chance and I will be there, and I bet this year is going to be a lot of fun.”

Zara turns to look directly at me. “I can definitely be into that.”

She holds my gaze for a few seconds before turning back around.

If I’m not misreading the interest in her eyes, this year is going to be even more interesting than I thought it would be.

“Do you know what you’re going to be majoring in?” I ask.

“Not yet. I’ll take some general classes and then see what I like best. I have a few ideas about what kind of career I want, but nothing is set in stone. How about you?”

We continue to make small talk until we reach the Country Club.

This time Chance beats me to opening the door for Zara, running around the front of his truck, the second he gives the keys to the valet.

It’s obvious he likes her, too. It isn’t the first time my best friend and I were into the same girl, and it probably won’t be the last. I have no problem competing with him for Zara’s attention. We’ve done it before. We’re athletes and being competitive is in our nature.

We need to make sure Zara hasn’t left a serious boyfriend back East and then it’s game on.

CHANCE

Dad is shaking hands and smiling with Kelly at his side.

There are a thousand other ways I would usually spend my Friday night than at a stuffy Country Club dinner. Especially since with half the town’s important people in attendance, I can’t be caught drinking. Dad, however, deserves my support. He doesn’t really need me here, but I know he likes to show the town how important his family is to him; and it’s not an act put together to get more votes.

He’s always been a great father, and after losing Atlas two years ago, we’ve grown closer than ever. I might not agree with some of the ways he’s been channeling his grief as of late, but he’s been there for me and Ares in our darkest hour.

The least I can do is to be there for him too, no matter what.

As we get shown to our table, I grab one of the chairs next to Zara. If anything, her presence is going to make this dinner way less boring than anticipated.

I’ve been to too many of these events since Dad decided to run for mayor eighteen months ago. He’s been presiding over our town for the last eight months, and he has ambitious plans for Star Cove.

Dinner is always good here. The Club employs a Michelin starred chef. Tonight, however, I eat without paying attention to the delicious food. My eyes keep tracking Zara’s every movement.

Of course, it’s impossible to tune out Lev’s shameless flirting with my new stepsister.

I’m not mad at him. I can’t blame him for wanting to get to know her better. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to let him swoop in, when I’ve been thinking about Zara the past two years; even when I thought I was never going to see her again.

After the second course dishes are cleared out, it’s time for the speech portion of the night.

I’ve always joked with Dad about how they put the speeches before dessert, so that anyone who thought about skipping the boring part would have to miss out.

Usually I half-listen to most of the speakers, paying close attention just to what Dad has to say.

Tonight, my attention is focused elsewhere. “Hey,” I lean in to whisper in Zara’s ear. “Do you want to get some fresh air? They’ll probably go on for at least an hour.”

She looks at the main table, where her mom is deep in conversation with the president of Star Cove’s chamber of commerce. “Ok.”

Lev’s gaze stays on me as I help Zara out of her chair.

You snooze, you lose, my friend.

I guide Zara outside, through the full-length patio door that leads out to a classy patio, and a perfectly manicured garden.

We walk in silence, breathing in the scent of the late blooming jasmine, and listening to the sound of the rolling waves on the beach at the end of the garden.

“Zara, I owe you an apology.” I say once we’re far enough from the dining room that we wouldn’t be seen by someone casually looking out of the windows.

When she looks at me, her pretty face raised toward mine, I almost lose my train of thought. If anything, she’s become more beautiful in the last two years.

“What for?” she asks, her tone kind.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot; of what I would say if I got to see her again.

“We had promised you a ride home. After Atlas got hit, it was chaos, and when we finally remembered that you must have been waiting for us, you were nowhere to be seen. I’m so sorry we let you down.”

Her eyes widen, surprised by my apology. “Are you joking? You absolutely don’t owe me any apology, Chance. If anything, I owe you, Lev, and Ares one. I was in the restroom when it happened. When I realized what was going on, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to help, to make things better. But it was clear that there was nothing any one could do. I waited a little to make sure that you guys didn’t need anything. I saw Heather being taken away by an ambulance and your dad—” her voice breaks.

My fingers find hers out of pure instinct. “You’re right. No one could help us that day. Unless they could bring my brother back.” Emotion constricts my throat, as I fight the tears I can feel welling in my eyes. “But that night, after the initial shock wore off, I went looking for you. I was so worried about you, since we should have been your ride home.”

She squeezes my hands. “When I realized that you guys were gone, I took a cab to the bus stop. I got home late that night, eventually.”

Zara doesn’t look angry, but the way she explains how she got home tells me there must be more to the story than what she’s putting into words.

“Did you get home safely? Did anyone bother you?”

“No.” She sighs. “No one bothered me. It was a long journey. I had missed the last direct bus. When I got home, my mom was furious.”

Guilt surfaces all over again. “I’m so sorry, Zara.”

