“So, Miss Die-Hard Comets Fan, what brings you to Indy to report on the enemy?” It was no secret there was no love lost between the Comets and the Speed.
Expecting her to give me a little bit of sass, I was shocked when she drew in on herself, even going so far as to pull her hand from mine where they’d rested intertwined on the armrest. Eyes downcast, her breathing grew shallow as she toyed with the bracelet on her wrist.
What the hell did I say? It had seemed innocent enough in my mind.
Bristol’s lip trembled, and a lone tear slid down her cheek. It was like a knife to my heart, knowing I’d done something to cause her pain.
Reacting instinctually, I cradled her face in my hands, swiping at the moisture with my thumbs, but it was quickly replaced with more.
“Fuck, Bristol. I’m sorry. I was just teasing. Forget I said anything. I’m glad you came to work covering the Speed.” I squeezed my own eyes shut before admitting, “If you hadn’t come into my life, I’d still be walking around in a daze.”
More tears fell, but her lashes fluttered as her eyes opened to reveal heartbreaking sadness in their depths. After a thick swallow, she said, “I was running away.”
“Running away,” I repeated. “From what?”
There was an imperceptible shake of her head in my hands. “Not a what. A who.”
Dread churned in my gut, and my voice turned lethal. “Did someone hurt you?”
One of her shoulders lifted. “In a way.”
“Who?” I demanded.
She turned her head away from me as she said, “My ex, Nix.”
What kind of stupid-ass name is Nix? Sounds like a frat boy nickname.
“The cheater,” I breathed out.
“Yeah,” Bristol confirmed on an exhale.
Odds were that I would never run into the little shit, but I wanted to strangle him. I hated that she was still hurting from whatever he did to her.
“I was smart enough to invest money from my playing days. If you want me to put out a hit on him, I could probably swing it financially.”
That had a slight smile curving on her lips, but her voice was still defeated. “He’s not worth it.”
“But it was bad enough for you to move halfway across the country to get away from him? To leave everything you’ve ever known behind?” I pressed.
“I have Dakota and Braxton,” she countered.
“Is that really enough?”
“It has to be.”
I wanted to tell her she had me too, but I knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. Whoever this Nix guy was had done a number on her.
Recapturing her hand, I pulled it between both of mine. When she turned to me, I poured every ounce of compassion I had into my gaze. I needed her to know I cared. That I was more than just a guy who she’d taken home one night and had explosive sex with.
Pulling her hand to my mouth, I brushed my lips over it. “Talk to me, Bristol. Help me understand.”
Her beautiful blue eyes tracked the movement of my lips as I peppered feather-light kisses across her knuckles. After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke. “He used me. And I agreed to it.”
My brows drew down. “What do you mean, you agreed to it?”
A soft sniffle sounded in the air between us, and her voice grew whisper-quiet. “He didn’t want to be exclusive. And I was so besotted with him that I let him fool around with other women. I thought”—she blew out a heavy breath—“I thought that if I showed him that I was devoted, that Iwasn’t sleeping around, that eventually he’d see I was the girl for him and drop the rest of them.”
“But that didn’t happen, did it?”
