Hard and Fast(51)

"I don't know what he likes. I think he loves me." She wanted to believe that, she really, really did.

"So wait for him to calm down and then go and work it out."

"But maybe this is just a way to walk away before we both regret it even more further down the road."

"So let sleeping dogs lie, then."

"But I don't know if that's what I want."

"You need to decide whether you're willing to risk being hurt, plain and  simple. You can go for it and have a wonderful relationship. Or you  might go for it and crash and burn brilliantly. It's up to you if you  want to take that risk, up to you if it's worth it or not." Her brain  hurt. Her heart hurt. Her stomach hurt. Her vision blurred and she  swallowed hard. "I don't know."

"So take some time and think about it. He's not going anywhere, honey,  and his feelings for you aren't going to disappear overnight. You get  your head on straight, and maybe he'll do the same."

"You think so?"







"Yeah. And if that doesn't work, throw another pillow at him." CHAPTER EIGHTEEN





TWO weeks went by, and each day sucked a little bit more than the last.  At the beginning, Ty could have sworn that wasn't possible, but by the  time he was heading to the pits for qualifying in Miami for the final  race of the season, he was amazed to find it was true. He hadn't spoken  to or called Imogen since their fight. Imogen hadn't called him.

And every day the pain got a little deeper and he got a little crankier.

Especially every time someone congratulated him on his engagement.

Or asked where his beautiful fiancée was.

Generally, when anyone talked to him at all, he wasn't happy about it.

Ty wanted to be left alone, to wallow, to reflect on his own stupidity, to contemplate a course of action.

It wasn't working because no one, no one, could ever seem to leave him alone.

"Ohmigawd, Ty, hi!" a chipper voice said to his left.

Glancing over, Ty tried to force a smile onto his face, no matter how  much of a struggle it was. Then he saw it was Nikki and gave up the  effort. "Hey. How are you?"

"I am awesome!" she declared, falling in step beside him in a sundress  and high heels. She held her ring finger out for him. "Did you see my  engagement ring? It cost fifty thousand dollars." Thinking that  announcing the ring price was about the most vulgar thing he'd ever  heard, Ty glanced over at the rock. Damn, it was ugly. That somehow made  him feel better, though he couldn't help feeling a tiny bit sorry for  Strickland shelling out that kind of cash on a gaudy ring. It wasn't  even a diamond, the thing was yellow.

"It's a yellow diamond," she told him.

Wow. He didn't even know they made those. "Very nice."

"I heard you got engaged, too," Nikki said, clearly not picking up on his lack on interest. "Congrats."

"Thanks."

"I can only hope that you're as happy with her as I am with my  snooky-wookums." That brought the closest thing to a smile to Ty's face  in days. He just might have to call Jonas Strickland snooky-wookums next  time he bumped into him. Making a noncommittal sound, he glanced  around. He wanted to be saved from this conversation. Ridiculous  nickname aside, it was not feeling so great to think that Nikki was  riding off into the sunset of her happily ever after and he had screwed  his up royally.                       
       
           



       

He shouldn't have called Imogen uptight. That was unfair and hurtful.  Yes, she was logical. Yes, she was cautious. But she wasn't uptight. She  was willing to try new things like camping and a wide variety of sexual  positions.

Anyone who could have an orgasm in an inner tube was not strictly an observer in life.

He should apologize. He should call her.

Beg for forgiveness.

Because goddamn, it sucked not having his Emma Jean in his life.

"How much did the ring you got for Imogen cost?" Nikki asked, holding her hand out and admiring her bling again.

Ty stopped walking and just looked at her, appalled. "I didn't buy her a  ring," he said. "She's not materialistic, and you can't put a price on  our relationship. I'm going to give her my grand-mother's ring." He  didn't know where the idea popped into his head from, but once it was  there, he liked it.

Nikki sniffed. "Well, I'm sure that will just thrill her. It's not like a  boring professor has anywhere good to wear quality jewelry anyway."  Then she smiled. "I'll send you an invitation to our wedding. I'm sure  we'll beat you to the altar. Bye!"







As he watched her walk away, he concluded that he could take a page from  Imogen's book. If he wasn't so damn impulsive, he never would have  dated Nikki, and he could have filled hours of his life with  something-anything-of substance.

The thought didn't improve his mood, nor did the sight of his crew chief.

"Are you ready to pull your head out of your ass?" Sam asked him, meeting him on the thoroughfare to the pits.

"I wasn't aware that's where it was," Ty lied. "No wonder I've been having neck pain."

"I'm serious," Sam said. "It's all on the line here and you've been  distracted for a month." He shot Ty a long look. "I guess love will do  that to a man, but I wish you had waited until December to fall for a  woman."

"I'm fine." And he was a big fat fucking liar.

Especially given that ten minutes later the sight of Evan Monroe soured  his mood even further. The guy wasn't doing anything, he was just  waiting to run his qualifying lap like Ty, but it irritated Ty to think  the guy had wanted to date Imogen. Evan was not her type.

Then again, neither was Ty.

That thought really set him on edge, and he almost groaned out loud when  Evan approached him and said, "Is it true you and Imogen broke up?"

Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded.

"Man, I'm sorry. That's sucks."

"Yep."

"You must be devastated."

"I'm fine. It's not a big deal." It seemed he was getting really good at  lying, because Evan's sympathetic expression disappeared.

"Really? You're not torn up?"

"No, not at all. It was a mistake in the first place." Pride was a funny  thing. Ty couldn't even believe he managed to eek those words out  between his lips, but for the sake of his pride, he did just that.

"Oh, okay. So you wouldn't be upset if I asked her out? I've got a thing  for brunettes." One minute Ty was standing upright, keeping his cool  with Evan.

Then the next Evan was on the ground and Ty was on top of him.

He couldn't explain it. Nor could he explain his hands gripping the front of Evan's racing suit.

But everything had gone black and buzzing, and it had seemed that the  only thing to do was to pound Evan into the asphalt so then maybe he  wouldn't feel so damn lousy.

Even as he gripped Evan's jacket, he suspected he was wrong on that count, too.

Yep, every day had sucked just a little bit more and he just might have reached the height of suckiness.





RYDER called Suzanne, still stunned by Ty's behavior.

"Suz, turn on the sports channel," he told her.

"What? Why?"

"Ty just jumped Evan Monroe at qualifying and a camera caught it. They're rolling it over and over."

"What! That's insane. Ty never loses his temper."

That's what Ryder would have said, too. Flopping down on his couch, he  kicked off his shoes. "It seems that Evan asked Ty if he would mind if  Evan asked Imogen out now that they're broken up."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. Big fat uh-oh. I understand getting pissed, but my God, he went  after him. At the track! In the last week of the season. It's a PR  nightmare. The man has lost his mind."

"I'm watching it right now," Suzanne said. "You're right. He's officially one hundred percent lost his mind."                       
       
           



       

"Look, you know I've never been big on interfering in other people's  lives, but Ty is a mess and I can't stand back and do nothing. We need  to at least try to get him and Imogen to talk to each other and work





this out. Or at least get some closure."

"I agree." Suzanne paused, then gave a small laugh. "Holy shit. We agree on something." Ryder smiled. "It happens sometimes."

"Alright, so I think a dinner party is a bad idea. At this point, we  pretty much just need to throw them in a room together and lock the  door. I can't do it early in the week, I have appointments. How does  Friday sound?"

"That will work. Ty is going to have a shitty week with all the backlash from this stunt. He'll need a beer by Friday."

"Keep him at your place. I'll take Imogen out and make up some stupid thing about stopping by your house for paperwork."