I opened the front door with my free hand and hurried down the steps.
Nate was leaning against the side of my Jeep, peering through the windows.
“What are you doing?”
He spun around to face me. A pair of aviators hid his eyes. The sunlight played tricks on his brown hair, giving it an auburn tint. I knew if I were to peel those sunglasses off, his green eyes would be sparkling. The sun always made those unearthly green eyes sparkle. It was a Mercier trait. Nola had them, too. They’d inherited them from their father, Sebastian Mercier.
“Just wondering if you were as much of a slob now as you were in high school. Your house was clean. I was wondering if you were faking it.” He smiled. Now, his smile he had inherited from his mother. But that teasing lilt in his voice came from his father.
I owed Sebastian a favor of mammoth proportions. He had spoken with me the day I ran. He knew he couldn’t stop me, but he made me take some money to start a life for Wren and me. He had told me, “Come home when you can.”
I promised him I would. Someday, I would go see a therapist and work through my fear of being left, but right now, I didn’t have the time. Having someone understand my need to leave and have some space had been soothing to my soul.
If Nate’s questions had shown me anything, it was that Sebastian had kept my secret. I was long overdue to call him. The money he’d given me had been enough to give me a jumpstart on life with Wren. I’d bought us a nice travel trailer, picked up a job at the market, and built my Instagram following.
From there, I’d worked on creating enough of a following that I was able to quit work at the Quik Mart. Now I was a lifestyle influencer. Fashion, design, anything people bought, I tried to influence.
This from the girl who lived in overalls and baseball caps in middle school.
The design, the plants...that part I really loved. The fashion, not so much. But it made up a large portion of my income. If my followers saw a selfie of me wearing a cute blouse, a lot of them would buy it through my links, giving me a nice affiliate commission.
People wondered how you made a living as an influencer. Easy. You convince someone they need to buy something. What most people didn’t know, was that I made money off of everything they purchased from big name retailers. I had all the proper disclosure there, no thanks to the GDPR laws, but most people didn’t pay attention to that. They clicked and purchased, making me a happy woman.
And right now, I needed to take some pictures of my new planter to convince my followers they couldn’t live without it.
Nate leaned forward to rest his forearms on the hood of my Jeep. His T-shirt pulled tight across his shoulders. I could see defined muscles on his back. Shaking my head, I leapt down the three steps to the ground. His sunglasses shifted upwards as he smiled.
“Well, would you look at that!” He let out a whistle as he took in the flared skirt of my sundress.
It would be a lie if I said I didn’t appreciate that whistle. My social life was lacking. No boyfriends, no friends, and no time to look for either.
Unfortunately, Nate had always had the uncanny ability to know what I was thinking.
“Too bad you’re all dressed up for no one to see.”
“Excuse me, but there are a lot of people to see!”
“Really?” he asked as he lifted his sunglasses to rest them in the middle of his forehead.
“You look ridiculous when you do that. You know that, right?”
“I don’t want to mess up my hair.” He pointed to his short but still styled hair.
I shook my head and walked past him to where my planter sat next to my trailer.
It always felt strange to work while someone was watching, but I’d had to get used to it ever since moving into the trailer park.
There was always someone watching.
I knelt down and snapped a picture of my planter. I tilted the camera, trying to find the right angle.
I scooted backwards in a duck walk since I was still crouched down.
“That’s not going to help,” Nate commented oh-so-helpfully.
“Hush.” I tried from a higher angle, attempting to showcase the multiple levels of the planter.
“Stand up.”
“Then the levels won’t be as obvious.”
“Trust me, stand up,” he said from where he stood directly behind me.
I stood up, bumping against him as I did so. “Would you mind? I’m trying to get some stuff done here.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. I’m happy to help.” He grinned, that low dimple popping out next to his smile.
My nostrils flared as I tried to control my temper.
“Excuse me.” I bumped my elbow against his chest as I stepped to the side.
Adjusting the lens, I clicked another picture.
A warm body stepped behind me, and two large hands grabbed mine. Two sets of hands now held the camera.
“Let’s scoot forward a bit.”
Nate’s body pushed mine forward a foot. I stepped on his toes.
“And now we lift up.” He raised the camera above my head, keeping my hands on it. “Ah, there it is.”
Click, click, click.
His chest pressed against my back with each breath he took.
He tilted the camera. Click, click, click.
“Hmm.” He breathed, leaning forward to take a vertical shot. “That’s better.”
He lowered the camera but didn’t step back.
I breathed in through my nose and out with my mouth. It shouldn’t have felt so right standing close to him. It couldn’t feel right.
I stepped out of the circle of his arms. “Thanks, but I prefer to take my own pictures. What do you know about pictures anyway?”
“Oh, I still dabble. Who got you started on Photoshop?”
I dipped my chin down, acknowledging the score to him. “You did.”
He shrugged and smiled. “You don’t have to go on. I know I’m good.”
I snapped a closeup of a succulent in the top planter.
“I always thought you did it because you liked working with computers, not that you liked taking pictures.”
“It had everything to do with the pictures. Computers are an annoying part of taking pictures.”
