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I probably shouldn’t have that time either. Unfortunately, I was sometimes a sucker for a damsel in distress, and I couldn’t help myself once I saw her and her perfect ass standing all helpless by the trunk of a broken-down, piece-of-shit car. Had I just kept on about my business, Evie Adams, the only girl I’d ever loved—the same one I’d spent the last nine-plus years trying to forget—wouldn’t have been standing in front of me. I wasn’t sure how she managed to do it, but she’d gotten even more beautiful in the years since I’d seen her last.
    It’s no wonder I didn’t recognize her at first. She wasn’t the Evie I remembered anymore.  The shy sixteen-year-old girl I pictured in my mind when I thought of her was gone. She was a woman now and absolutely stunning. Her hair was darker than it used to be, and she’d ditched the red streaks. She had a few more curves on her frame, which only enhanced what she already had.
    “You look great, Evie,” I said. My heart raced like a fucking jackhammer, and I could’ve sworn my hand trembled just a little. Fuck, she made me feel like I was seventeen again, speaking to her that first time.
    “Thanks,” she said with noticeable snippiness. The same snippiness I’d picked up on before that I thought was only because maybe she had a shitty attitude in general and didn’t appreciate someone stopping to help her out, but now I understood it completely. I deserved anything and everything she could hurl at me.
    “How have you been?” I asked, genuinely interested in the answer. I wanted the best for her, and I hoped she’d gotten it, but I had to admit, there was a little part of me that didn’t want to hear that she was happy with some other guy. I didn’t want to hear she’d pined away for me since I’d left her either, but in ways, I still felt like she belonged to me even though I had no right to do so.
    “Alright, I guess,” she said, running her fingers through her hair and glancing away from me. It was then I noticed she wasn’t wearing an engagement or wedding ring. I shouldn’t have cared, but I couldn’t help but feel a pang of hope, though that’s all it could ever be. “I work for myself. How about you?”
    “I don’t do much. Just work for my old man.”
    “Really?” she asked. She looked confused, which wasn’t unexpected. I’d confided the gory details of some of the things he’d done to me, along with my desire to get as far away from him as soon as I could. The problem I faced was I hadn’t quite figured out how to do that with Georgia in tow. Some things hadn’t changed, and as that realization hit me, it made me feel all the more pathetic.
    “Yeah…”
    “Never would have guessed that.”
    Not one time did I ever tell her what Niall did to make his living, but I’d felt so secure talking to her about just how much of a prick he really was. She was the only person I ever truly confided in, the only person I could ever trust completely. Somehow, she still felt like that person to me, even after so much time had passed.
    “You said there was a garage close?”
    Giving her a ride was what I’d offered when I hadn’t recognized her, but I decided it best to call for the tow truck to come out instead. She would’ve looked spectacular on the back of my bike, but I couldn’t have her there with her body pressed against mine. I knew I’d never let her go this time if it went any further than that conversation.
    “I’m headed to a meeting,” I said, glancing at my watch. “I’m running a little late, but I can call the guy for you and send him your way.”
    “Okay, thanks.”
    I took out my phone and called my best friend, Big Michaels. His real name wasn’t Big, it was Oliver, but he was a big kid who’d grown into a big man. He easily stood at six-foot-five or so and was built like a fucking statue. The nickname was fitting. He worked on my bike sometimes, and he had helped me out more than a time or two. I was