Welcome to Pembrooke: the complete Pembrooke series

by Prince, Jessica

  “Yeah, we’ll do that,” I replied. With a tilt of his chin my way, and a kiss to Eliza’s cheek, Quinn headed out the door. Eliza turned to retreat, but I grabbed hold of her wrist before she could escape.

  “You know he’s married with a kid, right?” I said on a low growl. “You really think you should be flirting with him?”

  With a sharp yank, she pulled her wrist from my grasp, but instead of leaving, she leaned in, speaking in a furious hiss only loud enough for me to hear. “That wasn’t flirting, asshole. That was me being nice to someone who’s always been nice to me. It’s called common courtesy. Maybe you should try it some time.”

  “Eliza—”

  “And for the record, his wife passed away. But you’d know that if your inconsiderate ass came home or followed up with your friends every once in a while.”

  Shit. Just when I thought I couldn’t have felt more like an asshole in the weeks I’d been back in Pembrooke, I stuck my foot in my mouth and did something to prove there were even more layers to my asshole-ness than I originally thought.

  “If you’re done with your meal, please feel free to pay your tab, tip the waitress, and leave.” Her tone might have sounded polite, but the way she said it meant it wasn’t so much a suggestion as a demand.

  “Shit, Eliza. I’m sorry,” I breathed, running a hand through my hair.

  “You know, you’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

  “Because I mean it!” I bit back.

  “Then stop saying it and start showing it, Ethan. What have you actually done to prove to me or anybody in this town that you’re sorry for being a shitty friend or a shitty brother for the past six years?”

  Jesus Christ, she hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d changed. The Eliza I knew was always headstrong, but she’d never been one to make a scene or give someone a verbal ass kicking, even when they deserved it. Clearly, with age came a sharp tongue where Eliza Anderson was concerned. And fuck if it wasn’t sexy as hell to see her reacting with so much passion.

  Before I had a chance to apologize again, or maybe do something stupid like tell her just how gorgeous I found her in that very moment. Another presence interrupted our standoff. And, unlike Quinn’s appearance, that particular blast from the past was unwanted, and very unwelcome.

  “Hi, Ethan. I thought that was you.”

  Even if the feminine voice wasn’t familiar to me — in that nails-on-a-chalkboard kind of way — the way Eliza’s entire body went rigid and her face blanked would have told me exactly who was standing behind her.

  I knew good and well that Eliza couldn’t stand my on-again-off-again ex-girlfriend Shannon, and she had every right. I’d started dating her my freshman year of high school. She was a year ahead of me in school, sixteen years old, and more than willing to put out with one of the guys from the varsity football team. And seeing as I was a dumbass kid who was only thinking with his dick, I thought she’d walked on water, and throughout the next four years, we broke up and got back together more times than I could count on either hand. She cheated, had a nasty jealous streak, was a spoiled, entitled little brat, and my sister never liked her. Those red flags should have been enough for me to realize that not only wasn’t she a good girlfriend, but she pretty much sucked as a human being all together.

  Over the years, one of Shannon’s hot buttons was my relationship with Eliza. Because she didn’t understand what our friendship was like back then, and she felt that she was the only person without a dick I should have been allowed to talk to, she took a distinct dislike to Eliza. And let it show.

  She treated Eliza like shit whenever she thought I wouldn’t find out about it, bullying her and being as cruel and nasty as a bitch like her could possibly be, thinking her pussy was enough to keep me on a leash while she secretly treated my best friend like shit. We fought about it constantly, because if I wasn’t there to see it myself, someone else always managed to tell me what evil Shannon was up to when I wasn’t around. Because Eliza was so young and quiet, she most certainly wouldn’t have told me herself.

  It wasn’t until I pulled my head out of my ass and finally noticed just how closed off Eliza became whenever Shannon was around that I finally pulled the cord, ending things for good.

  But Shannon, being the worst kind of bitch, didn’t use our breakup as a reason to stop her torment of Eliza. She’d never been one to apply herself to much of anything, so while I was in college, she was still in Pembrooke, trying to hold on to her old glory days from high school. I could remember multiple occasions where I’d have to drive my ass all the way from Laramie just so I could hold Eliza while she cried after Shannon had done something particularly mean. I hated not being in the same town to stop my jealous ex, but Eliza swore up and down she didn’t need my protection.

  That didn’t stop me from hauling my ass over to Shannon’s house on multiple occasions and ripping the woman a new asshole. Unfortunately it never helped.

  Suddenly discovering that venomous woman was still living in the same town as my sweet, mild-mannered (or at least she used to be) best friend made every muscle in my body lock, ready to battle.

  “Shannon,” I spoke through clenched teeth, refusing to take my eyes off Eliza as the other woman bumped against her shoulder in an effort to get closer to me.

  “I heard you were back,” she said in a low voice that I was sure men who didn’t realize what a blood-sucking shrew she was would find seductive. I wasn’t one of them. Reaching across the table, she ran a painted nail along the back of my hands as she continued with that ridiculous fucking voice. “It’s been a long time. I was hoping we could catch up.”

