Rev Me Up

by Kylie Gilmore

  Lily picked up her wineglass and clinked it against Missy’s. “The worst mother ever.”

  “Thank you, Taylor, you miserable excuse for a mother, for accidentally bringing your two screwed-up daughters together,” Missy said.

  They drank to that.

  ~ ~ ~

  By the second day on the road home, Nico was absolutely miserable. He kept imagining Lily sitting across from him in the cab of the truck. He kept seeing that red hair, the electric blue eyes, her soft curves. Her sweet cherry scent lingered. Her voice was stuck in his head, her laughter, her tears. He had to get her out of his mind before he went insane. This closeness, this pain of letting someone into his heart was exactly what he’d avoided for years. He hadn’t even felt this bad when he got his divorce. That had been a relief. This was a whole different level of pain.

  He hated this feeling. He just hoped she found the happiness she deserved. The kind she could only get without him. Even if he wanted to be with her, he couldn’t. Her dad had disowned her for being with him.

  He called Luke at a rest stop after that second long, torturous day of driving just to get out of his own screwed-up, obsessive head.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke asked. “You don’t sound like yourself.”

  “Nothing. I’m just tired. I’ve been driving for twelve hours straight.”

  “Well, get some rest. How’s the heiress?”

  “We broke up.”

  “What do you mean you broke up? I thought it was just a two-week fling.”

  “I got too close.” His throat closed. “I gotta go. See ya Thursday night.”

  “Hey, Nic, take care of yourself. Don’t let her get to you.”

  Too late, he thought miserably. “Yeah, thanks. Bye.” He stared at his cell, debating calling Lily. Just to check in. He could do that as friends, right?

  Except he felt pathetic. They’d been a helluva lot more than friends. He stared at her picture on his cell. He loved this picture. It was her brave face right after he’d kissed her on the Ferris wheel.

  Don’t call, he told himself. And then he dialed.

  She answered with a cheerful hello that was a slap in the face to his misery. He hung up.

  It’s over, he told himself. She doesn’t need you. Get over it.

  He’d fix this thing with her dad and move on. Lily had more than earned her place as the Spencer heiress, putting up with a lifetime of disdain and hurt. He’d make sure she got her family legacy back and quietly step out of her life forever.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nico made it to the bachelor party. He’d driven home like a madman because Lily’s absence from his truck and from his bed was killing him. He kept expecting to see her or hear her when there was nothing. It had only taken him four days to drive back home as he tried to outrun his memories. He’d crashed into bed and slept fourteen hours. And then he’d been too depressed to get off the sofa. He still had to confront her father, but not yet. Everything hurt too bad. He’d end up killing the guy in a rage.

  He stepped inside Lombardi’s, an Italian restaurant in Eastman his family frequently went to, and headed to the reserved private room in back.

  “Nico!” Vince boomed. “You made it.” His brother clapped him on the back, making him feel guilty that he’d almost missed it just to hook up with Lily. Family came first. He knew that. Lily had turned his head all around.

  “Of course I made it,” Nico replied, forcing a smile. “Wouldn’t miss the last chance to see you in your prime.”

  Vince barked out a laugh. “I’m in my prime, don’t worry about that. Sophia keeps me on my toes.”

  “What’d she say about the stripper?” he asked, genuinely curious what his soon-to-be sister-in-law had to say on the matter. Sophia always spoke her mind and kept Vince in line.

  “She said I could look, but not touch.” Vince shook his head. “What do I need a stripper for when I’ve got the most beautiful woman in the world waiting for me at home? I’m going to pay the stripper a little something extra to give Angel a lap dance.”

  Nico laughed. Angel would be too polite to push the stripper away. He’d likely stay afterward to talk to her about an alternate profession. He couldn’t help himself when it came to bettering the lives of others.

  “Get yourself a beer,” Vince said. “Open bar.”

  Nico headed over to the bar, where his stepbrothers Luke, Jared, and Gabe were all lined up. All three were in deep conversation.

  “What’d I miss?” Nico asked.

