CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cara
“So… he just showed up at your performance, was at the same party, and insisted you leave with him?”
I was sitting at a table in a coffee shop I’d never tried before. Livy was across from me, mouth gaping. It was rare that I could surprise her. She was pretty unflappable. But this had done it.
“Yeah.” I took a sip of the London Fog tea in front of me. I wasn’t a coffee girl.
“You have to say more than that! What the hell, Cara?” She narrowed her eyes and studied me.
Of all people, she was the one who knew I had never fully gotten over Edward.
I didn’t go around sharing that I was still hung up on the guy who’d treated me badly over five years ago.
I wasn’t eager to tell that embarrassing tidbit of my life to anyone else.
“Good lord. What are the chances? How was it seeing him again?”
“Like I was always afraid it would be. As soon as I saw him, all of my anger just seemed to vanish. And it was strange… like we’d never been apart.
I still felt more attracted to him than anyone else I’ve ever met.
” I shook my head. “Still, I don’t think I would have left with him if things hadn’t been so strange.
He was convinced the Harts were trying to keep us apart so that I’ll marry their son, Monty.
But I drank too much champagne, got kind of drunk, and leaving with him seemed like the best idea ever in the moment.
” I put my head in my hands to hide my flushed face.
“God. How embarrassing. Why couldn’t I have been cool, detached, polite, and that’s it?
As it was, I wanted to climb him like a pole, hook my legs around his waist, and let him take me anywhere.
And do anything.” I gave her a look so she’d catch my meaning.
Livy blinked. “That is… not like you.”
“Understatement.” I eyed the chocolate croissant she was eating and pushed pieces of pale cantaloupe around on my plate.
It wasn’t ripe, and I wasn’t sure it qualified as the ‘fresh fruit of the day’ they’d advertised.
This and the small cup of sugar free yogurt with whole grain granola that had come with it was a poor excuse for a breakfast. “But he probably thinks I regularly get drunk and hook up with the first guy I see.”
Olivia laughed hard enough she almost spit her coffee out. “No one who knows you would ever think that of you.”
“But does he really know me? Can you still know a person you haven’t seen in more than half a decade?”
“You tell me. How did it feel?”
I sighed. “Honestly? It felt as if we hadn’t ever been apart. It was almost surreal.”
She glanced at her watch. I knew she needed to get to the airport soon.
And I had to get to practice. But I wasn’t ready for her to leave yet.
“I can’t believe you flew in for such a quick visit.
” Literally. I didn’t believe it for a second.
I felt sure there was another reason. You don’t get a layover in Charleston on a flight from Dulles to Hartsfield-Jackson.
She wasn’t telling me even close to everything about why she’d left Virginia.
Why she’d decided the FBI wasn’t for her anymore.
She avoided the comment. “How did y’all leave things?”
I let her change the topic because I was so overwhelmed by all of my feelings.
I was still trying to get everything straight in my mind.
And trying not to let my emotions take over completely.
But it was difficult. “I don’t really know?
He’s still in town. He has meetings with a couple of other vendors in the area.
He wants to come to my performance tonight and then we’re going out to dinner.
” I decided not to reveal that his meetings were not very close by, but that he was still planning to drive back to Charleston each evening so he could see me.
Livy’s eyebrows shot up as she drank her coffee. “So, you’re going to go out with him?”
I tapped my fingernail on the table. “I was going to say no, but then I realized I wanted to go. There was such an instant spark between us—just like old times. I’ve never felt that with another man. Am I being ridiculous?”
She shook her head. “I always thought what happened between y’all was so sad… and complicated. And it always felt unresolved, you know?”
I did. It had always felt unresolved to me, too.
But I thought that’s just how it would stay—in the past. I could chalk it up to intense first love, and that was it.
It’s just that it had always felt like more than that between Edward and me.
What if there was more? Didn’t I owe it to myself to see?
“Have you told him you’re leaving Charleston at the end of the season if you join another ballet company?”
I looked around as if there would be people in the coffee shop waiting to jump on anything we said and blast it on the Moonlight’s social media sites.