  “Hasn’t been long enough, and as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing to catch up on. I’m just here, catching up with an old friend and trying to enjoy my meal. So…” Anyone else would have taken the hint and taken off before they did something to embarrass themselves. But not her. Because heartless skanks had no shame.

  “Well I’ll join you,” she said cheerfully, shoving Eliza out of the way in order to claim the bench across from me.

  My mouth opened to object, but my girl got there first, shocking the hell out of me while filling my chest with pride all at the same time. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she said in a syrupy sweet voice.

  Shannon looked at her with a hateful glare. “What? Why?”

  “There’s a sign clearly posted outside that states ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ and seeing as half your shirt looks like it was ripped off by a mountain lion or something before you walked in here, your clothing choices aren’t meeting the standards of this particular establishment.” And just to add insult to injury, she added, sweetly, “Maybe try the Denny’s on the other side of town? I just hope their no dogs allowed policy won’t count for you.”

  “Who the hell do you think you are, you stupid, frumpy bitch?!” Shannon started to stand, but I shot from my seat and stood in front of Eliza faster. After that display I had no doubt she could do more than just hold her own, but she’d said her piece. If Shannon was stupid enough not to get that she wasn’t wanted, I was going to clear things up. There was no reason for Eliza to be forced to engage any further than she already had.

  “No one invited you to sit here,” I told her, the tone of my voice causing her eyes to grow wide.

  “But… Ethan—”

  I cut her off, not feeling bad in the slightest. “I didn’t ask you to join me for lunch, and I sure as fuck don’t want you sitting across from me while I’m trying to keep my food down. So since Eliza doesn’t want you here, and I sure as shit don’t want you here, there’s no reason for you to stay.”

  “Babe, just let me—”

  “We have nothing to catch up on seeing as the last words I ever spoke to you were that if I ever found out you so much as looked at Eliza wrong, I’d make your life miserable. You clearly didn’t listen, so it looks like I’ll have to make good on my promise.”

  I could hear th
e muffled voices and movement from the people straining to hear, but other than Shannon’s spiteful words, they hadn’t been able to hear the full exchange, which did nothing but make her look like an even bigger fool since most of the town had always thought Eliza to be the sweetest.

  “You’re still standing here,” a sarcastic voice spoke up from behind me. I barely suppressed an eye roll when I turned to look over my shoulder to give Eliza a really? Could you not right now look.

  She shrugged, but had the grace to look properly scolded.

  It was the pure hate in Shannon’s voice that forced my head to turn back around as she spoke, “You always chose her over me.” She spit as her eyes shot fire in my direction. “That twisted, weird little relationship you guys had back them was creepy and it’s still fucking creepy today.”

  I shrugged. “Rather be in a relationship only you would consider creepy than stuck with a heartless bitch like you.”

  She moved to slap me, a motion I would have had no problem blocking had a particular little ball of fire not jumped in front of me and grabbed Shannon’s wrist before I could. “You slap him and, so help me God, I’ll rip your hair out at the roots. Now get the hell out of my building before I have someone call the cops and escort your ass out.”

  We both watched in silence as a red-faced, clearly embarrassed Shannon spun on her hooker heels and stomped out of the café.

  “Well…” I breathed, gaining Eliza’s attention. “That was fun.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned and headed back for the kitchen, but not before I saw the corners of her mouth twitching with a suppressed smile.

  Progress.

  14

  Eliza

  “So what do you think? I’m wondering if the choreography’s going to be too hard for my intermediate class.”

  Lilly’s voice jerked me out of my distracting thoughts. “Sorry. What?”

  With a sigh and eye roll, she moved over to where her iPod was docked and turned it off just as another song started to play before coming to sit next to me on the floor where my back was resting against the wall. “If you’re not going to pay attention, you might as well not even be here,” she grumbled, but I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t really mad, just perturbed at my lack of attention.

  “I don’t even know why you ask me to come down here and watch your routines. I don’t know the first thing about dancing. How could I possibly be any help to you?” I asked, watching our reflection in the mirrored wall across from us as I nudged her shoulder with my own.

  She nudged back. “That’s the point. Most of the people in the audience during the Winter Showcase don’t know the first thing about dance,” she answered, talking about the recital her students put on every Christmas season for the entire town. “All they know is that they enjoy watching it. That’s what you’re here for, to tell me what you’re watching is pretty so I know the rest of the town will like it.”

  I smiled at her through the mirror even though she was sitting right next to me. “So all I’m here for is to tell you that you’re pretty?”

  “Exactly!”

  We both burst into laughter. Once we’d gotten that under control, Lilly spoke up. “So I heard there was a kerfuffle at the café the other day.”

  “Seriously?” I chuckled. “Who says kerfuffle?”

  She gave me a tiny shrug. “Not enough people, if you ask me. It’s a great word.”

  I gave that some thought. “It actually is. We should try and bring it back.”

  “On it. Now stop trying to change the subject. What happened at the café?”

  I sighed, hating just how well Lilly knew me. “It wasn’t a big deal, really,” I fibbed, trying to downplay the entire thing. “Shannon showed up.”