“I don’t know about that. Computers are a great way to get those pictures out in the world.”
“True, but that’s usually so that people can experience things virtually. I prefer to experience life firsthand. Unlike you.”
I lowered the camera but kept a hold of it, not entirely trusting the strap that held it around my neck. “Excuse me?”
He stared at me, a challenge in his eyes. “You don’t experience life.”
“Of course I do. What do you think I’m doing right now?”
“You’re selling a pretend lifestyle to your followers. It’s all a farce.” He raised both eyebrows. His sunglasses fell, and what should have looked clumsy ended up being a seamless catch with his left hand.
“My life is full. I have friends. I have Wren. I’m making a living as an influencer. People would kill to have the kind of social media presence that I have!”
“But it’s all fake...” He gestured to my Jeep. “When was the last time you put that in four-wheel drive? When was the last time you moved this trailer and traveled the U.S. like you claim you do on your social media?”
Chink. He was hammering away at my already cracked heart. It wasn’t fair. He was right, and it hurt.
“I have a life!”
“You do—but is it the one you want?” He arched an eyebrow at me, and I had an overwhelming urge to swipe it off with a good right hook. I clenched my fist. But I wasn’t the little white-trash, trailer-park girl I used to be.
Now, I was an adult trailer-park girl who chose this life and would not be goaded by immature little boys.
Apparently, I said that last part out loud, because he laughed humorlessly. “Immature little boys. You know what I think? I think you’re att
racted to me, and that scares you.”
“I am not scared!” I cried. “I mean, I am not attracted to you.”
“Oh, really?” He took a step closer, causing my heart rate to speed up. My heart decided it was time for a lively Irish jig.
“I’m not attracted to you. In fact, I have a date tonight.”
“You do?” He stepped back in surprise.
“Yeah, I do,” I stated, feeling more confident in my lie.
He smirked. “Well, who is he?”
I frantically searched my mind for a name. “J-j-johnny!” I exclaimed when I saw Johnny walking toward my driveway. “I’ll be right over!” I called to him with a wave. I removed the camera from my neck and set it down on the table then turned back to face Nate with a smug smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go finalize my date plans for tonight.”
Johnny stood at the end of my driveway, a grin on his cute face. “How’s it going, Riley?”
Had it come to this? Was I forced to ask an undercover detective out on a date because I wanted to prove something to Nate?
I couldn’t decide if it was more sad that I had this much trouble finding a date or that I was willing to go to such lengths to prove Nate wrong. Even though I was standing there, ready to ask out Johnny, Nate was still the one who occupied my mind.
No more. I would ask Johnny out, have a great time with him, and forget all about Nate.
“You okay?” Johnny’s voice brought me back to the present. Oh, that’s right—he’d asked me how I was doing.
“Yeah! Actually, I was wondering if you were free tonight. If you wanted to grab dinner or something.” I smiled, but it felt forced.
He leaned back, the look of shock on his face painfully clear. This was the part where I crawled under my trailer and hid for the rest of my life. I’d never asked someone out before, and it didn’t seem like a good place to start when I was doing it strictly to make someone else mad.
“I actually have plans,” he drawled.
My stiff smile cracked and fell into shattered pieces at my feet.
“But I’m free after nine!” His smile was contagious and quickly restored my mood. Why couldn’t I want this man? It didn’t even bother me that I didn’t know his real name, which is something that should bother someone with a crush. He was good-looking—turn-around-for-a-second-look type of good-looking—but he wasn’t Nate.
“That sounds great! I know a great new place in town that’s open until eleven, if you want to give it a try.”
“Perfect.” I smiled.
“What’s perfect?”
I gasped and turned around to see Nate standing there. Why couldn’t he just give me a little space?
A minivan pulled to a stop behind Johnny, and Wren jumped out. I waved hello to Macy and her mom before they pulled out. Wren walked up to complete the little square-off.
“What’s going on?” She looked between the three of us warily.
I planted a hand on my hip. “We’re going on a date.”
“We are?” Johnny asked.
“You are?” Nate barked.
The simultaneous question from the two of them made me wish for a giant hole to swallow me up. Wren just rolled her eyes.
“Yes! Believe it or not, I can have a date every once in a while. I told you I had a life!” I stepped between the two of them.
Nate folded his arms across his chest and glared at Johnny over the top of my head. When I grunted, he turned the full force of his glare on me.
“What do you even know about this guy?”
“That he’s a mean lawn mower racer!”
“What? I didn’t see him racing.”
“That’s because you were too busy screaming to notice that he was the one who won! Besides, what more do I need to know than that?”
“How about where he goes all day, and why he’s always carrying a gun?”
Wow. Okay. Well, maybe Nate was more observant than I thought.
“Everyone has a gun! It’s a trailer park.”
“Really? I don’t like the guy.”
“Oh, come on, Nate. You’re just upset that I’m not as pitiful as you thought.” Unfortunately, I was as pitiful as he thought, but I didn’t want his pity.
