Chapter 15 – Race Day
Chapter Fifteen
MAGNOLIA
RACE DAY
I flipped my blinker, waiting behind a line of cars to turn into the venue parking lot—which looked like a random field on somebody’s farm. Bowen and Griffin had both invited me to ride with them. I’d kindly turned each of them down.
Truth was, I needed space. Lots and lots of space.
From Bowen, whose every glance set my pulse racing and my stomach twisting, and whose mere presence made me ache for things I wasn’t supposed to.
And from Griffin, whose constant brooding was basically a neon sign pointing me straight back to Bowen.
I had no idea how I was supposed to spend the entire day with Bowen sans Griffin, and keep my bottled-up feelings from exploding. I checked my phone, trying to settle my nerves.
Abilene
After you have the prize money in your hot little hands, break up with Griff and confess your undying love to Bowen.
“Not helping.”
First of all, that’s terrible. And second, even if it weren’t (IT IS), there’s no way I break up with my boyfriend and live happily ever after with his brother. Come back to reality, Abs.
Abilene
Create your own HEA, Maggie. You and Bowen. Forget everyone else.
I don’t even know if Bowen likes me anymore. Besides, he’s been a really good friend lately. I’d like to preserve the progress we’ve made.
Abilene
I think you’re forgetting that Bowen turned his face into a tackle box for you.
Forget? It was all I’d thought of since the minute I saw him with that stupid-hot piece of metal through his eyebrow.
I was like a girl in a Regency romance, perpetually tucked in a meadow with her parasol and puffed sleeves, daisy petals scattered in her lap.
He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not.
“Daisies,” I huffed to myself. At Sole Mates, Bowen had left me the second he realized I was Griffin’s Maggie. That’s how loyal he was. Whether or not Griff deserved it.
If I confessed my feelings—hypothetically speaking, of course, because I would never—and Bowen rejected me? My heart would give out on the spot, and they’d have to bury me right in this field. My headstone would read:
Here lies Magnolia Wren Hollis
She hoped it was love.
It wasn’t.
May she (never) rest in peace.
I fake-cried to stop myself from real-crying.
The cars started moving, and I tapped on the gas. Abilene texted again. I found a parking spot and dove back into the conversation.
Abilene
Irregardless. You know you can’t keep dating Griff…
I clamped my teeth, typing furiously.
STOP USING IRREGARDLESS! You know it’s not a word. You’re just goading me now!
Abilene
Like I was saying… Irregardless, the Maggie-Griff train is heading for a crash. You can’t keep dating just because you don’t want to hurt him. It’s not fair to either of you. Not with the way you feel about Bowen.
I hated that she was right.
Abilene
May as well go ahead and get it over with. Today. Just kiss Bowen, all hot and sweaty, covered in mud. Griff’ll get the picture.
Abilene
Admit it. You know you want to.
My sizzling cheeks would’ve given me away if she were here. Thankfully, she was not.
Do you think The Duprees will adopt me if I break things off with Griff?
I wasn’t ready to give them up.
Abilene
I mean, I would. You’re way better than Griff. But I don’t think he’ll allow it.
You just gotta rip off the Band-Aid.
My heart fell, my chest growing heavy at the thought of losing not only Griff but his entire family. Lemon and Silas, who were basically my second parents. Sophie, James, and Sage. Charlie and Cash. Theo and Liam. Granny and Gramps. The aunts and uncles. Addie.
It was too much.
But the thought of never seeing Bowen again? I felt like I was suffocating every time I thought about it. Which was completely screwed up since he was my boyfriend’s brother! But I knew the truth. Bowen wouldn’t be in my life much longer.
I dropped my phone in my lap and rubbed my temples.
Tap, tap, tap, someone knocked on the glass. I screamed, phone flying into the air. Then I pressed a hand over my heart and glared through the window at…
Bowen.
He was laughing at me; the sun glinting off his piercing, wearing an actual shirt for once—an unofficial Cash Dupree Fan Club tee that he and the guys had worn to Cash’s concert last night.
I hadn’t seen him for days. Not even a glimpse as he ran by at Dupree Ranch.
My heart was so happy to see him standing there, it tried to shoot out of my chest and smash through the window to get to him.
