The One I Hate: An enemies to lovers, small town, romance (Rolling Hills Book 4)

Prologue

“Speaking of regrets…”

My words to my friend Wes trail off as a woman barking orders catches my eye. She doesn’t just catch my eye; she makes me do a full double-take. I have to blink a few times, because no way can I be seeing who I’m seeing.

We are at a wedding reception for the Rolling Hills wedding of the year for the newly married Jake and Whitley Evans. The object of my attention seems to be the caterer. She’s wearing the uniform—a white chef coat that’s long on her short stature—and she’s pointing to the servers and gesturing wildly. When she waves a hand in dismissal, they all but run to their food stations.

A woman who can command attention. I like it.

Now I’m even more intrigued to see if this woman is who I think she is, or if this is the whiskey playing tricks on me. But just as I shift to get a better angle, she’s out of sight.

No. I must’ve been seeing things. No way that’s who I thought it was.

Wes is still talking. What were we talking about? Oh. That’s right. How he’s fucking things up with the woman who at this point doesn’t deserve him because he’s acting like an ass.

“Speaking of regrets…” I begin once more. “I don’t have many. But I do have one, and it’s not telling you what a money-hungry bitch your ex-wife was. We all agreed to keep our mouths shut because at the time you seemed happy. Well, guess what? I’m going to speak now. Only this time you’re the one being the little bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Wes asks, looking offended.

“I’m saying we didn’t do anything to save you from your first wife. But I’m going to try to save you from being miserable for the rest of your life. Betsy is it. You’re not going to do better than her. If you fuck this up, her future will be fine. It’s your future that’s going to suck.”

There. I said what I needed to say to Wes. Now I can go back to trying to find the woman who bears a striking resemblance to the girl I once knew as Bug.

When I saw her a minute ago, I would have bet a million dollars it was her. I mean, in theory, it could be. Then again, I haven’t seen Charlie Bennett in fifteen years, so what the hell do I know? I don’t know where she lives, what she did with her life.

I haven’t thought about her in ages. But that was by design. When she vanished without warning, I had to force myself to erase her from my memory. It was the only way I could move on.

But if I’m being honest, my heart never moved on. She broke it that day. No—she fucking shattered it.

I tried to call and text. So many times. Calls went straight to voicemail. But that didn’t stop me from leaving message after message. I sent emails. She never told me where she lived, so I couldn’t go bang on her door. Which I would’ve done. I was that desperate for answers.

Answers I never got.

Over the years I convinced myself that she blocked my number. I don’t know the reason why she would’ve done it, but somehow me being blocked stung less than her hearing and reading every desperate message I sent, only to ignore them.

Frankly, now that I think about it, I don’t know what’s worse. We were friends. Or so I thought. Yes, we were competitive. Yes, we loved to one-up each other. Yes, we both always wanted to get the last word. We were stubborn and knew how to drive the other crazy. But at the end of the day, we were friends. Before she left, I had actually hoped that we could be more than that. And I thought she felt the same way.

The kiss we shared made me believe so.

The Charlie doppelg?nger reappears, and now I know it’s her. Well, I’m eighty percent sure. The whiskey I’ve enjoyed from the open bar is fueling the rest of my confidence. But I’d know Charlie Bennett anywhere.

There’s only one problem: Bug was blonde. This woman is a redhead.

Bug…I haven’t thought about that name for so long. She hated when I called her that, which only made me want to use it more. I loved riling her up. Seeing her cheeks flush. Making her smile with my antics.

She was beautiful. And if the woman I’m looking at is her, she’s just as gorgeous as the last time I saw her. This woman is full figured, just like she was. Curves that drove me fucking crazy. Full breasts and hips that I used to fantasize about digging my fingers into. This woman is filled out even more, and I almost have to bite my fist to keep myself in check.

It wasn’t just her body that attracted me to Charlie. She was the total package. Brains, beauty, and boldness. Her confidence was sexy. Her mind was fascinating. And her wit? The woman could verbally spar with me better than anyone. My pants got tight more than once because of that.

Take right now for instance. The woman who might or might not be Charlie is at least four inches shorter than every server she is talking to. Yet, standing there in her chef’s coat, pointing her finger in all directions, she’s commanding the room. Letting them know who’s boss. I can tell she’s not taking shit from anyone, and by the look of the workers, they know better than to even say a word.

Hell, even if this woman isn’t Charlie, I might have to go introduce myself.