Then I had to fight to keep a smile off my face.
Principal ballet dancers weren’t exactly the most famous people in a city.
No one around the shop knew who I was or would care that I was leaving the dance company in a few months.
“No. I’m not telling anyone until I’ve talked to Kelisha.”
“Your director, right?”
“Right.” Livy was such a huge part of my life that I sometimes thought she knew all the details.
But living apart for so many years had taken that sort of knowledge of everything going on with each other out of the equation.
She hadn’t even met Kelisha, most likely.
I’d introduced my director to Mom, Dad, Hawthorne, and Orla at a family picnic the ballet company hosted once, but Olivia had been at UVA working on her masters.
She looked at her watch again quickly, but I caught the movement.
“I know you have to go. Can you tell me anything about what’s going on with you?”
Her green eyes, the exact shade of my own, met mine across the table. She leaned in. “Just know that I’m working on something important, okay? And if it works out like I think it will, it’s going to be my career.”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement and her body practically vibrated with nervous energy. “I wish you’d tell me. I can’t imagine something being more important to you than the Academy. You wanted that for years…”
“Fuck the Academy.”
I stared at her. “Okay, then.” I knew I was right. Something bad happened there.
She sighed. “You know you’ll be the first person I’ll tell when I’m ready.
For now? I’m keeping it to myself.” She drained the last bit of coffee in her cup.
“God, I wish I could stay in town for another couple of days to see how things play out with Edward. Promise you’ll keep me posted?
” She started to stand when a shadow fell across our table.
“Cara?”
I looked up and was startled to see Monty Hart standing over us. “Oh. Hey, Monty.” I was shocked to see him here. It seemed odd to run into him, especially after the events of the previous night. But for all I knew, this could be his favorite coffee shop in the city. Maybe he came here every day.
He stared at Livy purposefully, and I realized he wanted an introduction.
“Sorry, it’s just you surprised me. Monty, this is my sister Olivia Hargrave. Livy, this is Monty Hart. He’s Nora’s older brother.”
“Nice to meet you,” Livy smiled at him, but he’d already turned back to me.
“Do you come to this coffee shop often?”
“No. It’s just close to the airport and Olivia has to leave soon.” I said it pointedly. Most people would have excused themselves at that point to let me have a few more minutes alone with my sister. Monty didn’t have those social graces.
“Ah.” He pulled out a chair and sat with us.
Livy’s eyes widened, and she gave me a ‘what the fuck’ look. I hid a smile and tried to think of something to say to Monty.
“You left the party before I could talk to you last night.” His tone was slightly accusatory, but I ignored it.
“Sorry about that. I was getting caught up with an old friend of mine. He’s doing business with your dad, actually, his name is…”
“Edward. Yeah. I know.”
He cut me off, and there didn’t seem to be anything else to say. The silence drew on long enough that it felt uncomfortable.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like a few more minutes with my sister before she leaves. It will be a while before I get to see her again.”
“Sure. Say what you need to. I can wait.” He folded his hands on the table and stared at me.
“Sorry, Monty, but we have to leave.” Livy didn’t worry about hurting people’s feelings like I did. Especially if they were borderline rude, as Monty had been.
“Oh.” A desperate look crossed his face. He reached out and gripped my wrist. Tightly. “Cara, would you like to go out to dinner tonight?”
I saw Livy’s eyes home in on his hand gripping my wrist. “Cara has plans,” she said firmly.
“But you’re leaving,” he argued. “The plans aren’t with you.”
“No, they’re not,” she agreed. “Nice to meet you, Monty. Now, if you’d be so kind, please let go of my sister so she can drive me to the airport.”
He released my wrist immediately. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” He smiled, but his eyes were cold when he looked at her.
“It’s okay…” I was saying as Livy grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the coffee shop. I looked over my shoulder and gave him a little wave. I didn’t want to be rude.
He didn’t wave back. He just watched me as I left.
On our way out, Livy held the door for me and stared over her shoulder at Monty. “That’s the guy you’re supposed to marry according to his parents, right?”
