by Ava May
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This is the first book of a 3-part series. Get Book 2 and 3 here:
Book 2: Love Unbound
Book 3: After the Dark
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In a Wild Moment
Billionaire in Love Book 1
Ava May
(Find all books by Ava May)
This is the first book of a 3-part series. Get Book 2 and 3 here:
Book 2: Love Unbound
Book 3: After the Dark
In a Wild Moment
Chapter 1
It had been a mixed couple of weeks for Scarlett Parker. The rays of the sun shone into her apartment and danced across the lounge, creating streaks of light and shadow that summed up the contrast in her life. She looked in the mirror and slid her hands along the curves of her body, patting out the slight creases that remained in the black dress, wondering if she should take it off and iron it, then glancing at the clock and realizing that she was already late. Scarlett sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Life was funny in the way it worked out and it was strange to see her reflection looking back at her when she wasn't really sure if she even knew herself.
She slipped on her shoes, picked up her keys, and walked out of the door. Just before she did so, she looked a picture of her and Lisa.
“I really miss you, Sis,” she said, and a silent tear swelled in her eye. Scarlett blinked it back before it began to sting.
The day was warm, and in the distance she could hear the neighbors' kids playing, laughing with glee. Life was so innocent and perfect for them, Scarlett thought, and felt sad that it could not go back to that way for her. Just as she got into her car, her phone vibrated. Her breath caught in her throat, but when she looked at it she sighed with relief. It wasn't Matt calling; it was just her parents.
“Are you on your way, dear?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, I'm sorry I'm late. I'm just leaving now,” Scarlett said as she clipped the seat belt around her.
“Could you pick us up some cranberry sauce on the way? I thought I had more than I did. Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind. Must be my age,” her mother said with a soft chuckle.
“Of course. Any particular brand?”
“Any old thing will do. See you soon,” her mother said, then ended the call. Scarlett tossed the phone into the passenger seat and eased the car out of the driveway, then drove through the city, stopping by at the store on the way. As she walked through the aisles, she resisted the temptation to buy anything else, but at the last minute remembered what Lisa's favorite brand of cranberry sauce was, then she saw a bag of M&M's. She giggled as she thought about how Lisa would rant about how popular the peanut ones were when the chocolate ones were better, so she picked up a packet and munched on them in the car. As she felt the soft shell crunch in between her teeth, she smiled. It was only a few years ago that her mother would have scolded her for eating candy before her dinner. It was one of the small joys of adulthood in which Scarlett reveled.
Then the phone rang and her mood darkened. It was him again. She thought about letting it run through to her voice mail but she knew that it would only make him call again. And again. And again. So reluctantly, she picked up the phone.
“What?” she asked curtly.
“I just wanted to check if you were okay. You know, since it's—” Matt started.
“I'm fine, and even if I wasn't, I don't need you to check up on me. It's not your job anymore.”
“But I still care about you. I want to make sure you're okay.”
“The only thing that's making me not okay is still talking to you. It's over, Matt. And nothing's going to change.”
“Please, Scarlett. I can change. Whatever our problems were, we can work through them. I just know that we're perfect for each other, if you'd only give us a chance.”
“We had a chance, Matt. We had loads of chances. Just let it go. This whining isn't doing you any favors. I'm not in the mood to talk about this right now anyway. I have more important things to think about today.”
“Can I call you later? Just to make sure that you're okay.”
“No. Matt. Leave. Me. ALONE!” she said, and slammed the phone down on the seat, where it bounced a little. The anger rose within her and she crumpled the bag of M&M's in a tight fist, feeling them crack under her force. He wasn't going to make her miserable. Not today of all days. She finished up the remnants of the sweets and then made her way to her parents’.
When she arrived, she clutched the small jar of cranberry sauce in her hand and walked up to the door, knocking. It felt strange to knock, as she'd spent most of her life living here. Only recently had she moved out to the apartment, but in many ways this was still home. Her mother opened the door, and it was clear from her eyes that she had been crying. Scarlett knew that her own tears would come later. They always came at night. Her mother, Janice, hugged her tightly, and it was a hug that lingered longer than usual, but Scarlett didn't mind. She handed the cranberry sauce to her mother, who took it through to the kitchen.
The house was alive with the succulent smell of a roast dinner, and Scarlett breathed in deeply. While she'd always had an interest in cooking, she didn't indulge that hobby often since cooking for one often seemed like a waste. Besides, she was kept busy enough at work that she survived on a basic diet, so coming around her parents' was always a treat.
