Reclaimed Hearts: A second chance, forced proximity romance

Clues and Confessions

This back and forth was giving me whiplash.

Whatwas he going on about now? Why were we having this same conversation seventeen times and not getting any further than we did before he arrived?

“Are you holding me hostage?” I tried to joke, but he didn’t laugh. I was at a loss. The only thing I could think of doing was cracking jokes. It was an old standby when I got nervous, but right now, it failed.

Reid stared at me with his dark brown eyes, like he was trying to memorize every detail of my face. They softened after a moment, one side of his mouth turning up in a half smile. A sharp pain hit my chest.

It was the same way he used to look at me. Before.

It was the same way I had wanted him to look at me for months. The way I wished he would FaceTime me before bed, answering the phone with that exact same look.

It was the same way I had dreamed of him multiple times since we broke up. Since he broke up with me.

I didn’t want him looking at me like that. Not right now. Not when my confusion was at an all-time high.

Mostly, I didn’t want him looking at me like that because it flooded my mind with memories.

Like the sun setting behind him as he walked a few feet ahead of me on the beach, his shoes dangling from one hand, looking over his shoulder at me. I had found a seashell the same color as the sunset and was holding it up for him to see.

Or the time I rambled on and on about the new Zane Hunter movie, gushing about the romance between the couple. He had listened intently, agreeing with my takes, and not even cringing when I talked about how emotional the mushy love scenes were.

Those were times he used this look. Back when we were happy. In love.

Not now. I didn’t want him looking at me like that now. Not after he broke my heart in a million pieces, for reasons I still didn’t fully understand.

“What about this…” he started, shoving his hands in his jeans pocket. It was only then that I realized how tired he had to be from his day of travel. It took almost an hour to drive from the nearest large airport, which meant his plane must have taken off at the crack of dawn. His t-shirt was wrinkled, which was completely abnormal for him. “What if you stay?”

I blinked, my gaze shooting up to his again. Stay? Stay where? Here? Did he really expect me to stay here now that he was home?

That was it. I was certain.

Reid Bennett had lost his ever-loving mind.

“Uhh…” I didn’t even know how to respond to that.

“Look, my parents don’t know I’m here.”

“Who did you just call then?” I had assumed he called his parents to let them know he landed and was safe and sound. It was the obvious assumption.

Reid shook his head and waved his hand. “That was nothing. Anyway, they told me they were going overseas. I thought that meant the place would be empty.”

Again, I blinked a few times, trying to figure him out. “What about Noodle and Fluff?”

That got a little chuckle from him. “As horrible as it sounds, I didn’t really think about that. I guess I thought they left them with a friend or something. Either way, I figured the house would be empty, and I’d have the place to myself.”

My phone buzzed on the bed in front of me, diverting my attention for a second. I ignored the message, but glanced at the time. I desperately needed to get ready, or I would be late.

“Listen, if my parents don’t know I’m here, then what’s stopping them from continuing to pay you?” Reid said, a brow raised.

I jerked at the bluntness of the comment and stumbled into the door frame.

“Stay here. Do the job. Get the money. I’ll fess up eventually, but even if I don’t tell them until closer to when they return, you still get the money. Or…” His face fell for a moment, but he lifted the corner of his mouth, masking his obvious disappointment. “Or, I mean, you can leave. I can handle the dogs and the house. But I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“I would never swindle someone for their money,” I blurted out. There was no way I would accept payment from the Bennett’s for a job I didn’t do. But that meant…

“If they don’t know I’m here, they think you’re here. So why not stay and make some extra cash?” Reid said, almost as if he were reading my mind.

“Stay… with you?” I whispered. I bit my lip, so completely unsure what was going on. Did he really think we should stay in a house together? For an entire month? If this was last summer, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. But that was then.

This was now.

And even though I had wanted to see what the summer would be like with him back on the island… I didn’t want this. The closeness. The proximity alone wouldn’t allow my heart to shut up. If it had its way, I would have leaped into Reid’s arms the second he put the baseball bat down and not let go.

Good thing my brain was somewhat smarter. Right now, though, it was too conflicted to be of any use. I was glad Reid was back. Really. Our friends would be happy too.

