NATASHA GASPED AWAKE. She sat up with eyes squinted, looking around her room. A Post-it stuck to her cheek. In the background, her laptop was still playing the audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. On her bed were dozens of other Post-its and other notes. She’d spent all night doing her research and fell down the rabbit hole of a website called Harry Potter Wiki. Who knew such a thing existed?
Her mind buzzed with a million pieces of information. She’d thought if she crammed all night she’d be ready to help Albert with his lemonade stand. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make sense to her. All the notes. What the narrator was saying about Harry fighting a dragon. She rubbed her face and pulled off the Post-it on her cheek right about the same time her gaze landed on her digital clock. The screen was blank. Why was the screen blank?
As she tried to remember when she had unplugged her clock, her hands felt around for her phone. Once her fingers made contact, she brought the device to her face and squinted at the numbers. Even if her brain was still half-asleep, she could make out the numbers one and thirty.
“Holy crap!”
Fully awake, she scrambled out of bed and tripped on her sheets. Pain exploded in her knees. She winced. But the panic of having to meet Albert in a couple of hours shot her with enough adrenaline to propel her into the bathroom. She still had to buy the art supplies, and Didi was already waiting for her at the art store.
After splashing some water on her face, she turned in a tight circle inside her closet. No time to plan a proper outfit, so she picked out a pair of skinny jeans, a graphic tee, and a pair of sneakers.
She quickly gathered all her hair into a ponytail. No time for makeup either. Lip gloss and a smile would have to do. She smacked her lips together, grabbed her bag, and rushed out of her room at the same time Nathan entered the hallway. Since he still seemed out of it, Natasha turned on her heel slowly and made a run for it.
“Hey!” He pointed at her, wide-eyed. She winced and stopped at the end of the hall. “Don’t think you can escape me, young lady. We have a ton to talk about. Granted, this conversation is overdue, since I was with Preston all weekend until he left for Colorado yesterday.”
“Nate, can this wait? I’m in a rush.”
“I saw Jackson climbing down your trellis. So, what? You had a little midnight rendezvous?”
She turned around to face her brother. “Jackson was in my room, big deal. He used to do it all the time.”
“Yeah, but it’s the lying to me about it that I can’t stand.” Nathan stormed to her and grabbed ahold of her bag. “Were you planning on keeping it from me?”
Natasha gripped the strap with both hands and dug her heels in. “Of course not!”
Nathan pulled. “Who are you kidding?”
Using her hips to pivot, she yanked the bag out of his grasp. “Nate, I seriously don’t want to get into this. If you saw him climbing down the trellis, then you know that I kicked him out. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
Worry filled his eyes. “Tash, I just don’t want him to break your heart again. That’s all.”
“As if I’d let him get close to my heart.” She resettled her bag straps on her shoulder.
“Just say the word. I know a good spot to hide a body.”
“I love you, Nate.” Natasha planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. Let me handle Jackson. Okay?”
“I’m saying yes.” Nathan rested his hands on his hips. “But under protest. I’m keeping an eye on him.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” She smiled. “Now, I have to go. I’m already late.”
She hurried down the stairs and headed straight for the kitchen.
“Hey, jelly bean!” her father greeted her from the breakfast nook, the paper in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. “Good afternoon.”
“Hey, Dad.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Did you just get back, or are you just about to leave?”
“Just making a few rounds at the hospital today. Nothing major. Then your mom and I are going on a date.”
Her dad looked dashing in a navy-blue suit and a yellow tie. The color brightened the blue of his eyes. His dark brown hair, salted with white strands, only served to make him look more distinguished.
Natasha grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and said, “You two have fun.”
“Got any big plans today?”
“Building a lemonade stand,” Natasha said as she left the kitchen.
Munching on the apple, she opened the front door and stepped out of the house. Then she froze at the landing by the front steps.
“Oh, give me a break!” She almost dropped the apple.
Parked on the driveway was Jackson, leaning against his motorcycle. He seemed chipper, smiling at her like a guy who’d gotten a full eight hours the night before. Because, unlike her, he’d read all the Harry Potter books. Not that he would know she spent all night learning everything there was to learn about the boy wizard. Seeing him when she was already late just annoyed her even more.