I hear my other best friends, Shane and Oliver, say something to Wes, who is still going on and on about how he might lose the woman he loves, and though Wes is my boy, I couldn’t care less right now. Because for the first time since I caught sight of her, the woman I’ve been staring at turns to face me.

Jesus fucking Christ that’s Bug…

She doesn’t see me, but I see her. She’s like the ghost of memories past. Late nights studying with her random concoction of snacks. The coffee she would make me every day even though I never drank it. Arguing about who should be on the professional wrestling Mount Rushmore. Dance parties in my kitchen because we were slap-happy from pulling all-nighters.

The kiss. The one kiss. The last night I saw her. The kiss I thought was going to change everything.

It did. Just not the way I thought.

Because no one before or since has pushed me the way Charlie did. No one has ever challenged me like her. Or called me on my shit. She was the only one outside my immediate circle who could make me genuinely smile. And no one refused my offers for dinner or a date more than she did.

She was one of a kind. In every way imaginable.

And she never said goodbye.

I nearly flip the table over as I start marching toward her. I’m guessing she still hasn’t seen me. If she has, she’s doing a great job of ignoring me. Which seems fitting considering the way she left all those years ago.

“Charlie!”

I’m pushing through groups of people without apologizing, which I know is a dick move. But I need to stop her before she disappears.

Again.

My pace picks up as I call out for her, but she doesn’t turn around.

“Charlie!”

Okay now she has to be ignoring me. It’s like the phone calls and text messages all over again. No way she didn’t hear me. I just yelled so loud I think the DJ stopped playing music. And judging by the look on everyone’s faces, my voice came through just fine. Yet, she’s picking up her speed and not even looking back.

I’m just a few feet away from her when she pushes the kitchen door open.

No. Not again. I feel like if she walks through those swinging doors it might be another fifteen years before I see her again.

“Bug!”

This she heard. It stops her on a dime.

I watch with bated breath as she slowly turns around. Now that I’m close, I can truly see the woman Charlie has become. Full curves. Red hair that reminds me of fire, which is exploding wildly on the top of her head in a messy ponytail. Deep blue eyes that I could get lost in so easily. Lips that are currently making a surprised “o” shape.

“Simon?”

We both stand and stare at each other for what feels like hours. This is the most surreal moment of my life. I honestly thought I’d never see her again. I thought she was a part of my past that was dead and buried. But she’s not. She’s here. In front of me. As beautiful, and apparently frustrating, as ever.

I want to say so many things. Ask so many things. Yet, only one thing comes out of my mouth.

“What the fuck, Charlie?”

She rears back. Which…fair. Might not have been my best opening line, but it wasn’t a lie. Because seriously, what the fuck?

“Nice to see you too, Simon.”

Did I mention Charlie was sarcastic? The two of us, when we were both on our game, were a master class in smartass dialogue.

“Were you really not going to stop?”

“Stop?”

“I was yelling for you.”

She looks up then back down as she shrugs. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

Got her.

That’s her tell when she’s lying. It’s subtle. And it hasn’t changed in fifteen years.

“Bullshit,” I say. And while I’d love to call her out on the lie, I have a more important question. “What are you doing here?”

“Working.”

One-word answers. Great.

“Can we talk?”

She shakes her head. “I’m working.”

I let out a sigh of frustration. “We already ate dinner. I know the bride and groom, so if you’re worried about not getting paid, I’ll take care of it. I think you can sneak away for five minutes. Please, Charlie. It’s been fifteen years, and, well, I think a talk is the least I’m owed.”

I know I’m begging now, but I don’t care. This woman owes me an explanation, and I’m not about to have her walk out of my life again without getting one.

She flicks a glance to the kitchen then looks back to me. And for just a second, her hardened demeanor is gone. Her sarcastic shield has been lowered. I only saw this side of Charlie a few times during our years together.

Including the night I thought everything was going to change for the better.

“I’m sorry, Simon. I can’t.”

She turns to walk away, and out of reaction, I grab her arm and stop her. She looks down at our connection, then back up to me.

Does she feel it, too? Did the jolt of electricity that just shot through me go through her also?

“Bug…please…” My voice is pleading. I’m begging. I didn’t know until right now how much I needed this closure.

How much I needed to see her again.

“Please, Simon. Just let me go.”

Her words are pained as she pulls her arm from my hold and walks back into the kitchen. And for the second time in my life, Charlie leaves without an explanation.

Only this time I watch her walk away.

I thought for years that her ghosting me was the worst feeling in the world.

I was wrong.

It’s this.