Small Town Girl

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Aubrey tried to gather her dignity before walking back down the stairs. She had no idea how she was going to break the news to Vivian that she’d failed. Failure wasn’t something Aubrey did; if anything, she refused to accept anything but victory. All these years later and she was still trying to prove her parents wrong.

After she’d told her dad she wasn’t going to work for him—and he said she’d be back begging for his help—she made a promise to herself that she would never ask for his help again. If she didn’t get Marco to agree, then her job would be in jeopardy.

And if she was lucky, her boss, Vivian would understand. Internally she laughed at herself. Vivian and luck did not belong in the same sentence.

Feeling utterly defeated, she spun on her four-inch heels and headed back down the stairs. She got in her rental and looked down at her phone. A notification flashed in the corner and she clicked on the icon to see an email from Patrick, her photographer.

His excitement was palpable as he explained all the ways he wanted to display the chair and whatever other pieces she could snag.

She dropped her phone into her lap and rested her head against the steering wheel. If she lost her job, she would bounce back. If life had taught her anything, it was that she was resilient, but she couldn’t say the same for the other people on her team.

If Vivian fired her, there would be no one there to fight for them. Patrick just signed a new lease and Roni, her assistant, had come back from maternity leave not even a month ago. Losing her job wasn’t an option. Besides, she dealt with worse things in life. Marco Moretti didn’t scare her. As long as she kept this strictly business, she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

She got out of the car, her shoulders tall in determination, and when she turned, she saw Marco making his way down the stairs. He turned to the parking lot and closed his eyes, his steps faltering for a moment, like he’d forgotten something before keeping his head down and walking toward the road.

“Hey!” she said as she hurried after him. Unfortunately, four-inch heels on a mixture of broken shells and gravel was a really bad combination. “Marco!” she called out again, but he continued to ignore her. “Where are you going?”

He turned back to her. “As far away from you as possible.”

“That’s real mature,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Besides, I know all your favorite hang-outs, so there is no way you can hide from me.”

“It’s worth a shot,” he said.

“At least let me give you a ride.”

“So you can harass me the whole time?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

“No thanks.”

“Where’s your car anyway?” she asked. “Wreck it?” He always did drive too damn fast.

He swung his dark and sinister gaze on her. “No, that’s your department.”

Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to say in the moment, especially when she wanted something from him. The haunting sound of metal twisting and breaking against a tree trunk, glass shattering all around them, and the strong scent of antifreeze popped into her head. Red and blue lights bounced around the c*****e, making it feel like she was there all over again. Her chest ached with despair as the click of the handcuffs snapped in her head.

She fought against the memories and pushed them away. Remembering that night was an invitation down a black road and she preferred to stay on the bright side.

“My sister borrowed it to—” His words cut off, and he ran a hand through his floppy black hair. The muscles in his arms pressed tightly against his black t-shirt and the veins bulged as his hands fell back to its side. “She went to see our dad.”

“Oh,” Aubrey said.

His father had been an off-limit topic, but that didn’t mean Aubrey wasn’t aware of all the details to Marco and his father’s rocky relationship. Knowing someone as long and as intimately as she’d known Marco, there was no way she wouldn’t know. Marco’s dad’s arrest for d**g trafficking and other charges became a part of who he was, whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not.

“How is Ella?” she asked, fully aware that asking about his father would only turn into disaster, but asking about his little sister was practically waving a white flag.

The strong set of his jaw softened. “Good. She met someone and is leaving for California in a couple months.” There was a slight edge to his tone, but there was also a tinge of happiness.

That was as shocking as Marco being the one to open the door earlier. The Moretti siblings were tightly woven; their roots in Willow Cove were so deep they’d seemed utterly impossible to sever. It was why Aubrey and Marco had never worked out. He refused to leave, and she refused to stay.

“California. Wow.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I told her if she comes back speaking like a Valley Girl, I’m disowning her.”

Despite herself she laughed. “You would never.” Marco loved his sister more than anything, and even helped take care of her after his mom died and dad went to jail.

“Fine,” he said. “But I’d be damn tempted to.” That crooked smirk of his appeared briefly, sending a rush of warmth through her. That smirk was dangerous, making her lose all common sense, but she was older now and could control her urges.

She nodded toward her rental. “Let me give you a ride.”

“No.”

“I promise not to harass you.”

He smiled, and a part of her melted inside. He looked toward the car and then back to her. His dark eyes were like two black holes that could suck her into his orbit. She reminded herself again that this was business. Swooning over clients was not only inappropriate, it was completely unprofessional, and she was a professional, damn it.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he said.

If this was anything but business, she might’ve agreed with him. “It’s just a ride, Marco.”

“You and I both know it’s never just a ride.”

