Catch and Release: A Small Town Neighbors-to-Lovers Romance (Beach Babes Book 1)

Prologue

Willa was surprisingly calm when she found out her boyfriend of two years had a wife and child.

Oh, she was pissed.

She was fucking furious.

But she’d always had the gift of level-headedness in stressful situations. And besides, she wasn’t going to make a scene at her favorite brunch place, and especially not in front of his daughter.

No, Willa would leave the responsibility of this particular childhood trauma to Leo. He was already off to such a smashing start.

But that didn’t mean she’d let him continue with a perfectly pleasant Sunday morning.

Fuck, no.

Her day was ruined.

Scratch that. Her year was ruined.

Not to mention, she’d never be able to come back to her favorite restaurant again without thinking about his cheating ass. All she’d wanted were some eggs benedict and bottomless mimosas with her roommate, Charlie. Now, she was going to go home, throw up, and try to figure out how she found herself in this embarrassing, horrifying, and heartbreaking situation.

Again.

But not until she made sure he knew that she knew.

That motherfucker.

God, what an absolute ass. He knew this was her favorite brunch spot. He deserved to get caught, that cheating bastard. She stood across the street from Chadwick’s and took a deep breath.

In for four counts, out for eight counts.

In four.

Out eight.

Again. And again.

As she performed this breathing exercise, Willa observed Leo and his family from afar. His daughter clung to his wife, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she played peekaboo with people at a nearby table. Willa guessed she was about two years old, which meant Leo likely started dating her right around the time his daughter was born.

Howdid she let herself fall in love with such a fuckingjerk?

AGAIN???

She sighed and soaked in the view of his gorgeous wife. She had fair skin and cascading blond hair that looked like it had been professionally blown out that morning. She was tall and thin, and she wore a long white dress that ruffled in the wind. Her lips were coated with a simple pink color, and she donned large, black sunglasses. Leo leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips. She gently caressed his cheek with her left hand, and a ginormous diamond sparkled off her ring finger, visible even from across the street.

Any doubts Willa had about them being married were gone now. The futile hope that maybe she was a sister Leo hadn’t told Willa about slowly dissipated. And then his wife beamed at him, and Willa sighed.

She was happy. Beautiful. The mother of his child.

And Leo had cheated on her with Willa?

Sure, Willa knew she was attractive.

She’d been told often that she had great boobs, though she thought they were a little small. She had red hair, but she could somehow still get a tan. Throw in cerulean eyes and long legs, and she was bound to benefit from pretty privilege—and she knew it. She’d gotten into dozens of clubs without paying a cover, always gotten free drinks when she went out, and had been able to sweet talk her way into almost anything since she hit puberty.

So she knew that the only reason Leo would cheat on his perfectly lovely wife with her was simply because he could.

Because men just had that much audacity.

And, well, Willa couldn’t stand for that level of entitlement.

“Willa?” Charlie tentatively asked. “You ok?”

Willa had forgotten she was there.

“I’m okay,” she responded, her voice hard. “I’ll be right back.”

Willa strode across the street. As she approached the outdoor hostess stand, she took a deep breath and thanked the universe that Becky was working.

“Is that…?” Becky trailed off as Willa approached.

Willa was a regular at Chadwick’s. Most of the staff knew her. Her apartment was right across the street, and she loved to have brunch here on the weekends or read a book here on weekday afternoons. So of course she’d brought her boyfriend a few times. Not all the wait staff knew him, but a few of them did. One of them was Becky.

“Yes, it is,” Willa responded, and Becky’s face went white. “Can I deliver some waters or something to their table?”

Becky bit her lip.

“I’m all for payback, but are you sure that’s the best idea?”

“I’m not going to make a scene,” Willa said. “Not in front of his daughter. But I’m also not going to let him get away with this. He just needs to know that I know.”

Becky nodded and flagged a waiter named José over.

“Willa, is that Leo?” José asked.

Willa nodded, shaking with rage.

God, Leo was playing with fire. Why had he come here? Sure, she usually slept in on Sundays when she didn’t have to teach a yoga class, so it was a fair guess that she wouldn’t see him here. But he was practically begging to get caught.

“Get her waters to take to their table,” Becky said, shortly after nudging him and giving him a pointed look.

José raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He reappeared a couple of minutes later with a tray of water glasses. Willa took it from him steadily, even though she’d never waited tables, and weaved through chairs until she reached Leo and his family. She started to place the drinks down in front of them, but neither of them looked up at her.

“What a lovely family you all are,” Willa said cheerfully.

Leo stiffened immediately. His eyes darted to her. His lips formed an “oh,” and then he slammed his mouth shut in an instant.

His eyes widened.

He cleared his throat.

“Thank you,” his wife said kindly, without noticing her husband’s odd behavior.

“Celebrating anything special today?” Willa asked.

“It’s our daughter’s birthday,” she said, turning to her daughter. “How old are you, Ella?”

Ella scrunched up her face like she was thinking very hard, then she showed Willa two fingers.

“Two!” Ella shrieked.

Willa was right.

That motherfucker.

“Aww, well happy birthday, sweet Ella!” Willa said, her eyes burning with unshed tears of anger and sadness for this innocent little girl. And for herself. “Two years! That’s a very long time to do anything, let alone grace the world with your lovely presence. And look how big you are! I would’ve guessed you were three.”

Leo shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Willa smirked at him, then turned her attention back to his wife. She really couldn’t leave well enough alone; she had to know for sure what she’d gotten herself into.

“You are such a beautiful couple,” Willa plastered on a big smile, willing herself not to gag on the words. “How long have you been together?”

“Oh, thank you!” his wife said sincerely, turning to Leo. “How long’s it been, darling? Ten… no, eleven years together total, nine years married.”

Eleven years together.

Nine years married.

Willa was itching to grab her phone and block him in every way possible, but she forced herself to continue giving her best smile as she shifted her eyes to Leo.

“Nine years married to this gorgeous woman!” Willa said, knowing she was being reckless now. “You must feel so lucky.”

Leo gazed between Willa and his wife, who was looking at him with a lazy, expectant grin. He cleared his throat.

“I do,” he practically grunted. “I feel very lucky.”

He attempted to smile, but he looked like he’d swallowed something sour. His wife’s brows began to furrow, and Willa took that as her cue to back off.

“I’ll let the rest of the staff know you’re celebrating a birthday,” Willa told them with a wink.

“Thank you,” his wife gave her a dazzling smile.

Willa turned on her heel and walked back to the hostess stand, where José and Becky were watching her with wide eyes. She handed José the tray.

“Thank you guys,” Willa said, her voice wavering for the first time.

“You gonna be okay?” Becky asked, her brows furrowing.

Willa closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat and opened her eyes back up. José and Becky were staring at her with wide eyes, and she took a deep breath.

“I’ll be okay,” she finally said. “I’ll bounce back. I always do.”

The concern in their faces didn’t waver, but they nodded.

“I’ll tell the cooks to spit in his food,” Becky said, her lips quirking in a slight grin.

Willa let out a half-laugh, half-sob.

“Thanks, Becky,” she said. “Oh, and it’s their daughter’s birthday. I told them I’d let you know. In case you can do anything special.”

Becky’s face looked torn between fury and compassion. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it and simply nodded.

Willa gave her a weak smile. Then she took a deep breath, and without turning back for a final glance at Leo, she left.