  Luke looked guilty. Jared and Gabe were quiet.

  Jared finally broke the silence. “Beer?”

  “Yeah.” He gave the bartender his order and turned back to his brothers. “Were you talking about me?”

  Jared elbowed him. “Nah. We’d be too bored.”

  Nico grabbed the beer set in front of him and took a long pull. “I’m fine.”

  “Luke said he stopped by your place yesterday and you wouldn’t get off the sofa,” Gabe said.

  “I was tired,” he snapped. “I’d just driven cross-country.” He scowled at all three of them and turned to Gabe. “Did you look into that thing I told you about?”

  “I need some kind of proof for defamation of character, not just hearsay,” Gabe said. “But I’m working on it.”

  “Well, business sucks, so there’s proof,” Nico said.

  “What’s this now?” Jared asked.

  Gabe filled him in on Lily’s dad and the blackballing he’d done over Nico’s shop.

  Jared whistled. “That sucks. But don’t worry, Gabe’ll take care of ya.”

  Nico hung his head. That wasn’t even the worst of his problems and none of his brothers could help him with the fact that he’d been stupid enough to let a woman in close enough to destroy him. His heart was in a vise and everything hurt. He’d even called her yesterday to no response. It was hopeless. They were finished.

  A silence fell over the group until Luke spoke up.

  “Told you guys,” Luke said. “Not one smile from this guy after a week of hooking up—”

  Nico grabbed Luke by the front of the shirt. Luke’s dark blue eyes met his, full of sympathy. He dropped his hold on him.

  Jared slung an arm around Nico’s shoulders. “Hey, the stripper is a beauty. I saw her at another bachelor party. Blond, busty, just your type.”

  Nico shook him off and drank more beer. His type had red hair, electric blue eyes, a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Sweet, soft curves. He let out a long, quiet breath of despair.

  “He’s got it bad,” Luke said.

  Nico scowled. “I do not have it bad.”

  “Just own it, man,” Luke said. “If you want her, go after her.”

  “Who the hell are you? Some damn relationship expert?” Luke had never stayed with anyone longer than three months. Nico had been married for an entire hellish year. He knew a lot more than his brother.

  “He has a relationship,” Jared told Gabe.

  “Sounds serious,” Gabe said.

  “It’s not serious!” Nico exclaimed. “It was a fling, and it’s over.” That pissed him off so bad that he slammed his beer on the bar and headed out to the parking lot for some fresh air.

  “Sure hope you catch the bouquet on Saturday!” Jared called.

  Nico flipped him the bird and kept going. He stalked around the block a couple of times, realized he was being an ass on Vince’s big night and headed back in.

  The stripper wore sequins, which reminded Nico of Lily’s mom and her showgirl act, which reminded him of how crappy Lily’s family was and how she suffered because of it. Everything reminded him of Lily. Every damn thing.

  He stood there staring and finally blinked, annoyed at the way his eyes stung. He looked away from the woman dancing and stripping her way toward Angel, who looked nervous. Luke caught Nico’s eye and gave him a slow nod. The silent communication said he knew Nico had got in deep. It said he understood, and he’d be there for him. Luke, more than anyon
e, had helped him get through his divorce. He’d been more hurt over feeling like a failure, due to Ava’s constant harping that he’d never amount to anything, than he’d been over the loss of Ava. This thing with Lily was so much worse.

  Nico blew out a breath and inclined his head at Luke. All that from a nod. Yup. Because that was the kind of brothers they were. Tight. Family.

  Lily deserved some family on her side too. He scowled. Why did every freaking thought circle back around to Lily? She had family now. Her sister. She wasn’t going to be part of his. He was never…he suddenly felt like he couldn’t get enough air.

  “Nico!” Vince hollered. “Grab him!”

  Next thing he knew he was being hustled into a chair, dizzy and sweating profusely. His dad was there, holding the back of his hand to his forehead. “What happened, son?”

  He pushed his dad’s hand away. His brothers and some of Vince’s friends were gathered around, staring at him. “I’m fine.”

  “Is he sick?” Angel asked.

