CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“What?”
Teddy’s brows drew together as he brushed behind me, closer than he needed to be.
My heart raced. A thousand half-formed responses clattered through my mind, none of them witty enough to distract the guy currently laser-focused on my next words.
I forced my features into something akin to unreadability, shrugging and pretending to thumb through the book in my hands.
“Yes,” I replied, voice thin. “I write romance.”
He grinned. “Tell me about it.”
I wanted to reach for the nearest hardback and smack him over the head. Unfortunately, Joe would never forgive me for the disturbance.
“Its… uh—” I moved away from him and acted like I was studying the bookshelves. “It’s about growing up in Bluebell Cove.”
There—not technically a lie.
Teddy drifted closer to me, propping an elbow on the shelf so that I had to face him. A disconcerting twinkle flashed in his eyes. “Does that mean I’m in it?”
I coughed. “I mean, not actually—I’d like to avoid a lawsuit.”
“Ah.” He tipped his head back, and for a blessed second, I thought he’d finally given up. “So, what’s my name in the book? Theo? Thomas? Tristan?” He squinted at me. “I hope it’s not Tristan.”
Tucker. In the story, his name was Tucker. Not that I’d ever tell him that.
I arched an eyebrow at him. “What makes you think I didn’t write you out?”
“Suppose I would’ve deserved that.”
My eyes caught his, but I tore them away. “We already talked about this, Teddy,” I murmured.
Only, we hadn’t—not really. If I had it my way, he would never know that my heart still ached all these years later. All I had to do was pretend long enough.
He rubbed his jaw in apparent thought. “You know, I could just buy it when it’s published—might as well tell me now.”
I slid the book back in place with a dry laugh. “No book deal means no publishing.”
“And your old firm is the only publisher that exists?”
“You’re relentless,” I groaned.
He was right. Of course he was right. Any rational, well-adjusted person would’ve gotten an agent and submitted their manuscript across the board.
But that would’ve made too much sense—and when I waited until everyone had left to slip my book into my colleague’s unagented submissions, I wasn’t operating with much sense. I had no logical reason to use a pen name when I also had access to connections that others would’ve killed for.
Deep down, I supposed I just wanted what Teddy had.
“Maybe,” he replied, drumming his fingers on the book shelf. “But you know I’m right.”
“Stop that,” I hissed.
“What?”
I rolled my eyes and pressed my hand across his to stop the loud thudding noise.
The warmth sent an immediate and furious flush spreading across my cheeks.
Teddy didn’t speak or move a muscle; he just stared at me, lips slightly parted.
The pulse in my wrist jumped beneath his thumb.
A strangled sound rose in my throat as he swiped across the skin, exactly how he used to.
It was enough to shake me back to reality.
“That,” I muttered, snatching my hand away. I quietly cleared my throat and turned back to the display table. “Joe likes me, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
The floorboards groaned under his weight as he moved around me and dragged a hand through his hair. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought a pink tinge colored his face. It was notoriously stifling in the loft.
I ripped my gaze away and picked up a random book.
I had no idea what I picked until I carried it down to the register and read the title while Joe was wrapped it in tissue paper.
Emma.
What was that even doing on the new releases table?
Joe silently raised an eyebrow at me as I handed him my card. He must’ve remembered the special edition I spent my first-ever paycheck on. I bit my lip, suddenly grateful that Teddy wasn’t much of a reader.
The bell chimed behind us as we exited onto Main Street.
I shrugged my coat tighter around my shoulders and hugged the immaculately wrapped book to my chest, momentarily glaring up at the dark clouds that had rolled in overhead.
Somewhere behind us, the garish reminder of Andrew’s proximity occasionally peeked its monstrous face over the rooftops.
Abandoned daughters had something of a sixth sense for their estranged fathers.
“Well, I better be going,” I said, offering Teddy a casual smile. “Thanks for the company.”
Truthfully, I had nowhere to go—but he didn’t need to know that.
“When can I see you again?” he called after me when I was already standing on the curb.
My heart did its best impression of an organ-turned-sparkler. Fingers wrapped tightly around the book, I spun on my heel and looked somewhere over his right ear. “I’m really quite busy. Besides, don’t you have work to do? Isn’t that the entire reason you’re here?”
Teddy seemed to chew for a while on his response. “I can take my work anywhere.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. The hurt didn’t make any sense.
“Just… text me,” I muttered, suddenly overwhelmingly ready to be alone.
His response was lost to the wind as I lurched off the curb and across Main Street.
I maneuvered through a stagnant crowd before coming to a stop in front of Captain’s.
If I was smart, I would’ve gone to Georgie’s Pottery Shop, but I couldn’t exactly turn back now that he was right next door, looking like a confused puppy.
I cursed myself under my breath and retrieved my phone. Serena’s texts all remained unanswered, and the latest one looked particularly alarming.
Serena Zayas: Will you and Teddy meet me at the country club?
As if on cue, Teddy’s eyes met mine across the street. He smiled—that wide, self-satisfied grin I hadn’t seen since high school—before his head dipped down.
My phone buzzed again.
Teddy Bowman: You free now?
I pinched the bridge of my nose and briefly ran through every possible excuse to get myself out of this. Maybe urgent Fallfest business. Or maybe I could see when the next flight to New York left. The latter being a totally reasonable and completely proportionate response to the circumstance.
Pocketing my phone, I finally looked back at Teddy. He leaned against his Jeep, arms crossed, crisp breeze ruffling his hair.
I should’ve resented how he knew I’d come to him.
Instead, I drifted back across the street, heart in my throat. Because at the end of the day, the old Margot was still alive and well—no matter how many times I tried to deny her.
All I needed was to get through this week in one piece.
