Jacked Up Read Online Free

apparently blossomed into a full-on girls’ night out. Of five women who were either married or engaged.
    Leaving her the token single woman.
    Fabulous.
    “The best solution for that is to just leave it unbuttoned,” Suzanne told her with a wink. She took a loud suck on her straw. “God, this tastes good. I realize there’s no alcohol in it because I’m nursing still, but just the idea that I’m having what could potentially be an adult drink makes me very happy.”
    “How’s the baby?” Kendall asked her.
    Eve stared at her own margarita, not nearly so thrilled with it. She could have a drink any night she wanted. She was single, childless, able to spend all her free time exactly as she wanted. Which usually meant going for a run, eating a premade salad, and falling asleep on the couch watching
Deadliest Catch
, her laptop clutched against her chest as she worked until the last second before her eyes slipped shut.
    She was lonely. Stressed. Bored. As she watched her brothers settle down into family life, she was even a bit envious.
    Pumping her straw up and down vigorously in her drink, she fought the urge to sigh. It wasn’t like she had a
bad
life. It was just getting old, damn quick.
    “The baby is amazing. I love that little squirt more than I can describe. But he’s seven weeks old, and this is the first time I have left him for more than five minutes, so I actually don’t want to talk about him. He’s with my husband, and if I think about that too hard, I might burst into tears. Ryder is a great father but he hasn’t spent any time alone with Track. I’m always there.”
    “It’s a challenging task parenting a child when your husband is gone every week for several days.” Imogen pushed her glasses up her nose, her dark brown hair sleek and shiny in a way that Eve had to admit she envied. “That’s something we all have had or will have to contend with. Well, except Eve.”
    Except Eve. There it was. Not that she could deny it. “No, I think I would rather gouge my own eyes out than marry a driver. No offense to any of you, but I’ve spent my whole life around the track, and I don’t want to marry it.”
    “I don’t know. I think I’ve married the man, not the sport,” Suzanne said.
    “But can you really separate the two?” Tamara asked. “I swore I’d never marry a driver again after I lost Pete. And it was damn hard raising kids alone after he died, but I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy when he was alive either. He was barely home.”
    “But isn’t Eve essentially married to the track herself? She is just as immersed in the sport as us, if not more so.” Imogen lifted her drink up, the giant glass comical set against her elegant face. “I would almost think it would be difficult at this point to find someone outside of racing, because one, you spend all your time both personal and professional, involved in racing. And two, who could possibly understand your unique lifestyle if they’re not involved in the sport?”
    That was a nice verbal baseball bat to the head. Eve shoved her drink away, stomach suddenly sour. “Well, that’s good to know. If I don’t marry a driver and no one else will have me, that leaves me, what—sponsors, owners, PR reps, and crew members to choose from? Most of whom are married? So my dating pool is the size of a raindrop.”
    “I didn’t say no one else would have you. What I was saying is that dating for women in stock car racing is unique. Rather like dating is for women in law enforcement.”
    “I’m not a cop. I’m just a PR rep. I think the real problem when it comes to dating is that I have no free time.” Actually, Eve had no idea what the problem was. She just knew that she hadn’t been on a date since the previous winter and hadn’t had sex in way longer than should be legal.
    “Eve does work an awful lot,” Tamara said. “Which is why I worry. I don’t want her most meaningful relationship to be with her cell phone.”
    If her