I smiled weakly. “That’s what Edward said.”
“How often does that happen?” Livy asked as she dug through her purse for her sunglasses.
“What?”
“Monty Hart showing up at random places you are.”
“Oh… um,” I thought about it. “I guess it’s happened a couple of other times. That’s it.”
“Over the six years you’ve lived here?”
“Well, no. More like over the past year, I guess. He showed up at college all the time, but his sister was my roommate. It would’ve been strange if he hadn’t come to see her dance.”
“I don’t like it,” Olivia said bluntly.
I chuckled. “He’s harmless, Livy. He’s socially awkward, that’s all. Nora thinks he has a crush on me, and I thought the Harts knew I’m never going to return the interest. I’ll have to make sure and let all of them know how I feel.”
The skepticism on Livy’s face didn’t exactly make me feel great. “Really. So, how are you going to do that? Are you just going to walk up to Garrison Hart and tell him you don’t want to date or marry his son?”
I laughed nervously. “Something like that.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Really?”
“You know what? It’s getting late. I know you need to leave to catch your flight, and I have to go to practice.”
Livy’s eyes were hidden by the mirrored aviators she wore, but I was well aware of the look she was giving me.
I’d seen it enough in my life. I sighed.
“He’s nothing to worry about. But is that why you lied and said I was taking you to the airport?
To get away from him? Or do you really want me to take you?
” I looked at the time on my phone. “I could call and say I’ll be a bit late to the studio for practice this morning. ”
“Hell, no. Don’t do that. I was just getting you away from him.” Olivia flicked her hand towards a blue Honda pulling up at the curb. “My Uber is here. Go to practice.” She gave me a hard squeeze. “I hate not seeing you more often.”
“Me too.” I blinked back tears. I couldn’t wait until our lives settled down and the two of us could be in the same place again. I’d always had visions of us living close to Wixby River Farms and raising our families together.
I hoped it wasn’t an impossible dream.
“I want to hear all about your date with Edward. Don’t forget.”
Butterflies flew around my stomach at the mention of his name, and I ran a hand over my abdomen. “I won’t.”
She got in her Uber but rolled down the window as she pulled away. “And stay away from that Monty Hart. There’s something off about him.” She blew me a kiss.
I smiled and blew her one back. There was no reasoning with Livy when she got that way.
She’d convinced me multiple times in our youth that several harmless people were more than likely murderers.
I’d been terrified of the people she suspected—the head librarian at the North Wixby branch of the public library, the crossing guard at Wixby Academy, the choir director at the Methodist Church, and so on.
They were all people who’d turned out to be trustworthy and harmless over the years.
I suspected Olivia’s imagination was much, much better than mine. Or at least darker.
As I walked to my car, the thought went through my mind, though, that she did have a degree now in behavioral psychology and had been training to be a criminal profiler.
Huh. Maybe I should listen to her about Monty Hart.
After all, Edward had also thought something wasn’t quite right about him.
But he’d thought that about the entire Hart family.
I wasn’t ready to accept that yet. He just didn’t know them like I did.
Garrison Hart was a true family man, through and through, Libby was an angel, Nora had been my close friend for ages—it was ridiculous to think they wanted to force me to marry their son.
Edward and Olivia were just being overprotective.
I got in my car to pull out of the parking lot and head to the studio. I was all the way across town, so it would take me longer than usual to get there. I briefly wondered what had brought Monty out this way.
That’s when I happened to look up and see him standing in the window of the coffee shop. He was watching me as he drank a cup of coffee. One of his hands was in his pocket and he seemed to be standing casually.
But he was tense. I could tell just by looking at him. And the look on his face? It was… strange. It was a cross between anger and desire, if I read his emotions correctly. I pulled my gaze away and pretended not to have seen him as I zipped out of the parking lot and entered the flow of traffic.
But I couldn’t get the look on his face out of my mind. There had been something about it that made me uneasy. Not scared, exactly, but maybe a little apprehensive.
I hoped he didn’t think there was more to our relationship than there actually was. Because as far as I was concerned, we barely had one at all.