  “You better not be sick,” Vince said, handing him a napkin with ice in it. “You’re my best man.”

  Nico straightened up, pressing the cold compress to his forehead as the sweat evaporated to a cold clamminess. “I’m fine. I’m just tired from the trip.”

  “I’ll take you home,” his dad said. “You need to rest. Allie will take care of you.”

  “Dad, I’m fine.”

  Luke whispered something to his dad, who raised a brow. “Can you walk?” his dad asked.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Nico said. “I’m having fun here. It’s Vince’s night.”

  “Get lost,” Vince said, giving him a light slap upside the head. “You’re bringing the party down with all your collapsing into chairs. I’ll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal dinner. Okay? Let Ma take care of ya.”

  He would’ve argued more, but strong arms were gathered around him—Vince, Luke, Jared, his dad—lifting him and pushing him along. He headed out the door, resolved to let his stepmom give him the loving treatment. He was just far gone enough to really need it.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Invite her for dinner,” his stepmom demanded as she pushed him onto the sofa in the living room of his parents’ house and covered him with a flowery blanket.

  “It’s over,” he said, rolling to his side away from her, wanting nothing more than to drift off to sleep wedged into the sofa he’d grown up lounging on with his brothers. It was comfort, nostalgia—

  “Ow!” he exclaimed.

  She’d jabbed him in the back, and he turned to face her. “What was that for?”

  “Nico Marino, you listen up good. Now I know that Ava did a number on you, but I refuse to watch you suffer now because of it. That was ten years ago. Luke says you’re in love with Lily and that means you go after her. I want to meet her. I want you both to eat the wedding cookies—”

  “I’m not eating damn wedding cookies!”

  She held up a warning finger. “You know it worked for Vince.”

  He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I thought I was getting the loving treatment.”

  “This is the loving treatment! You give yourself a chance to love again. You give her a chance!”

  “Her dad disowned her because of me. I’m no good for her. I’m a nobody. She’s supposed to be with someone at her level.”

  “You’re above their level if that’s how their family treats each other. I’m calling her dad.”

  “No! I’m going to talk to him. I’ll fix it. Just not now. I’m exhausted.”

  She studied him for a moment and brushed a hand through his hair, which did a lot to temper his annoyance with her butting into his life. “Nico,” she said gently, “I hate to see you like this. You deserve some happiness.”

  He got choked up. “I’m just tired.”

  “Get some rest. Then you fix this ridiculous thing with her father and then you bring her to dinner. You hear me?” She tucked the blanket around his shoulders. “Don’t make me get involved. You know I will, and then heads will roll.”

  For her diminutive size, his stepmom had a spine of steel. She’d kept him and his brothers in line with a firm no-nonsense attitude and an always open heart.

  “She’s not answering her cell,” he said quietly. “I don’t even know if she’s back from Seattle.”

  “She has to come home eventually. Now get some sleep.”

  She left and turned out the light. He rolled over, still a little annoyed with the way she insisted he give Lily a chance, even when he knew she could destroy him. But a calm came over him for the first time since he’d left Lily back in L.A.

  The next thing he knew he was out cold.

  ~ ~ ~

  Lily hugged her sister goodbye on Saturday while a cab waited out front for her. It had been a great week doing all sorts of touristy things in Seattle, but, more importantly, just spending time together, talking until late into the night. Though they’d just met, she and Missy connected like they’d been lifelong friends. But now it was time to get back to reality. Time to face her dad.

  And Nico.

  Unfinished business all around.

  “Do you think my dad missed me?” Lily asked. Missy was a straight shooter and didn’t sugarcoat things at all.

  “I know Nico did,” Missy replied.

  Nico had left a voicemail message wishing her well in her new job and saying he hoped they could be friends. But she hadn’t replied because she didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t sure they could be friends after that crazy week together.

  “Come visit me in New York,” Lily said. “I’ll send you a plane ticket.”

  “I will. I just need to get the time off work. I used a week on this visit and have to earn some more time.”

  “Okay. Maybe for the holidays when everyone has time off.”