“Don’t say anything,” I quipped, holding my hand up as Teddy opened the passenger door for me. He repositioned the hem of my coat inside the car before slamming it shut and running around the hood to the driver’s side.
If I closed my eyes, I could remember the song that played on the radio when he picked me up for our first date. From the sun faded steering wheel, to the tear in the center console, to all five of our initials carved on a corner of the plastic dashboard. Nothing had really changed.
He draped his arm out the window despite the cold and tossed me a sidelong glance as we pulled down Main Street. “I take it that your work day cleared up?”
“That sounds an awful lot like you saying something,” I grumbled.
Teddy threw up his hands, driving with his knee until I swatted him on the arm.
“I can’t believe that still bugs you,” he said, pretending to rub his shoulder.
“Yes, I never stopped liking staying alive.”
Teddy grinned in response, turning the dial on the radio until The Cranberries wafted through the air. I tipped my head back against the seat.
As we pulled off Main Street and toward the interstate, roads lined with auburn oaks opened up to rolling green hills and tufts of wildflowers.
I didn’t mind the numbing wind against my face or the way it whistled in my ears—anything to keep my eyes from sliding shut and another memory from playing.
Driving up the gravel path for the second time that week, I tossed Teddy a quick, wary look. I couldn’t think of a reason Serena called us back there. Not a good one, anyway.
When his brakes squealed into a visitor spot out front, I slid outside, my stomach immediately turning.
Beneath the grand, marble portico, Serena was getting her face sucked off by one of the worst people I ever had the misfortune to recognize. Lips already curling in open disgust, I sent a silent apology to my retinas and turned to Teddy.
“So that’s Jesse,” he muttered.
“If we go now, they might never see us.”
Then, because mischance was the theme of my week, Serena called my name. I wrinkled my nose and curled my fingers into fists before forcing them open and whirling back around. Teddy rubbed his eyes, no doubt trying to scrub his vision.
“I’m so happy you came,” she breathed, enveloping me in a brisk hug. “I’m sure you remember Jesse.”
I pressed my lips together and made a squeak of assent—the best I could muster in the circumstances.
Jesse Newhouse’s hair looked as if it hadn’t moved in days. Or, more accurately, he came out of the womb like that—perfectly groomed, crisp, tailored suit, and a watch more expensive than my old apartment in New York.
I was imagining a baby with a Rolex on when he slung an arm over Serena’s shoulders and stuck his chin out at Teddy like a posturing male bird.
“Nice to finally meet you,” Teddy offered, sticking his hand out for a shake.
If Jesse heard him or not, no one could know. His smug eyes drifted to me, a hot surge of anger shooting down my spine when I realized he had no idea who I was.
I crossed my arms and turned to Serena. “What did you need?”
Maybe it came out a little more terse than I intended, but I was battling the primal instinct to test if that mound of gel he called hair was as flammable as I thought.
“Well,” she clasped her hands together, peering up at Jesse for a moment as a wide smile stretched across her mouth. “We’re getting married.”
“Yeah. We know,” I deadpanned.
“No, silly. We’re getting married this week!”
Teddy’s smile fell. I finally succumbed to the need for a proper scowl.
“This week,” I echoed, biting back the impulse to add, “Are you insane?”
Jesse smirked. “Now’s when you congratulate us.”
“So, why’d you ask us to meet you here?” Teddy asked, a lot nicer than my version of the question.
“Why wouldn’t we meet at our wedding venue?” Jesse stepped back and drew his arms wide, leaving Serena in the cold. “S insisted on telling her friends first. You two were part of the original Bluebell crew, weren’t you?”
The way he said friends made me want to find the nearest champagne bottle and weaponize it.
I ignored his cat-that-ate-the-canary smile and stared at Serena. “I thought you wanted a barefoot beach wedding. Small ceremony, Main Street—remember?”
She glanced back at Jesse before responding. “Well, since it’s so last minute, it will be a small ceremony. The country club is our compromise.”
“As long as that’s what you want,” Teddy chimed in.
Again, it sounded much better than what I wanted to say.
Serena stepped closer to us as Jesse wandered over to the rental car and seemed to inspect a nonexistent scratch on the hood. “I know it’s a lot to ask, what with your Fallfest assignment—but we were wondering…” she trailed off, looking humiliated to be asking.
“Of course,” Teddy replied with a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Serena. There’s not a whole lot to photograph until Sunday.”
She let out a long breath and placed a hand on her heart. “Thank you, truly. It means the world.”
I used every ounce of my energy to erase my scowl when she turned to me.
“And Margot, I would just love it if you and Georgie were my bridesmaids.”
My mouth fell open. Me, in a floor length gown, traipsing down the aisle with a bouquet of flowers ricocheted through my mind’s eye. The only thing worse than knowing I could’ve possibly prevented my childhood friend marrying the spawn of Wallstreet, was placing my public stamp of approval on it.
“Did you ask Georgie?" I finally managed, voice thin.
“Yes. She’s busy with the shop, but of course, she said yes.”
Of course.
“Okay,” I replied, not fooling anyone with my lack of enthusiasm.
Serena didn’t miss a beat, squeezing my hands in hers before calling for Jesse. “We’ll show you where the ceremony and reception will be held. Isn’t it just incredible that they had an opening this weekend, of all weekends?”
She sighed, taking Jesse’s arm while she continued to wax on about the romantic happenstance and how, “when you know, you know.” The gravel crunching beneath our feet did little to drown it out.
“Just incredible,” I grumbled as we followed them inside.
Teddy unwrapped himself from my shoulders. I strained for a glimpse of him in my peripheral, a needling ache appearing in my chest the second we parted. When he met my gaze, it almost seemed for a moment that he felt it too.
That was it, though: almost.
Close to forever, but not quite. Just as all my dreams seemed to be.