He held up a shaker bottle and pointed at it dramatically. The words "Official Team 'Hoos Ready to Run' Race Fuel" were written on the front in Sharpie. He tipped his head back and pretended to guzzle it.
Oh my word. He brought me a protein shake from home.
I hopped out of the car, practically buzzing, a massive grin cracking my face. I had to glue my arms to my sides to keep from hugging him. “Hey,” I said, too breathy, too bright. “I missed you.”
His eyes flickered, surprised. But I didn’t take it back. I was happy. And, I decided right then, if things between me and Griff were going to end, I could at least have this one last day with Bowen. No guilt. No shame. Just pure, unadulterated fun.
He shoved the drink at me awkwardly. “Here.”
I popped the top and took a swig. It was rich and chocolaty, with a hint of peanut butter. Too delicious to be a normal protein drink from the store. Zero doubts, this was a Bowen Dupree Original.
“This is really good.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Did you bring me one?” I tugged on the hem of his ridiculous shirt. Cash’s massive face blew a red, heart-shaped kiss at me.
Bowen chuckled. “No, sorry. I just wanted to embarrass Cash a little longer. This is coming off before we start.”
“Of course it is.” I smiled. “Where is everyone?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts, and I wondered if he was telling his hands to keep to themselves, the same way I was telling mine. “Already inside, checking out the vendor booths.”
“You didn’t check in with everyone else?” I took another swig.
“Nah, I had to wait for my partner.”
So, his entire family was inside, having fun together, and he’d stayed out here to greet me at my car? I felt as if I were floating. I couldn’t stop smiling or watching him. His crooked grin, those eyes, that piercing.
“Did you get a bug bite?” he asked.
I scowled. “Huh?”
“You keep scratching your stomach.”
Crap. I hadn’t realized what I was doing. I made myself stop and put my hand on my hip instead. “Oh, yeah. A mosquito got me good.” I looked around at the chaos, swallowing the lie.
I didn’t do it for him. I did it for me.
Yeah. Okay. Keep telling yourself that.
Shhhhhh.
“How’d you find me in all of this?” I waved my hand at the sea of vehicles.
He shrugged like it was nothing. “Been watching every car that came through the gate for the last half hour.”
My heart banged against my ribcage. Griff should’ve been out here waiting for me. But it was Bowen.
“Is everything set up for the documentary?” I asked.
Cash had contacted Netflix a few weeks ago to see if they wanted to film a documentary of the race, most specifically of Charlie doing the race.
After a TV news reporter dragged Charlie's name through the mud, Cash was determined to show the world that she was so much more than the lies spread about her. Charlie didn’t know what was going down yet, but the rest of us had to sign our lives away to make it happen.
“Yeah.” Bowen scrubbed a hand over his hair. “We need to be on our best behavior.”
I clicked my tongue. “Don’t want anything embarrassing to happen and give those camera guys any extra footage.”
He chuckled. “Facts.” But then his smile faded, and he stared at me, eyes soft. “I missed you, too,” he said in a hush. “Missed my… friend.” The word sounded unnatural, like English was his second language, and he was pronouncing it for the first time.
“Hey, I think that’s Bowen Dupree,” a college-aged girl whispered to her friend as they walked past.
If Bowen noticed, he gave no sign. His gaze held mine, steady and unflinching, like no one else existed but the two of us. But there was a heavy sadness in his eyes, like he already knew the truth. Griff and I were standing on a bridge made of glass and it was splintering beneath our feet.
I had to fix this. So I stepped closer, smiling up into his handsome face. “You ready to kick some butt?”
He forced a smile too. “So ready.” He held out his fists.
I set the drink on the hood of my car, gazed into his eyes, and tapped my knuckles to his. “Wah-hoo-wah,” we breathed, the word feeling like anything but a cheer.
As we meandered to the registration line, I was determined to make our day together one we’d never forget. And I did.
But not the way I’d hoped.
Had I known that in a few short hours I’d bring down a sledgehammer on that glass bridge, throwing all three of us into a reckless free fall…
I would’ve gotten back in my car, driven away, and pretended I’d never heard the last name Dupree.