She shakes her head, but doesn’t let go of my hands. “Seriously, Chance. It’s not your fault. I got home late, so Mom had figured out that I wasn’t really at my friend’s house. But that wasn’t what she was more upset about. One of her friends’ husbands saw the Blue Lightning video on YouTube. Remember that race we were in at that after party?”

How could I ever forget? “Yeah.”

“My mom saw that,” she sighs. “She was so mad. She asked me where I was the whole time. She had seen me once talking to Cal outside school and she started pressing me about it. So I told her I had followed him to Bridgeport to watch him race, and she freaked out.”

Fuck.

“My dad freaked out too, after what happened to Atlas. He got into protective mode and when he saw that video…” I don’t need to elaborate about Dad’s reaction. I’m sure her mom was just as angry.

Zara sighs. “Yeah, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised they fell for each other. My mom has had a huge chip on her shoulder about motorcycles and racing since the divorce. She blames Dad’s cheating on the lifestyle , or whatever it is. She had warned me countless times to stay away from the racetracks. When she realized that I had been dating a racer behind her back, and after seeing me on the back of your bike in that video, she decided she was done.”

“Done?” I frown.

“She said I was out of control. That I was hellbent on defying her and that I was chasing after guys who raced—older guys—to get my dad’s attention. That’s why she shipped me off to boarding school. Dad wasn’t able to talk her out of it, and so I was gone within a week. We have barely talked the entire time I was in Connecticut. Now I know I had a big part in that shit show, so I want to try to repair our relationship. I thought it would be easier because I would live on campus, an hour away. So I would be close, but not too close. The whole engagement and moving in with your dad was a surprise. I don’t know how much this sort of forced proximity is going to help us mend things between us.”

I hang my head. “I really feel responsible. For leaving you stranded in Bridgeport, and for letting you race with me at the party.”

Zara’s voice is soft. “None of it is your fault, Chance. You and your brothers helped me out of a stupid situation. I have no one to blame but myself for getting involved with Cal. I knew he was no good, but I kept seeing him. And I wanted to race with you. It was fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

I still feel guilty. “Are you sure you aren’t mad at me?”

“No,” she squeezes my hand. “I actually wanted to message you back then, after I got home. But my mom took my phone and all my devices. I didn’t get them back until I had been at boarding school for over a month. As soon as I did, I tried to find you, but I couldn’t. You, Lev, Ares. None of you were on social media. Not even Heather. I just wanted to check on you and to let you know how sorry I was about Atlas.”

Hearing my brother’s name always causes me pain. “Thank you.” I bite out around the lump in my throat.

Her fingers twined with mine, bring me more comfort than I ever thought possible. I feel like I need to explain a few things to Zara, since she’ll be living in my father’s house.

“His death left a gaping wound in my family, and we’re still smarting over that loss. After Bridgeport PD concluded their investigation without being able to find the person on the motorcycle that hit him, Dad shut down.” I begin.

Her green eyes are full of understanding. I usually hate to talk about it. People’s pity just makes the pain worse. The look in her eyes is different, though; it isn’t pity, it’s compassion. And that makes it easier to open up to her like I haven’t been able to do with my dad and with Ares, with my therapist… not even with Lev.

“You weren’t able to reach us, because Dad made us delete all our social media while the investigation was ongoing. Heather’s too. Her dad is the town’s sheriff, and he was adamant that we shouldn’t talk to anyone while Bridgeport PD was still looking into the events of that day. I actually didn’t mind deleting everything. Dad is still pretty famous from his pro hockey days, and the media went into a frenzy. We had photographers camped out at our house for weeks. They were outside school, at our hockey games. Everywhere we turned, we were ambushed and asked for a statement or a comment.”

It looks like Zara understands, at least partially. “I can only imagine. That kind of stuff is part of why Mom moved us as far from Dad as possible and went back to her maiden name. I mean, she hates Dad. But when they separated, every gossip site, every sports news outlet, wanted an interview. She just couldn’t deal with it.”

The urge to touch her is strong, but there are a few things I want to tell her before I succumb to it.

“I’m sorry about your parents’ divorce, but in a way, if they were still together, we might have never met.” I tuck a strand of silky brown hair behind her ear.

“True.” She whispers. “I was really worried about how living with my mom’s new husband would be. But now I’m excited. I never thought I would get to see you and Lev again.”

I try not to let the fact that she just mentioned Lev bother me.

“I’m looking forward to hanging out with you guys. Maybe one of these days we could go out for a ride? The old road that used to connect Star Cove to the rest of the coast before the interstate was built looks perfect for riding.”

Yeah, I definitely need to make Zara aware of a few things.

“Zara, I don’t think we’ll be able to do that. I really don’t ride anymore.”

“Oh.” She flinches. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive. It’s understandable after… you know.”

She doesn’t say Atlas’s name out loud. Good. We don’t really talk about him in the house. It hurts too much.

“Yeah, there’s that, but it isn’t the only reason. Things have changed in town since Dad became mayor.”

“What do you mean?”