But staying here? Could my need for the money outweigh the hurt in my heart and allow me to continue on with him sleeping only a floor away?

Reid’s face fell again, but it took him an extra beat to cover it up this time. “I’ll stay out of your way, I promise. Like I said, I thought the house was empty, so I was planning on lying low this summer anyway.”

There was something in the way he phrased that comment that concerned me.

When Reid and his family first moved here, he didn’t have the easiest time. His parents were newly rich, their company having taken off a year or two before. They had been looking for a summer rental on the east coast when their realtor got a surprise call about this house going up soon.

They bought it sight unseen and came to the island that following summer.

But Reid hadn’t lived the same life as most of the Baysider kids. While a good majority of them were also summer-only residents, they had still grown up around money most of their lives. Reid hadn’t. He didn’t own the same stuff they had, hadn’t shared in their life experiences.

Therefore, they rejected him. Though his address was the same as theirs, they didn’t take kindly to him. That’s how he ended up hanging out with Liam and Caleb and integrating into our group.

It made me wonder what he really planned on doing this summer. He usually stuck with us, but now that we were broken up… what had his plan been? He wanted to lie low, but did that mean avoid me? Avoid our friends?

I wouldn’t have made him choose. I could be the bigger person and be in the same place with him if he wanted to hang out. Though the stabbing pain in my heart had yet to subside since seeing him a few hours ago, I would have done it.

Another thought hit me just then. I knew Reid was waiting for an answer, but I couldn’t help but wonder.

If I hadn’t been here when he first arrived, would he even have told me he was back? Considering I had to hear of his plans to stay home from his parents, part of me thought he wouldn’t have. That I would have heard it from someone else, or not known until I saw him around the island.

I didn’t realize I had been basically staring at him until he cocked his head to the side and cleared his throat.

“Um, okay,” I squeaked out, still not exactly sure what I was saying. “Deal.”

I had a job to do. I had money to make.

Money that I needed if I was ever going to get out of this town. Preferably with a car and to college, but money didn’t discriminate. Once it was in my bank account, I could use it for whatever I needed.

“I have to get ready,” I said before Reid could continue on. I would barely have time to dry my hair, much less make it look presentable.

“Just holler when you’re ready and I’ll take you over there.” Reid turned and made his way back to the kitchen, rummaging in the fridge for another soda.

Without a second thought, I skipped to the bathroom and grabbed my hairdryer. Because of lack of time, and the need to slick it into a bun anyway, I pulled off the diffuser attachment and started brushing and drying.

Once I finished my hair and threw some simple makeup on, I headed to the bedroom to get dressed. Now that Reid was driving, I didn’t have to pack my work clothes separately and wear my tank top and shorts while I biked. That was nice.

After smoothing my white button down into my black trousers, I slipped my feet into my all black tennis shoes and added the black belt. The uniform was simple, but totally not my style.

With one more check in the mirror over the dresser, I added a little lip balm and declared myself good enough with the time I had. A few of my freckles were darkening, popping through my already tanned skin on my nose. I didn’t dare cover them, so my makeup consisted of mascara, a hint of blush, and some concealer for the dark circles under my eyes.

Reid must have let the dogs in, because Noodle flew into my room. If he was inside, that meant Reid was getting ready to leave, which meant I needed to go. He was always the punctual one, which came in handy when I was the late one.

“I’m coming!” I hollered toward the front. Reid didn’t answer, but Marshmallow took the comment as an invitation to join Noodle on the bed. Happy that they were comfortable, I grabbed my bag and went for the door.

Just as I reached for the handle, my phone buzzed. I shouldn’t have gone for it, knowing Reid was probably waiting by the door to the garage, but I slipped it out just to double check. If it was Grandmum with instructions for the event, then I needed to know, anyway.

But it wasn’t Grandmum. It was the same unknown number that sent Eleanor’s video message the other day.

The message I had all but forgotten about in all the hullabaloo with Reid and Declan.

Unknown:Marlowe. Your game begins now. Follow the clues to the prize. But know, in true Eleanor form, the prize isn’t the only prize. Keep that in mind.

Unknown:Climb the stairs where memories run free, find the room where nostalgia’s the key.