Not the One

by Toni Aleo

  “I feel like I can’t start something with Theo right now. I’m not ready.”

  “Tell him that.”

  “Like he’d listen,” she commented, looking out the window where he had a table and chairs set up on the dock. He was lighting a candle, and even from her window, she knew he looked gorgeous. He was wearing a soft yellow button-down, some of those old jeans, and his boots. Her heart raced, and she was shocked to realize she still loved him too. “I can’t believe it, but I still love him.”

  “Of course you do.” Delaney laughed. “You two are made for each other.”

  “I’m just not ready. It wouldn’t be fair to him, or me, for me just to jump back in after five long years with someone else.”

  “Again, Gen, tell him that. He’s a great listener, and he’ll do just about anything for you.”

  “I haven’t even told him I called it off with Montgomery.”

  “Yeah, do that.”

  Gen rolled her eyes. “You’re not helping here.”

  “Team Theo!”

  “Loser, I’ll talk to you later.”

  Delaney giggled as she said, “Wait, don’t hang up.”

  “What?”

  “Randy’s house, you want me to tell them you want it?” Gen bit her lip. She had been thinking about it all day since she got the text from Delaney that someone else was looking at the house. “I think you do.”

  Gen wasn’t sure how she’d do it. Would she go home and get her things, bring them down to Spring Grove? Or have them delivered? She wasn’t sure, but she really needed to face Montgomery first. No matter what, she knew she would be coming back. She couldn’t leave again. Not for good, at least. This place was her home.

  And Theo was there.

  “I’m a mess.”

  “Yup, so that’s a yes?”

  Exhaling heavily, she nodded even though Delaney couldn’t see her. “Yes.”

  “Yee-haw! Okay, I’ll get back with you tomorrow. Good luck! Use protection unless you’re ready for a kid. Then free the beast, girl. Get it!”

  And then the line went dead.

  Rolling her eyes, Gen threw her phone down and headed downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, Theo was coming in from the patio. His gaze fell on her, and his lips slowly curved. “Mercy me, Genny. Trying to kill me tonight?”

  She waved him off. “It’s just a dress.”

  “One that was made to be my undoing,” he announced, holding his hand out. She was hesitant and completely breathless, but she took his hand as he intertwined their fingers. “Let’s go.” After reaching for a bottle of wine, he led them out into the summer night. “I made some fried chicken and greens.”

  “Yum.”

  “Figured you’d love that.”

  “You figured right.”

  She inhaled softly, and when she looked up at him, he was watching her. Again. She’d never felt so beautiful in someone else’s eyes. Not even when Montgomery would look at her did she know what he was thinking. But with Theo, his eyes said it all. He wanted her. Soon, they were both smiling, which caused her to look away so her heart wouldn’t come out of her chest and land on the grass for him to see.

  As they reached the table, he held her chair out for her. She sat down and sent him a smile. He sat across from her and poured them each a glass of wine. “You still drink, right?” he asked, filling her cup to the top.

  She giggled. “I do. Just out of a glass now.”

  “Ah, classy lady,” he teased, and he smiled as he filled his just the same. Reaching across the table, he took her hands, and she was confused until he bowed his head, saying grace over their food.

  “And thank you, Lord, for bringing her back. Amen.”

  Gen looked up, their gazes meeting, and repeated, “Amen.” Her grin grew as she opened her napkin, laying it on her lap. “So.”

  “So.” He dug in, taking one of the chicken legs before stuffing it in his mouth, getting most of the meat off the bone. A silence fell between them as she picked at her mac and cheese. When she looked up at him, he was sucking the bone, his eyes on her. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

  She scoffed. “Not at all.”

  “Your brows are touching, so you’re uncomfortable or confused. Which is it?”

  She gave him a look as she relaxed her face. “Neither, thank you.”

  “Sure.”