  The cabbie honked his horn. She was going to miss her flight if she didn’t leave soon.

  “Definitely, then,” Missy said, hugging her one last time. “Bye, little sis.”

  “Bye, big sis!” She rushed out the door and called over her shoulder, “I love you!”

  “Love you too!”

  She nearly lost her footing. It was the first time an "I love you" was returned for Lily. Her father never returned her I love yous. Her ex had avoided them. She headed back home, warmed by the fact that she’d finally found her loving family.

  ~ ~ ~

  Nico stood in a tux at the front of St. Joseph's Catholic church in Clover Park on Saturday alongside the other four best men, his brothers, waiting for the bride to make an appearance. He’d placed several calls to Lily’s dad at home over the last couple of days, none of which had been returned. Face to face was how it had to be, and he just hoped he could keep himself from strangling the man with his bare hands.

  He glanced at Vince standing next to him at the altar, and saw not nerves, but a completely calm, almost gleeful expression. The wedding march began, and Sophia started down the aisle on the arm of her father, his own father’s former archenemy, in what looked like a fancy ball gown. A strapless lacy top part fit her like a glove and poofed at the hips into layers of gown with a long train. A thin veil covered her face and trailed down her back. She looked radiantly happy. He turned back to Vince, who was dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief, a move that normally would’ve invited a well-placed elbow to the ribs, but instead got Nico all choked up. Dammit. He missed Lily.

  Sophia reached Vince’s side and they turned as one to Father Munson. Nico caught his dad’s eye sitting in the front row, holding hands with his stepmom, and his dad winked with a smile. Nico gave him a small smile back, relieved not only to see his dad back to his usual cheerful self, but also that he’d come to terms with his son marrying the daughter of his enemy. His dad had informed them all at the rehearsal dinner last night that he was thrilled with the marriage, as long as her dad stayed with his alpacas. Apparently, Sophia’s dad owned an alpaca farm in Virginia. A lot of good-natur
ed ribbing between the two dads had gone back and forth, but it seemed their feud, begun years ago over Nico’s mother, was forgiven.

  As the ceremony went on, Nico couldn’t help remembering his own wedding to Ava. They’d gotten together after meeting at a bar when they’d both been twenty-one. She was beautiful and ambitious. He hadn’t realized how ambitious until they married and she’d begun harping on him to move up from being a “greasy” mechanic to a manager. At twenty-one that hadn’t been possible. He’d even talked to his boss about a timetable for eventually moving up, and Kevin had told him they’d have to wait and see. That was fine with Nico. He knew he had a lot to learn, and Kevin was the best mechanic on classic cars in the state. He was thrilled to work closely with him on expensive cars that not everyone got a chance to get their hands on. But Ava hadn’t seen it that way. She’d seen it as a failing that he was content. She’d constantly pushed him to do more, complained about their small apartment, told him how sick she was of working at the salon. Her favorite refrain was “it’s up to you to make me a lady of luxury.” He’d promised her he would, but it would take time.

  Ava wasn’t the patient sort. She walked out on him a year later, pregnant and screaming that it was a more successful man’s child. He’d demanded a paternity test as soon as the baby was born. It wasn’t his.

  His mind jerked back to the present as a cheer went up for the happy couple. His six-month-old nephew, Miles, let out a wail at the startling noise from the crowd. His sister-in-law, Zoe, comforted him as Gabe looked on anxiously from where he stood in line with his brothers. Zoe held up her hand and smiled reassuringly in a silent communication that had Gabe settling down.

  Vince and Sophia rushed down the aisle, hand in hand. A pang of envy went through him. They looked so damn happy.

  By the time Nico got to the reception, he was on edge. He worked his way grimly through the motions of greeting family members and friends in attendance. He danced with a bridesmaid whose name he couldn’t even remember because all he could think about was when he’d crashed that wedding with Lily back in Cleveland. Visions of Lily and her crazy dancing kept running through his head. Her abandon, her lush body wiggling, and then holding her close for that slow dance just before they’d been caught and had to leave.