Ella turned her gaze to him. Everyone knew the story of Marco and Aubrey, but Marco never talked about it. Ever. Aubrey was completely off-limits and for good reason. The girl practically destroyed his life, took away his chance at leaving this place, all because he loved her. And he didn’t just love her, he was soul deep, unconditionally devoted to her. He’d never been the same since.
Ella never thought she’d understand him, but after everything, she was seeing Marco a little clearer.
“How do you move on?” she asked.
“You just do. Piece by piece, you gather yourself, force yourself to keep going until one day you do it without telling yourself to.”
“It hurts so badly,” she said, her façade finally crumbling under the pressure of her sorrow.
Marco draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her tight against him. “I know. It gets easier. Not right away but eventually. I can promise you that much.”
She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she was tired of tip-toeing around, afraid to make waves. It wasn’t the Moretti way, and it was time she stopped trying to avoid the hard topics because life was full of them.
“Do you still think about her?” she asked.
Marco was silent for a long moment, staring out into the horizon. He played with the beer tab, wiggling it back and forth when he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “That’s the thing about love. Once you give your heart to someone, they’ll always own a piece of it. So yeah, I still think about her.”
“Do you think either of us will ever get our happy endings?” She was never big on fairy tales, but she had always hoped that one day she’d at least be happy.
“I do,” he said with confidence. “We’ve been through enough in this lifetime; it’s the least the universe can do.”
“I hope so.” Though, she wasn’t feeling too confident in the universe right now. If anything, she felt like it was conspiring against her.
“And hey.” He nudged her shoulder. “I’m sorry about… well, you know.”
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Marco didn’t apologize, and if he was, it must’ve been something serious.
“Oh, you don’t know.” He nodded, drumming his fingers against his thigh.
“Don’t know what?”
He broke the cap off from fidgeting with it and took a long sip. “Kind of punched your boyfriend.”
“Marco!”
“What? I saw you run off crying. He asked for it.”
She had been so consumed in her own grief she hadn’t noticed Marco had seen any of that. If she had, she could’ve reasoned with him and prevented the confrontation. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. I barely touched him.” Marco’s idea of “barely touching” put Enzo in the hospital with a broken nose once when they were teenagers, so his words didn’t hold any weight. For all she knew, he could’ve knocked Lucas unconscious. But Lucas wasn’t her problem anymore. He’d made that decision.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said, feeling shame and disappointment for having to point it out.
“Maybe not, but the guy loves you.”
She rolled her eyes. “How do you know?”
Marco looked at her straight on and smirked. “He told me.”
“He told you that?” she asked not believing him at all.
“Yeah, I said he did,” Marco said, annoyance filling his tone.
Could Lucas really have told her brother that he loved her? He hadn’t even told her. She knew what she felt for him was real, but she also thought that maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was lust and not love. But if he told Marco then maybe what they shared really was love. Maybe love didn’t follow a timeline. If it was real and right it didn’t matter how many days it took to notice it.
“Did he really?”
“Are you calling me liar?” Marco asked, looking at her with curiosity.
“You’re the last person I’d call a liar,” she said and meant it. “I don’t think you know how to lie.”
He laughed. “There’s no point. It only complicates things.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So what happened?” Marco asked as he yanked up on the rope. “Or are we going to have to go through this entire six pack before you finally tell me?”
It was tempting. “Would you believe me if I told you that he thinks I lied to him when I didn’t?”
“Okay, I’m confused. I need you to explain a little more here.”
Ella laughed. The whole situation was one big complicated mess. “I’m assuming you saw the flyers.”
“About the fundraiser to save Joe’s?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Lucas told me about Joe’s situation, and I suggested a fundraiser, but Lucas refused the idea because he thought Joe would hate it. Then today there are flyers all over town.”
“And Lucas thinks it was you who did it,” Marco said, piecing the puzzle together.
“I’m the only person he told, but I swear on Mom’s life, that I did not make those flyers. I didn’t tell anyone either. Not even Cami or Krissy.” Angry tears pricked her eyes. She felt like she was being punished for lying to her family and sneaking around to see Lucas. Like it was the universe’s sick way of teaching her a lesson. It really was out to get her.
Marco wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “I believe you, El.”
“At least somebody does.” She rested her head on Marco’s shoulder, grateful to have him in her life. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said. “He has a life in California, and I’ll never leave Willow Cove. We were doomed from the start.”
“This is some Romeo and Juliet shit right here.”
“Except that story ended in death, and the only thing that died today is my pride.”
“Come on.” Marco nudged her arm. “I’ll take you home.”
She hugged his arm. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to sit here a little longer.”
“Whatever you want, sis. Whatever you want.”
Chapter 21
Lucas and Joe sat down in his tiny office, pressing an ice pack to his eye. His dad was back at the house, resting from his trip. According to Joe, they talked and while they still had a lot of healing to do, it seemed they’d found a common ground.
It amazed Lucas how one side of his life was slowly repairing itself and the other was in complete and utter shambles.