She couldn’t even argue. He was right. Nothing had ever been black and white with them. It had been a messy mixture, but that was then. “Maybe so, but a lot of time has passed. We’re different people now. Why can’t it just be a ride?”

He was quiet for a moment before meeting her gaze. “You promise you won’t harass me about your magazine?”

She dragged her finger over her chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“You said that once before, you know.”

She eyed him curiously as she wracked her brain for the memory, but she came up blank.

“You don’t remember, do you?”

“I’ve said and done a lot of things. I can’t remember all of them.”

“I guess it wasn’t as important as I thought. Then again, it’s you we’re talking about.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“All you care about is yourself and damn everyone else.”

His words were like a swift kick to the gut. Their weight knocked into her, and she teetered back. Yes, she had been selfish time and time again, but she didn’t only care about herself. “That’s not fair and you know it. I cared about you.”

“Which is why you walked out on me… What was it? Twice?”

Anger and frustration boiled inside her. “You walked out on me, too! Or did you conveniently forget because it’s not fitting your current agenda?” It was five years ago, and she’d thought they’d finally got beyond all the bullshit keeping them apart, then he’d walked out on her. No explanation, leaving her to question every single second until that very moment. So while she’d left him not once, but twice, he’d left her, too, but when he’d left they weren’t stupid kids. The heartbreak had left a bigger mark, never fully healing.

His eyes crashed into hers, and she stared back, refusing to be the first to look away.

“Fine,” he finally said, then swiped the keys out of her hand. “But I’m driving.”

“No!” She tried to get the keys back, but his reflexes were still inhumanely fast. “I’m down as the driver. If something happens with you behind the wheel—”

He snapped toward her, his face mere inches from hers, the smell of wood and spice surrounding her and making her mouth water. “The Aubrey I knew would say to hell with the rules.”

“I already told you. We’re not the same people anymore, especially me. I don’t do careless things like I used to.”

“That’s a damn shame. But I’m still driving.” He stepped away from her and jumped in the driver side. He rolled the passenger window down and glanced out to where she still stood. “You getting in or what?”

The rental was on her company card and so was the insurance. If something happened, she’d be in a world of trouble.

“Come on, Aubs,” he said, and the way his nickname for her rolled off his tongue she couldn’t deny him.

She opened the door and plopped into the passenger seat. “Just keep your eyes on the road and no speeding.”

“Deal,” he said as he spun the tires and peeled out of the parking lot, making it obvious that some things never changed.

***

Marco had no idea why the hell he’d gotten in the car with her. He had to have lost his damn mind. He might have loved her many times before, but every time it ended, it was like another piece of his heart was ripped from his chest. There wasn’t much left at this point, and he really needed to protect the pathetic pieces that were left.

But when he turned to her, blond hair getting tossed in the slight sea breeze, brown eyes as warm as fresh brownies from the oven and lips so damn kissable it made his head spin, he couldn’t find the strength to walk away like he had before.

Besides, it was just a ride. How much trouble could they possibly get themselves into?

“You still have that old Firebird?” she asked as he turned onto the main road. It had always been like that with them. One minute they were arguing and the next it was if nothing had happened.

“She had one too many bumps and bruises,” he said, a smile forming on his face as he remembered how many good times he’d had in that old car. “Sadly, had to put her to rest. I have a Mustang now.”

“Did you have a service? I mean you loved that car more than me.” Her hand flung to her lips, and she let out an embarrassed breath.

He glanced over at her and smiled as she let her fingers fall to her lap. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip. “There was nothing I loved more than you,” he admitted. “Not even my car.”

The words hung between them as he slowed for a stop sign. Her lips parted as if to say something, but whatever it was he didn’t want to hear it. He revved the engine and burned rubber down the street.

“Marco!” she cried out, grabbing for the oh-s**t handle above her.

“Come on, the girl I knew would be laughing and cheering me on right now.”

“I’m not sixteen anymore. Or eighteen. Or twenty-one, for that matter.”

“So you turned twenty-six and became a chicken s**t?”

Her body tense, hand still gripping the handle above her, she turned her eyes to him. “Can you just slow down before we get pulled over?”

“We’re not going to get pulled over.” Just as the words fell from his lips, the familiar red and blue lights flashed behind him.

Shit.

“Oh my god! I told you,” Aubrey said, but Marco just laughed. “This is not funny!”

He pulled the car to the shoulder and put it in park, then met her gaze with a smile. “Of course it is. It’s just like old times.”

“I knew this was a bad idea,” she said. “Your name isn’t down as a driver. This is going to somehow get back to my boss.” Her eyes were wide with fear, and damn it if he didn’t want to take her face in his hands, run a soothing stroke of his thumb across the apple of her cheek, and tell her there was nothing to worry about.

There was a knock at the window, jolting him out of his trance. He rolled it down, glancing up at Reid, the local sheriff.