  She rolled her eyes as she took a bite of the mac and cheese. It was magnificent. Groaning as it went down her throat, she pointed her fork at him. “Perfection.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” He tipped his imaginary hat to her before digging back in.

  Taking a sip of her wine, she held the glass in her hands as she enjoyed the peacefulness of the lake. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “You are.”

  She gave him a sideways glance and sighed. “You’re ruthless.”

  “That I am.”

  Turning to look at him, she smiled. “So tell me everything.”

  “Everything?”

  “Yes, last ten years, what you did, who you did it with, everything.”

  He eyed her. “You first.”

  She eyed him back, but he just shot her that devilish grin of his that made her heart go wild in her chest and her body break out in gooseflesh. “Fine. I stayed here about two weeks after you went to jail.”

  “Two weeks? Why?”

  “I was hoping you’d get out.”

  “What did you do for money?”

  “I used my dad’s credit card.”

  “The emergency card? Naughty girl.”

  She chuckled ruefully. “That’s how he found me.”

  “Oh. Well, that sucks.”

  “Yeah, he made me leave. I went to college.”

  “How many men fell under your spell?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t date anyone.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I just slept around.”

  “Sounds about right,” he teased, and she grinned over at him.

  “You make me sound like a whore.”

  “Nah, just a girl with a plan.”

  “I always have a plan.”

  “Yeah, you do.”

  She gave him a sneaky grin and then let out a long breath before grabbing her glass once more, taking a sip. “I graduated, wrote my first novel, shopped it around, and got signed. It was awesome. Especially when I hit the New York Times, that was one of best moments of my life. I was actually out celebrating when I met back up with Montgomery.”

  “And he stole your heart?”

  She shrugged. “No, but he was fun to sleep with, and then he somehow talked me into dating him. And then—”

  “The rest is history.”

  “Yeah.”

  A silence fell between them as he devoured the rest of his chicken. She watched as his brow furrowed and his jaw ticked. He was annoyed. When he looked up, cleaning his teeth with his tongue, he made a clicking noise before he asked, “Fun to sleep with, huh?”

  She laughed at that. “Of course that’s the part that hangs you up.”

  “Yes, because I thought I was fun to sleep with. You loved it.”

  “I did. But I don’t know if you remember, but you got thrown in jail, and I never saw you again.”

  “Yeah, I do remember that.”

  “I was holding out for ya. I came here all the time until the moment he proposed. Then I stopped.”

  “Why?”

  “He didn’t want me here.”

  “Hmm.”

  She nodded, hating how stupid she sounded. Montgomery didn’t want her there. Who the hell cared? This was her spot, her second home, but then, she had to respect him, didn’t she? Well, if that was the case, why hadn’t she respected him when he asked her not to come this time? Shaking her head, she said, “So now you.”

  He looked up, wiping his mouth as he nodded. “I went to jail. Two long years. I wrote to you every day.”

  Her lips curved. “You did? Why didn’t you send the
m?”

  “I didn’t know your address, and the letters were dumb. I just told ya I loved you in a billion different ways,” he said, chuckling as he looked out at the lake. “I’d think of ya every night. The way your hair flew in the wind when we were driving here. The way your face burned so quickly that one day. Your laugh, your touch… Your kisses about did me in when I was stuck in that cell.”

  She ran her tongue along her lips. “You should have sent the letters. I would have loved them.”

  “I know, but what was the point? I was a convicted felon,” he laughed. “God, I was stupid.”

  “Just a bit.”

  He flashed her a grin. “But I got out. Begged Old Man McElroy to give me a job, he did, and I worked for five long years up at the distillery. I always helped everyone out, stuff around the diner, Mawmaw Pearl still has me mowing her lawn whenever Holden can’t come do it for her, which is a lot since he’s so damn busy up at the distillery. But I did a lot of side work for Ms. Neil here at the Blu. I loved the place before I started working here, but when she had me crawling all over hell and high water in this place, I just fell harder. Or maybe it was the memories of this place, our memories that had me coming back all the time.”