“I’m sorry, Grandpa. I never should’ve trusted a Moretti.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is. I trusted her… fell in love with her when you told me to stay away. If I would’ve just listened to you…” He shrugged. “I could have avoided this mess.”
“What is with the negative energy in this room?” Martha asked as she breezed in, not caring that she was interrupting. “You know what you two need? Lavender.”
“Martha, this isn’t a good time,” Joe said.
She waved her hand at him to shush. “When is it ever a good time?” She came over to the desk and sat on the edge.
“Heard you got yourself in a little tizzy with one of the Moretti brothers,” she said, turning her green eyes onto Lucas.
“I don’t know if I’d call it a tizzy. He punched me.”
“They are fiercely protective of each other. So, tell me, doll, what’d you do to provoke him?”
Lucas didn’t want to have this conversation, but he figured the faster he aired his business to Martha the faster she’d leave, and he and Joe could go back to figuring out their next steps.
“Ella and I got in a fight, and she walked away crying.”
Martha snapped her head to the side, looking at his with displeasure. “Don’t you tell me you made that girl cry? She is as sweet as pie.”
“She’s also a liar.”
“Ella?” Martha laughed. “No child, she is not. You’re mixing her up with someone else.”
“Martha, this is not the time,” Joe said, but Martha ignored him.
“She did lie,” Lucas sai
d. “She’s the only person I told about this.” He picked up the flyer then slammed it back down. “And she came up with the fundraiser idea.”
“Oh dear,” Martha said.
“So yes, she lied to me. I asked her to promise to keep it between us, and she went out plastering it all over the damn town anyway. I don’t know what her motive was, but it doesn’t matter. She betrayed me.”
“You got it all wrong.” Martha said.
“No, I’m pretty sure I got it all right,” Lucas said, the tension in his neck tightening with each word.
“I made the flyers,” Martha said, and Lucas’ head snapped to her, trying to process what she was saying.
“Excuse me?”
Martha stood from the desk and swept her gaze to both of them. “The other day when I brought the salt lamp I overheard your conversation. I wanted to help. Joe’s done so much for me and the community. I honestly thought I was helping.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Lucas said, reclining in his seat. Ella hadn’t lied to him. She’d been telling the truth the entire time. Relief rushed through him like cold water on a hot summer day, but it quickly turned uncomfortable, drowning him in regret. If she was telling the truth then he accused her of being a liar.
Oh god, he messed up.
“You made these?” Joe asked, grabbing the flyer off the desk and holding it up to Martha. His blue eyes narrowed, anger evident in the set of his shoulders.
She, as usual, was undeterred. “Someone had to do it. Your ass is too damn stubborn to admit you need help.”
“Why do you think I called my grandson? To help me!”
“Oh please, that was just an excuse to get him here. You weren’t going to take any of his suggestions into consideration.”
“You are insufferable!” Joe yelled.
“And you’re an ass!”
Lucas ignored the two of them as he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to fix things with Ella. He finally found someone he could see himself spending the rest of his life with and he screwed it all up. He needed to not only fix what he broke, but he also needed to find a way to fix this stupid feud. Until the Prescotts and Morettis could end the decades old rivalry, he and Ella could never have their happily ever after.
***
Hours later, Lucas was still at Joe’s desk nowhere near solving his problem with Ella or the problem with the restaurant when Martha walked back in. Her salt and pepper hair sat in a mess of wild curls that bounced with each step she took.
“Martha, this really isn’t a good time.”
She slapped her hand down on the desk, and he looked up past her cluster of silver rings to see a stack of crisp twenty-dollar bills underneath. It was a sweet gesture and while he appreciated it he knew Joe would be a different story.
“You know Joe won’t take charity,” Lucas said.
“This isn’t charity. This is money I owe him. I’m sure you can find it on an IOU in that box over there.” She motioned to the shoebox that was filled with scraps of paper. “If I’d known the old geezer was suffering for cash I would’ve paid him back ages ago.”
“That’s really nice, Martha, but I’m afraid he’s going to need more than hundred-and-twenty dollars.” If it was only a hundred-and-twenty-bucks then Lucas could have given him the money a week ago and he wouldn’t be pulling his hair out trying to find another solution.
“I know,” Martha said. “That’s why I made a few phone calls.”
Lucas sat up in his seat intrigued.
“Line up!” she called out the door. Suddenly a line of people appeared in the doorway. A line that extended all the way outside. People of all ages, holding cash and check books. “Okay let’s get started, shall we?” Martha said to Lucas then turned to the man at the door. “You first.”
The man walked up. “Name’s Skip Harrington. I owe Joe thirty-two dollars and twenty-nine cents. My IOU should be in that box.”
Lucas stared at the man and the line, trying to comprehend what was going on when Martha snapped at him. “We don’t have all day, and these people have places to be. Chop chop.”
Lucas grabbed the box and opened it, the scraps of paper practically pouring out the top. He started sorting through them and found one for Skip Harrington. He pulled it out and wrote paid across it then placed it aside.