“Hi,” Jackson said, flashing that sexy grin that never failed to make her knees quake.
Lifting her chin, Natasha jogged down to the driveway and veered right, toward her car.
“Where are you going?” Jackson pushed away from the bike and followed after her.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” she said, unlocking her Tesla.
The lights flashed twice. A large hand on the door handle prevented her from wrapping her fingers around it.
“Jax.” She looked up at him. “I’m really busy today, and I’m already late. Please move.”
There was a moment of hesitation before he grabbed her bag, stuffed it into the backseat, and shut the door. Then a flash of determination crossed his expression. It made her nervous. He rounded the back of the SUV, opened the passenger door, and slid into the seat.
“What are you doing?” she asked after opening her own door.
Jackson buckled himself in. “You said you were late. Get in.”
“Get out of the car, Jackson. I mean it.”
“No.”
“I seriously don’t have time for this crap. Get out of the car or so help me—”
“You’ll what?” he challenged, mischief transforming his face into that boy she’d grown up with. “You know I’ll just follow you on my bike. This way we’re saving the environment by carpooling.” Before she could respond, he raised both his hands in surrender. “I promise I won’t bug you. I’m just along for the ride.”
“Ugh!” Natasha got into the car and slammed the door shut. She knew quite well the lengths Jackson went to when he was determined. If she showed him that he no longer mattered in her life, then maybe he might leave her alone. Unfortunately, the breath she took was filled with his clean boy scent, flooding her mind with images of lying in his arms during countless summer nights.
“This might be harder than I thought,” she muttered under her breath.
“Huh?”
But from the glint in his eyes, it was obvious he’d heard her. In revenge, she handed him the half-eaten apple and cranked up the Taylor Swift. The pained expression on Jackson’s face filled her with sick satisfaction as she slipped on her sunglasses and drove down the cherry-blossom-lined driveway.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Natasha eased the SUV into one of the last slots available in front of an art supply store. Jackson’s molars hurt from all the heartbreak revenge songs, but he was all for listening to them if it meant being in the car with Natasha. Her hair smelled of strawberries. It gave him comfort that she hadn’t changed her shampoo in the twelve months they had been apart.
Jackson had thought there was no way Natasha could ignore him for the whole car ride. But she surprised him. She even refused to dance along to her favorite Taylor Swift song. That was cold.
Resting his elbow against the door and resting his chin on his fist, he secretly watched her in his peripheral vision. The shirt she wore bared her arms, giving him a perfect view of the sprinkling of freckles on her shoulders that drove him crazy. His lips missed being on them, kissing each one. But Natasha wasn’t in that head space anymore. Leaning over and planting kisses on her shoulder wasn’t the turn-on it used to be for her. He knew it in his gut. In fact, giving in to the urge might just get him smacked in the face and send him back to square one with her.
He took her allowing him to ride along as a step forward. A vast improvement since the blunder of sneaking into her room. Of course, she had only driven off with him in the car because she was massively late. But still, it was progress.
All morning he’d thought about proving to her that he was serious. Nothing was going to stop him from getting her back. Like the air he breathed, he needed her.
The instant she cut the engine, Taylor Swift singing that they were “never ever, ever getting back together” stopped. Jackson barely stifled the sigh of relief that begged to break out of his lungs. Even he knew sending the wrong message was the worst move. So, instead he decided to state the obvious.
“Art store?”
Natasha turned her head to face him. Her lips were the pink he loved. The color emphasized the bow shape. And it might not be the manliest thought, but he secretly liked how when they kissed the color stained his lips. He wore it like a badge of honor. A sign to the world that the gorgeous girl with him was his and only his.
“All right, you’re still not speaking to me. I get that. So I’ll have to talk for the both of us.”
She rolled her eyes, unbuckled her seat belt, and slipped out of the car. If there was a way to tell him he was an idiot, that was it, right there. But damn if she wasn’t being cute when giving him the cold shoulder.
“Hey, wait up!” Jackson scrambled after her.