  She was breathless, watching as he talked. Clearing her throat, she whispered, “We had some damn good memories.”

  He nodded, a grin curving his lips. “I think I did you on this dock.”

  She snickered. “And in the lake.”

  He laughed, his head falling back as he shook his head. “Man, we were wild.”

  “Sure were.”

  His gaze met back up with hers, and he nodded. “And when Ms. Neil passed, I had so much money saved up since I didn’t have anywhere, or anyone, for that matter, to spend it—”

  “Please, all the girls would want you around here.”

  “Oh, they wanted, and I gave some to some, but no one got my heart. No one. Except you.” She looked away, a smile fighting the urge to spread. He had a way of making her feel so damn good. “But I bought the place, and for the last four years, I’ve turned a damn good profit. It’s doing wonderful. I mean, I’m no Zoe Jayne.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Some would think you’re better.”

  He scoffed. “Please.”

  “I think so.” Once the words left her mouth, he inhaled deeply as he leaned on the table, taking one of her hands in his and lacing their fingers together. Her breath caught at the simple touch, and when his eyes met hers, chills ran down her spine.

  “I did it for you, Genny. All of it. You know that, right?”

  She slowly nodded. “I suspect so.”

  “I did it for us.”

  “Theo.”

  “No, listen—”

  But before he could continue, a truck screeched to a stop on the side of the Blu, and Holden jumped out in a hurry. “Asshole, where is your phone?”

  Theo stood, and Gen did the same. “In the house. We’re having dinner.”

  “That’s fine and dandy, but I’ve been calling you, Pearl’s callin’, hell, even Jackie called.”

  Theo was moving up the dock, and Gen rushed to catch up. “Why, what the hell’s wrong?”

  “Delaney found out Larry’s been cheating.”

  Theo paused, causing Gen to run smack into the middle of his back with a umph. “Shit. What?”

  “Yup, with Annalee.”

  “What?”

  “Yup,” Holden said slowly, shaking his head. “And Delaney’s got her Louisville.”

  Gen had no clue what was happening, or what that even meant, but by the looks on Holden’s and Theo’s faces, it didn’t mean anything good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  When Theo pulled into the spot next to Holden, Gen’s eyes widened at the sight of Delaney on the top of a very nice black Mustang.

  Swinging the bat into the hood.

  “Del, get down. Please stop. Oh, fuck,” Larry yelled as he ducked when she swung it at him.

  “How dare you! With Annalee! The town slut! Are you fucking kidding me? I am a joy, a fucking delight, and I am gorgeous! You were lucky I was fucking you!”

  “Tell him, Del,” someone in the crowd yelled as she slammed the bat into the windshield, people gasping and grimacing at the damage that was done. When Larry screamed, running to the only police officer in Spring Grove, Gen’s eyes almost fell out of her head.

  He was eating a donut and drinking some coffee.

  “Bryce, do something!”

  Bryce, who Gen thought was Old Man McElroy’s youngest son, just shrugged. “Sorry, this donut and coffee are damn good. Have you tried them yet?”

  “This isn’t fair! She gets away with murder in this town! Why, ’cause she plays on your softball team?”

  “I don’t see anything,” he said simply.

  “You fucking ginger ass—” Larry started, but when Bryce stood to his full height, Larry’s words fell off abruptly.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  Larry just let out a yell as he ran back to where Delaney was not holding back at all. “Del, stop! This is madness! We weren’t in love.”

  She whipped around, swinging the bat at him once more. “But we could have been! Now I’m going to have to go back to online dating, you son of a fat bitch!”

  Larry gasped. “My momma ain’t fat!”

  “No, she is not. She is a very nice woman, but she raised a shit-for-brains asshole!”

  “Damn, she’s mad,” Gen observed, and both Holden and Theo nodded.

  “Theo, please do something,” Pearl said as she came up. “She swung the bat at Holden.”

