Well—that had been the plan, anyway. But things had gone horribly wrong from the moment Mont had pointed out Jacob shouldn’t drive himself with a fractured wrist, and it had all gone downhill from there.

“Then again,” Alex continued thoughtfully. “Maybe he is cursing at you. You never can tell, with Jacob.”

Jacob turned to glare at her. “Why are you here again? I’m quite sure it takes one Montrose to drive a car.”

Alex grinned, looking unnervingly like her brother. “I’m here in case you break down, Jake.”

“Bullshit. You’re here for the drama.”

“Who, me?” She pressed a hand to her chest and pasted on an expression of shock. “God, man. Have a bit of faith.”

Tessa giggled.

Jacob let his head fall back against the seat. “I’m going to die of frustration before I ever see her again.”

“Was that a sex joke?” Tessa asked.

Alex snorted. “Save those for Eve, my guy.”

“Maybe he’s practicing.”

“Ha! Maybe he’s—”

“I appreciate you driving me, Tess, I really do,” Jacob said, “but would you two please shut the fuck up?”

“Woo. Touchy.” Tessa smirked, hit the brake for the thousandth time in the last ten minutes, then pulled up the handbrake. In front of them, what looked like a mile of cars sat bumper to bumper in the late morning sunlight. It was, Jacob thought dully, a beautiful day. Pity he wouldn’t be able to enjoy it after his head inevitably exploded.

“You’re thinking about Eve again, aren’t you?” Alex prodded. “You ever consider, I don’t know—calling her?”

Well, there was a diamond fucking idea. Except . . . “I’m trying to be romantic. You know, like in books. She’s into that stuff,” he mumbled. “Anyway, you know I’m better in person.”

“Oh, yeah. Good point,” Alex allowed.

“I think it’s sweet,” Tess said. “I think she’ll be thrilled.”

Jacob’s heart leapt. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. Unless she hates your guts for sending her away, in which case she might laugh in your face and tell you to jog on.”

Jacob’s heart sank. “Oh.”

Tess winced. “Oh my God, Jake, no, that was a joke! I’m sorry. I was joking.”

Unfortunately, the situation she’d laid out seemed all too likely. But Jacob couldn’t see a world in which he didn’t try his fucking hardest for Eve Brown, and if that meant setting himself up for the most brutal rejection of his life, well. He supposed he’d just have to deal with it.

“Leave him alone, Tess,” Alex ordered, leaning between their seats. “Hey, do you hear that? Wicked purr.” She squinted at the road. “Is that a Triumph?”

“Alexandra,” Jacob said, “I truly could not give a fuck.” But he saw the Triumph—couldn’t miss it, a flash of blue on the other side of the road, steered by a lanky bloke in leather, winding through the traffic with enviable speed. Still, when the temporary traffic lights on that side turned red, the bike had to stop just like everyone else.