“Next,” Martha said.
Frank walked up to the desk, and Lucas smiled at the cab driver. “Frank, it’s good to see you.”
“Likewise, young man. Your grandfather has done a lot for me over the years, and it’s time I pay him back.” Frank handed Lucas an envelope, and Lucas’s eyes widened at the stack of hundreds.
“This is a lot of money.”
“I would’ve lost my house if it wasn’t for Joe. He bailed me out, and now I’m happy to return the favor. He’s a proud man, your grandfather, but he’s a good man. You can learn a lot from him.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” Lucas admitted.
“What’s taking so long?” Martha called out.
Frank laughed. “I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.”
“It won’t be.”
Frank shook his hand, and Lucas placed his envelope to the side. Martha sent the next person over, and Lucas dug out IOU after IOU, marking paid and writing down loans Joe never recorded.
His grandfather had helped so many people through the years. Lucas had people handing him money dating back to the seventies. Lucas thought Joe was lonely, but how could he be lonely in a town surrounded by so many people who cared about him?
Joe lost his son to his own stubbornness, but he became a father to the entire town, taking care of the people the best way he knew how—by lending them money and never expecting it back.
After a couple hours the line finally dwindled, and Lucas was about to close the empty box when Vinny Moretti walked through the door.
Chapter 22
The next morning Ella sat at a table at The Local Bean with Cami and Krissy, catching them up on her drama filled life. She hadn’t heard from Lucas since she’d slapped him and walked away.
She had no idea if he still believed she was the one who made those flyers, but since he hadn’t sought her out, she assumed he did.
She missed him.
It’d been a day and she missed him. She’d feel pathetic if she wasn’t so overwhelmed by sadness.
If only he would’ve listened to her, believed they could be together right now. Her lips tingled just thinking about his kiss, his hands roaming her body, and that adorable dimple that popped up at the most unexpected times.
“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Krissy asked, eyeing her over her cup of ginger lemon tea.
Ella ran her finger along her red ceramic mug and shrugged. “What’s the point?”
She tried to explain herself yesterday, and he didn’t want to hear it. The things he said…
“The point is you are Ella Moretti. You don’t sit around sulking about some guy,” Cami said.
“I also don’t make it a habit of hitting men either, and yet I did.”
“He deserved it,” Cami said, tucking her platinum blonde hair behind her ears before taking a sip of her latte. “I wouldn’t feel bad about it.”
Ella would’ve laughed if she had it in her. “This coming from the girl who could make slapping an Olympic sport.”
“What can I say? I’ve encountered a lot of assholes in my life.”
“Why do I have a feeling some liked to be slapped?” Krissy asked, pushing her glasses back into place.
“Nothing wrong with a little kink,” Cami said with a flutter of her eyelashes.
Krissy rolled her eyes before giving into laughter. “What are we going to do with you.”
“Love me,” Cami said, flashing a big fake smile.
“Already do.”
Cami and Krissy were total opposites in every sense of the word, and Ella usually found amusement in their banter, but today she couldn’t get her mind off
of Lucas—the anger in his eyes when he was accusing her of a crime she didn’t commit, the utter betrayal she felt as his words cut her in two…
To think that he honestly thought she slept with him as a way to sabotage his grandfather’s restaurant was absurd and, quite frankly, insulting. She thought what they’d shared on the beach that night and then in his bed was something magical.
She’d never experienced pleasure like that. It had consumed her completely, and in the process, he snuck into her heart. And now that he was gone, there was a large gaping hole that longed to feel his touch and to hear his voice.
While he might’ve regretted their time together, she would always cherish it. He helped her realize there was no point in trying to make others happy when she wasn’t. It was time she started working on her. She’d given so much of herself over the years and let herself take a backseat, but she was done being a passenger. She was ready to take the wheel and steer herself toward a future she could be proud of.
“Earth to Ella,” Cami said, snapping her fingers in front of her face.
Ella shook the thoughts from her mind and looked up to see Cami and Krissy staring at her. “Sorry. What?” she asked.
“My point exactly,” Cami said.
Ella was about to ask her what she was talking about when Martha walked in and waved to the girls. She was in a pretty turquoise shirt that flowed behind her as she moved. “Morning, ladies,” she said, coming over to their table in a cloud of patchouli oil. Her salt and pepper hair was a mess of curls and as free as her spirit.
“What are we talking about this morning?” Martha asked, she was always up on the town gossip, and Ella wouldn’t be surprised if she already knew every last dirty detail about what happened between her and Lucas.
“I’m trying to convince Ella here to go over and talk to Lucas,” Krissy said.
“She’s in love with him,” Cami added, and Ella shifted in her seat toward her friend.
“Cami!”
“What?” Cami asked, holding her hands up. “I’m just telling the truth.”
“Oh dear,” Martha said.
Her Forbidden Love Match (A Willow Cove Novel, #1) Page 13