Nate leaned back in surprise as he glanced rapidly between Johnny and me. Johnny stepped closer to me. I glanced up at him—story of my life: I always had to look up. I was currently surrounded by three giants. Five-foot-six should not be considered short. But Wren had me by five inches, and both of the guys had me by over seven. It wasn’t fair.
Their egos settled down around my head. “Why don’t you two stop staring at each other like that? Nate.”
Nate sighed and relaxed his posture. He spoke to Johnny in a friendly tone. “You know she’s just using you to make a point, right?”
“Why would you say that?” Johnny asked.
I caught Wren’s second eye roll in five minutes, and so did Nate, by the chuckle he let out.
“Because she’s trying to prove she has a life.”
To my everlasting, unending, and vast horror, Johnny laughed. “But she’s always here. She doesn’t have a life.”
Then both of them busted up laughing hysterically.
“On this happy note, I’m going inside,” Wren said as she fought a smile. Smart girl. She knew better than to let me see her laughing at me.
“Are you done?” I asked when Wren slammed the trailer door and the two men were still laughing.
Someone’s phone started ringing.
Johnny pulled out his phone, read the screen, then swore under his breath. “I’ve got to go. Sounds like you don’t need me for that date anyway.”
I crossed my arms and tapped my foot on the ground as I watched him run back to his motorcycle parked in front of Eldon’s and peel out of the trailer park.
“Riley, I—“ Nate started to say.
I held up a hand and pursed my lips. My wild eyes widened to the point of me thinking they’d fall out of my head. I spun on my heel and marched down the street.
I needed a minute to collect myself. I couldn’t look at Nate’s face. I might do something I’d regret. Like something that might earn me some jail time. Hey, I could finally spend some quality time with my mom.
Once I reached the end of the street, I turned around and headed home. Stomping past Kristin’s kiddie pool full of rubber ducks. Past Eldon’s new beer can wind chime. Past my Jeep and to my small patio.
I needed to change the layout now that it was the middle of summer. Everyone loved a newly decorated outdoor space. I began rolling up some of the smaller rugs that sat in front of the chairs. Those would have to be changed. Maybe a more beach vibe. I’d do a photo shoot in the evening light. That would be perfect. Maybe I’d do a live while I was sitting on a newly covered lounge chair.
“Riley, you didn’t want to go on a date with that guy.”
He was still here.
I didn’t turn around. I was afraid I’d murder him where he stood. Then, Johnny and I would really become acquainted. He could come visit me in prison after he arrested me.
I took my sweatshirt from around my waist and began dusting my wicker couch with it. Maybe if I painted it a robin’s egg blue. It’d be the perfect accent color and would look amazing on wicker.
“You were only going out with him to make me mad.”
And if I painted the small coffee table a brass color... Brass and blue could be my new outdoor theme...
“It’s not as if you liked him. I don’t know what your problem is.”
“You.” I spun around and jabbed a finger in his face. “You are the center of my problems. If you hadn’t come here, moved in here, started showing off those stupid muscles of yours, everything would be fine! Just fine!”
With a frustrated squeak that I didn’t even want to think about, I stomped away from him. I carefully set my camera down on the wicker couch then picked up one of the gardening gloves I’d set down to take pictures.
; I threw it at Nate.
“I haven’t had a relationship since college!”
Nate clenched his jaw and stepped toward me.
“It lasted three days! Because you ruined that one, too!” I yelled. I picked up my sweatshirt and tossed it at him.
He caught it and flung it to the ground behind him. He kept advancing toward me. My heart skipped a couple of beats, apparently deciding I didn’t need them.
“I haven’t even kissed a boy since senior year of high school!” I said as I tossed an empty watering can at him. It bounced harmlessly off his shoulder. “You even ruined that for me!”
He growled. “Braden was a tool!”
“I know! That’s not the point!” I fumed.
He’d missed my temper—that was what he’d told me the first day he came to the trailer park. Well, he’d brought my temper back in full force. I wasn’t going to hold anything back this time. I picked up the second glove from the couch and leapt forward, slapping his bicep with it.
“Riley, knock it off!” he said, his voice rumbling ominously. Empty threats.
“You wanted me mad, didn’t you? Well, here’s a newsflash, Nate. I’ve been mad at you ever since I’ve known you.” I shoved the heel of my hand into the center of his chest. His green eyes sparked as he leaned forward and grabbed my waist. I pushed at him, but the five push-ups I’d worked up to weren’t doing the trick.
His chest was firm. I could feel the corded muscles through his shirt, and...and I was still mad at him.
“All you do is pester me! Like an annoying—“ I never finished what I was going to say.
Nate grasped my shoulders and tugged me tight against his chest. He placed a hand at the back of my head and slammed his lips onto mine.
No quarter.
His lips slanted over mine possessively.
He was taking and demanding. And what was worse—I was giving.
I was kissing Louis Nathaniel Mercier. For the life of me, I couldn’t recall the boy he had been. All those memories had been replaced with the man standing in front of me kissing me right then.
When he finally pulled back, I’d gone numb with shock. I tried to open my eyelids, but I was afraid if I did, it would turn out that I’d imagined the whole thing.
Miss Trailerhood Page 7