  Theo exhaled harshly as he shook his head, squeezing Gen’s hand. “Give me a moment, all right?”

  “Of course,” Gen said as he headed toward where Delaney was knocking off the side mirrors with a grunt at each one. “I’ve never seen her this mad.”

  “She doesn’t do cheating, that’s for sure,” Holden said with a shake of his head. “Hey, you know Theo is still digging you, right?”

  Gen smiled. “I know. Thanks, Holden.”

  He just nodded, sending her a grin as she brought her attention to where Theo was calmly talking to Delaney, who was paying him no mind. “Del, come on. Let’s get down before you get hurt.”

  “No, Theo! He cheated on me! I hate him.”

  “I am aware, and you have every right to lose your ever-loving shit, but we need to stop. Bryce is gonna be done with that donut soon.”

  Delaney paused, looking back at Bryce, who waved, and then to Theo. “Go buy him a fucking ’nother one!” Theo grimaced as she started on the top of the car. “It isn’t fair! I’ll never be able to find someone to love me the way you love Gen. Or hell, the way anyone loves anyone in this fucking town! I’m always stuck with the motherfucking bag of herpes dicks!”

  When she swung hard once more, the bat hit the frame of the car, shattering into pieces. She screamed, and Gen’s heart broke for her. Tears were streaming down her beautiful, flushed face, and she just looked broken. When Delaney fell onto the car, sitting with a huff, Gen found tears gathering in her own eyes.

  “All right, show’s over,” Bryce said finally, coming off his car, wiping his hands. Coming toward Delaney, he tapped her knee. “You’re done, Del.”

  “I’m done,” she cried as Theo gathered her up, holding her close as she cried. Gen watched for a moment and knew she would never meet anyone else like him. She’d never encounter a town like this, where everyone looked after everyone. She loved this place, and boy, did she love that man. But before she could even move, go and join them, she could see that behind them stood the last person she ever thought she’d see in Spring Grove.

  Montgomery.

  Surely, she was seeing things, but she really wasn’t. He was standing there, a wide-eyed expression on his face. When his gaze met Gen’s, he shook his head and then pointed to where there wasn’t a crowd. Gen drew her brows together as she made her way to him around the crowd so that no one would no
tice.

  “Does that happen all the time? That’s crazy.”

  Gen shook her head. “No, not at all.” With wide eyes herself, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, hello to you too,” he answered, his movements very stiff. It was obvious he didn’t want to be there.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s been radio silence from you, and then you just pop up?”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to come talk to you.”

  Her heart started to jackhammer in her chest. “What for? You’ve said enough, I think.”

  “I don’t like the way you ended things.”

  “Did you give me much of a choice? I mean, fuck, Mont, you accused me of shit, left and right.”

  “’Cause I knew it was over. When you left, I knew you were leaving me.”

  “That wasn’t my intention at first.”

  He shook his head. “And now?”

  She didn’t even hesitate. “We’re done.” He looked away, his beautiful face pained as he seemed not to understand her words. “I won’t be with someone who doesn’t support me, who accuses me of stuff I wasn’t doing—”

  “Fine, I’ll support you. Write your heart out, just don’t end this.”

  She shook her head. “Mont, it doesn’t work like that. The damage is done.”

  He scoffed. “Is it? Or is it because that bastard is watching us?”

  Her eyes burned into Montgomery’s. She didn’t have to look to know that Theo was watching. She fully expected him to. Hell, she expected a damn circle to form soon. That was Spring Grove, nothing was ever private, but she wouldn’t let Montgomery think that. “I was done on day three of being here when you wouldn’t answer my calls.”

  “I am a busy man.”

  “You’re right. Way too busy for me.”

  He sighed, shaking his head. “I want to be with you. Gen, don’t you understand that?”

  She eyed him, not the least bit convinced. Something was off. “Your mom make you come here?”

  He grimaced, shaking his head. “No. I wanted to.”

  “Okay, then why haven’t you told me you love me?”