Every time I have to explain that to someone from out of town, I know how crazy what I’m about to say is going to sound.

“The first thing Dad did when he was elected was to ban motorcycles within the town limits. Owning or keeping a motorcycle in Star Cove is illegal.”

“What? But what about Star Arrows? Did Lev and Ares quit racing too?”

I really hate talking about this, but I feel like Zara needs to know how deeply the loss of my brother affected our family and the entire town. “They had no choice. Dad had started campaigning for the ban even before he decided to run for mayor. He blames motorcycles for what happened to Atlas. He managed to convince the majority of the town that motorcycles aren’t just too dangerous; they’re noisy and they encourage reckless behavior, attracting undesirables into our peaceful, wealthy town.”

Zara shakes her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s crazy. Not everyone who rides a motorcycle is reckless, or a thug.”

I agree with her. “You’re right. I guess different people react differently to grief. Dad wanted someone to blame. He even sued the racetrack and got them shut down.”

Her next words surprise me. “He isn’t wrong there. I told Cal on that first day that the track lacked some important safety features. Like air fences. Those are one of the most important safety features. Most MotoGP racetracks have them.”

I sigh. “Yeah, I know. The Super League didn’t require them back then. They have since changed their regulations, but Dad is out to get them too. He’s lobbying with the governor to get the League entirely banned from California and, if he has his way, entirely shut down.”

She frowns. “Wow. When I saw your dad, I wasn’t surprised that my mom liked him. No offense, but he’s still very handsome.”

I can’t help but tease her a little. “Do you have the hots for my dad?” The fact that Zara finds my dad attractive is actually good for me. Everyone says I’m his carbon copy, just thirty years younger.

“Stop,” she snorts. “He could be my father. I meant that I can see why my mom was attracted to him. But now that you told me about the ban, I bet that his hatred of motorcycles was something they totally bonded over.”

She isn’t wrong. “Yeah. Your mom was a huge supporter of his ban idea.”

“So Ares and Lev didn’t fight the ban at all? Did they just close Star Arrows? What about the Blue Lightning contract and their MotoGP contract?”

“Atlas’s death didn’t just change Dad’s life. Ares wanted nothing to do with bikes, either. But that isn’t the only thing that changed for him. The twins had a deal with Dad. He would support their racing careers as long as they got college degrees. They were both going to attend Star Cove. Dad was so proud that all three of us wanted to go to his alma mater. But after what happened that day at the track, Ares wasn’t himself for months. He ended up dropping out of college and applying to the police academy.”

Zara looks surprised. “Ares is a cop?”

I sigh. “He is. Dad was very disappointed when he couldn’t talk him out of it. He had always thought that the twins would follow in his footsteps and become sports agents when they retired from racing.”

There’s a pensive look on her face for a long moment.

“So many things have changed since the last time I saw you.” She muses.

“You’re right. And Zara, Dad is very excited about you moving in. I think he sees this new blended family as a new beginning for us. He isn’t a bad guy, and he’s head over heels for your mom. There’s just one thing that could cause trouble in your relationship with him.”

Zara isn’t just pretty. She’s also extremely smart.

“Don’t mention motorcycles in front of him. And of course, don’t mention my dad.” She works it out without me having to tell her.

“Pretty much.”

She shrugs. “Those are the same topics my mom hates. You’re right that it’s no surprise that our parents fell for each other. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to fly under the radar. Dad will get a hotel room anyway when he visits, but I’ll have to let him know that he can’t bring his bike within town limits.”

I pull her closer to me and she comes willingly when I circle her waist with my arms. “Let’s not talk about our parents for now, though. They’ll monopolize our time all week long since it’s crunch time with the wedding preparations. You’re right that a lot of things have changed. There’s only one thing that’s still the same from the last time I saw you.”

“What is it?” she asks.

“How attracted I am to you. I like you, Zara.”

I usually don’t pursue girls. Or at least, not with the intention of offering anything more than a fun hookup. I don’t date, and I’m upfront about it. If Lev and I compete for a girl’s attention, it’s just until one of us gets to sleep with her, and then we move on.

But no girl has ever lived rent free in my mind like Zara has for the last two years.

“I like you too,” she smiles. “But I?—”

“Did you leave someone important back in Connecticut? A boyfriend?”

She shakes her head. “No, nothing like that. It’s just that Lev…”

“He likes you too,” I chuckle. “Don’t worry, it’s ok. For now, let’s get to know each other, and then you’ll figure out who’s the one you like best.”

“Really?” she asks. “You don’t mind if I hang out with him, too?”

I put her out of her misery. “Of course not. He’s my best friend. He’s the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. After me, obviously.”

She laughs. “You’re so humble.”

“Nah,” I say, leaning closer. “I just know my worth. I know what I want, and when I want something? I go after it.”

My hand has come up to cup Zara’s delicate jaw. I give her a moment to pull away if I’m going too fast for her. When she doesn’t, I kiss her.

Fuck, I’ve wanted to do this since the last time I saw her.