Page 17 of Theo (Stone Brothers #6)

FIFTEEN

THEO

"L ook, man, she probably has to figure shit out on that end, then she'll come back to you.

" Cormac pulled out onto the highway. I wasn't in the mood to drive.

We'd stopped at a liquor store, and I bought beer for the drive home.

I downed both bottles in minutes. When I first heard that Lacey was getting married, I'd ended up in a dark funk.

I kept insisting it wasn't happening, even though Griffin assured me it was.

I was drinking way more than I should have and even ended up missing some workdays because of hangovers.

Worst of all, my riding took a hit. I fell behind on my training, and I wasn't even placing in races.

When I finally came to grips with what Griffin had been telling me all along, I kicked my ass into gear.

I cut back on the drinking and partying and got back into a training routine, one that kept me too fucking tired to even think about Lacey Michaels and her future husband.

It seemed I'd gotten back on track with my life, my racing and my heart.

Then she sent that fucking text, and I was spinning again.

I took off my seatbelt and stretched out on the back seat.

Her intoxicating scent filled every breath I took.

I closed my eyes trying to bring back the last few hours in my mind.

It had been as if we'd never parted. Everything felt real and natural with Lacey.

She was never going to be happy with that asshole.

Crusoe held a bag of barbecue chips over the back of the seat. I waved it away. "You're not going to go all Donnie Darko again, are you? You've been doing great and your sponsorships?—"

"Shut the fuck up, Cru. I'm fine."

Cormac dug his hand into the chip bag. "Yep, like I said, Lacey will get this straightened out and then come back to you.

I mean, hell, she walked out of that big mansion without looking back.

She doesn't want to be there. Did you see all those oil paintings?

Ugly as shit but I bet they'd fetch a nice price on the black market. "

"Mac, knock it off," I said. "Not in the mood to listen to your stupid shit right now, and that sounded especially stupid.

" My brother was always right on the edge of trouble, bad enough trouble that would land him in jail.

My dad and his brothers had been the same or at least that was what Dad liked to remind my mom whenever she was worried about Cormac.

She'd then remind Dad that their lifestyle was nothing to brag about.

They'd all found their soulmates, and my mom and aunts had turned their asses around long ago.

I was sure Lacey was my turn around girl.

She was the one who was going to keep me out of trouble and heading toward a future.

Now she'd gone back to that asshole, and I had no idea if I'd ever see her again.

It seemed rich people weren't too high and mighty to resort to blackmail.

Although I was sure they had a different name for it.

My phone rang and I practically fell off the seat in my attempt to answer it. It wasn't Lacey. "Hey Jules, kind of trying to take a nap right now." I loved Jules, but I wasn't in the mood to talk to her or anyone.

"Oh, so the wedding rescue didn't work?" she asked.

"It worked until it didn't work."

"What do you mean? Wait, let me see what's happening on social media. I just got off work and haven't looked at my phone."

"Did you tell my mom about this?" Jules worked at my mom and Aunt Jade's realty office.

"What kind of a rat do you take me for? Oh my god, you are viral!"

"What do you mean?"

"Shh, I'm listening to the video." I could hear my own voice echoing back to me through her phone, then it stopped. "Well, shit, I am proud to call you cousin. Now I've got to hang up and make sure all my friends see that video. Wait. If Lacey left with you—where is she now?"

"That's where the whole happy ending thing sort of went south. She went back."

"I'm going to have to hear every detail when you get home."

"Not going to be in the mood to talk about it, Jules."

"That's all right. Mac will tell me everything. Sorry she went back, Theo. Hugs and kisses through the phone." She hung up, and I put my phone away. I wasn't going to hear from Lacey.

The drive home took forever. It had started out as a great fucking day.

Now I was more messed up than ever. I pulled out my phone and stared at it, hoping I could somehow conjure a text from Lacey, a text saying she was coming back to me, but aside from a dozen stupid, useless notifications and a text from Dad letting me know he needed some help with the boat next week, there was nothing.

Lacey had gone back to that rich asshole, and that was the end of it.

I needed to get back to my life, to working and racing and frankly, non-committal fucking, but it sure was going to be hard as hell now that I'd had Lacey in my arms again.