Page 63 of Fourth Wheel

The honest answer? I have no fucking clue.

Jake’s words play on repeat in my mind as I go through the motions of closing out for the night. Maddie hasn’t moved from the chair behind the bar, which is the only reason I can get anything done.

I keep glancing back to make sure she’s still there. That she’s unharmed. That she’s still mine.

I’m desperate to know what the hell she’s thinking after my very public claiming. But every time we lock eyes, she just smiles sweetly, like she’s trying to reassure me.

We’re supposed to be casual. A summer fling with a clear expiration date. We haven’t talked about exclusivity. I’ve literally only participated in one-night stands since my ex-fiancée Brooke chose not to come back to Hampton with me when we graduated from college.

I don’t know what came over me.

But something about seeing Adley’s hand on my woman flipped a switch in my mind.

I’ve never been one to say consequences be damned—and fuck, are there about to be consequences—but for the first time in a long time, I want to let myself have what I want.

What I want is her.

I just hope to God I can have her without hurting him.

It’s probably best if we pump the brakes on our plans for tonight. I need to make sure Maddie gets home safely, then I’ll head back to my house to deal with this head-on. My brother’s going to find out eventually. If anyone’s going to tell him about Maddie and me, it should be me.

Except I have no idea what I’m going to say.

I don’t know what we’re doing. I don’t know what I am to her. My life is messy enough without indulging in a complicated, just-for-summer relationship. But my baser instincts crave this woman, and no matter how hard I try to reason with that urge, she makes me want more.

I hate it. I crave it.

I want her.

I just have to make sure Fielding’s okay with this before I can give myself permission to go all in.

Chapter 30

Maddie

“Where’dyoupark,princess?”he asks as he guides me out the front door of The Oak, his hand firm on my low back.

“I’m in the back lot.” I run my nails down his arm, gently dislodging his protective hold and interlacing our fingers instead.

“How much trouble did I cause tonight?” I caution, sweeping my mass of blond curls over my shoulder and side-eyeing him as we turn to walk around the building.

He says nothing, instead striding along the sidewalk with a sense of purpose. I squeeze his hand once—but he doesn’t squeeze back.

Fuckity fuck.

I could tell I was losing him as the night went on. He made me sit behind the bar, but we interacted less and less. By last call, he was essentially ignoring me. I ended up helping Tristan dry and restock glasses just to have something to do.

I should have taken care of Adley myself. A quick nut punch or a little dodge and weave to the ladies’ room would have done the trick. But he had the advantage of surprise. By the time I realized what was happening, Dempsey had already noticed.

My stomach aches at the thought of Dempsey being upset with me. I had no idea Adley was going to show up—I didn’t even post on social saying I was at The Oak tonight. But there are only so many places to be on a Saturday night in a small town.

I drop his hand and make a show of putting my hair into a messy bun. He makes no move to reclaim it once I’m done.

Okay then.

If he wants to play it this way, I can do cold and disconnected, too.

If he’s going to call this off, I want to get it over with. It’ll be easier to make a clean break now than play games over the next few days or weeks as things fizzle out.