  “God, I can’t stand that woman,” Lilly seethed, voicing exactly what I was thinking. “She never goes in there. She knows that’s your domain. Why on earth would she start coming in now?”

  I turned my head and gave her a don’t-ask-stupid-questions look. “Why do you think? Ethan was in there. She must think she still has some sort of claim on his dick or something.”

  “Brilliant,” she gritted sarcastically. “It’s like high school for you all over again.”

  I thought of what Ethan had said to Shannon about the last time they talked. “Ethan said something interesting during that whole scene. Apparently, the last time him and Shannon talked, he threatened her about messing with me.”

  Lilly’s eyes got big. “No way. You believe him?”

  “Well,” I thought about it. “It would make sense. After he went off to college, she turned into an even bigger bitch than before, doing her best to make my life a living Hell. I never told him about it, but one day it all just… stopped. She’d give me dirty looks whenever I’d see her, but all the childish bullshit stopped. I thought she’d just gotten tired of picking on someone who refused to engage.”

  “And now you think Ethan had something to do with it?”

  “You should have seen her face,” I admitted, somewhat gleefully. “As soon as he said he was going to make good on his threat, she freaked. Then she got pissed. She even tried to slap him.”

  “Damn it!” Lilly’s sharp words echoed loudly through the open space. “I always miss the good stuff!”

  “Poor Lilly,” I teased. “I’ll make sure to call you beforehand next time there’s drama.”

  She grinned hugely. “Much appreciated.” As we sat in silence in the empty studio, I began to hope that she’d drop the subject of Ethan. I should have known better. Lilly was nothing if not persistent.

  “So, he stood up for you in front of an entire restaurant full of people, almost earning himself a bitch slap in the process.”

  I shot her a side-eyed look. “What’s your point?”

  “No point,” she said a little too casually. “Just wondering if this means you’ve forgiven him. First stalking, now going head to head with evil exes that threaten you… I have to say, the boy’s been pretty busy lately.”

  “Lilly—” I started, warningly, a sense of growing agitation coming over me as she gave life to exactly what I’d been feeling ever since Ethan’s return. I naively believed that if I could just ignore everything I was feeling in regards to him, if I could just wait him out until he eventually left, that I’d be fine, but the longer he persisted the harder it was for me to keep faith that my life would eventually go back to what it had been before he re-entered the picture and disrupted everything. For all these reasons, I’d been avoiding any discussion of Ethan with Lilly. And it seemed like she’d finally had enough.

  “Don’t you ‘Lilly’ me, like you really think that tone of voice scares me at all.”

  “Look, I really don’t want to talk about this right now, okay? I just want…” I trailed off, suddenly not sure what it was I actually wanted.

  “To keep your head buried in the sand until he leaves again, so you can act like nothing’s changed,” she finished for me.

  “Yes. That. Exactly that. And if you were a true friend, you’d help me dig that hole then go about your business.”

  Her chest puffed out with something akin to pride. “Lucky for you, I’m an exceptionally shitty friend.”

  “Yay. So lucky,” I grumbled flatly.

  She clapped her hands and rubbed them together gleefully. “Now, let’s go home, crack open a bottle of wine or three, get completely annihilated, and you can tell me all about how you’re eventually going to cave when it comes to the yummy Ethan Prewitt.”

  I looked over at my best friend, trying my hardest not to smile. “I hate you. But you have wine, so I’m willing to overlook your short comings for the time being.”

  “Big of you,” she chuckled as she stood and reached for my hand to help me off the floor. “Now let’s go get shitfaced.”

  That was the best plan I’d heard in days.

  * * *

  I absolutely loved Fall in Pembrooke. Living in a valley surrounded by
mountains covered in trees as the leaves turned different shades of red, orange, and yellow was the kind of beauty most other places lacked. The chill in the air was enough to make you grab for a light jacket and scarf, but not enough to bite at your skin when you went outside. But my favorite thing about fall was the smell of wood smoke that seemed to fill the air as people in town began lighting fires in their fireplaces. Fall gave you that giddy, excited feeling that winter was just around the corner, and while most people viewed Thanksgiving as the start of the holiday season, for me, it all began with Halloween.

  “Thank you so much for helping,” Harlow panted as she dropped the box of decorations on the linoleum floor.

  “I help every year,” I laughed. “Eventually you have to stop thanking me and just accept that it’s a given.”

  “Oh, shut up and help me get these spider webs set up before the game starts,” she said with a grin. It was Friday evening and just like I’d done for the past several years, Chloe, Lilly, and I were helping Harlow set up the high school gymnasium for the Halloween dance which would take place once the football game ended. It was tradition in our town for everyone to attend the game just before Halloween in costume, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the sport — anymore at least — I still loved coming to this particular game. Truth be told, it was one of the only games I attended each year since Ethan graduated high school. With people like Shannon in the stands, my love for football had started to lose some of its luster. Then everything with Ethan happened and… well, it stopped holding any appeal at all.

  “Did you bring your costume to change into?” Chloe asked, pulling me out of my head.

  I stepped up onto the ladder and taped the spider webs in place. “Yep,” I answered as I climbed back down to move the ladder a few feet and repeat the process.