While her mother went into the kitchen, Scarlett went into the lounge where her father was sitting in his armchair, watching the television with glassy eyes.
“Hey, Dad,” she said, and Steve jumped in his chair, startled.
“Oh, Scarlett, I didn't hear you come in. Sorry, I must have been a million miles away,” he said. She smiled at him, although it was a weak one. There was a permanent sadness in his eyes that gave him a wistful melancholy and she hated that it was always there. She still had the memory of him being a cheerful, joyous man, but now he was somber. Well, they all were.
“And how are you? I bet you're feeling pleased with yourself. Have you been thinking of things to spend all your extra money on?”
“I really don't know. The new job means I'll be working more hours, so I probably won't have as much time to do stuff as I used to. The money will probably just sit in my account. I might save up for a holiday, or a mortgage,” she said as she wandered over to the mantelpiece and idly played with some of her mother's porcelain ladies.
“You should make sure that you do something with the money. You can't take it with you after all, and you don't want to be stuck in that office all of the time. You should save up and go traveling like you always wanted. Like she always wanted...”
She knew that it was only a matter of time before her sister came into the conversation. It had been a
few years since the accident but it was always awkward whenever Lisa came up. She had been such a big part of their lives that they'd never been able to fill the hole she had left. Scarlett had tried to live her life as best she could, and wanted to live enough for the both of them. As such, she worked hard, with a fierce determination. She rose through the ranks of her company and had been rewarded with a promotion, but it meant that she missed out on some other aspects of life. Lisa had always talked about traveling and seeing the world, and her father wanted to make sure that Scarlett didn't miss out on anything, not like Lisa had to.
“You know, we should be able to talk about her without it becoming awkward,” Scarlett said.
“I know, it's just... I miss her every day. It was horrible the way she was taken from us.”
“I don't think she'd want us to be sad forever though. Sadness wasn't really a part of her life.”
“No, she was always smiling, always laughing. She never failed to cheer me up. She had a light inside of her that only a few people have.”
“I know,” Scarlett said, walking over and squeezing her father's hand.
“That's why I want to make sure that you're happy. I know your career is important to you, and I'm proud that you've gotten as far as you have, but it shouldn't be everything in life. There's more to it than that and you should embrace it.”
“I will, Dad. I know one day I'll go on a trip. If I hadn't gotten this promotion then I'd probably be gone already but I want to get used to my new job first and the new office.”
“I suppose it's like an adventure in and of itself,” he said, smiling.
“And what about you? What are you doing to live life?”
“Oh, you know, I potter about here and there. It would be nice if you visited a little more often,” he said, and Scarlett had wondered how long it would be before the guilt trip started.
“Leave her alone, Steve. She's got better things to do than to hang out with some old coots like us,” Janice said. The apron she was wearing was stained and her gray eyes were tired.
“Do you need any help, Mom?” Scarlett asked.
“No, in fact it's almost ready, so why don't the two of you come and sit yourselves down?”
Chapter 2
Scarlett took her seat at the round table in the dining room that was connected to the kitchen. The smell of the food was strong and her stomach rumbled as her mother brought lots of dishes to the table. There were colorful vegetables, golden-brown potatoes, and succulent meat that oozed temptation. And there was an empty space. Lisa would never join them again, and her absence was still felt dearly. Although they tried to speak normally, the weight of the past was always present, and there was no escaping the harsh reality that her sister had died.
“This looks lovely,” Steve said, clapping his hands together.
“Yeah, Mom. You've outdone yourself as always,” Scarlett said, knowing that her mother had made far too much food, as usual. They sat down, and although they weren't religious, they held hands. It was only at Thanksgiving and Christmas that they did these sorts of things, but it had become something of a family tradition. They held hands and closed their eyes, and their mother spoke.
“Thank you for the feast before us and keeping us together and healthy,” she said. It was short and sweet. Scarlett wondered why she bothered at all. Afterwards, there was a moment's silence as they remembered Lisa, and this was the part of Thanksgiving that Scarlett hated the most, because it opened the wounds and a bitter pain swelled in her soul. She wanted to remember the way Lisa laughed and the stupid little things she did, or the way she always mixed together everything on her plate.
'It all goes down the same way!' she used to say. But whenever Scarlett thought of those things she quickly became overwhelmed with the night that Lisa died. Scarlett was at home when it happened—when she got the call—but when they arrived at the hospital it was already too late. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye and it had been so long that Scarlett couldn't remember what their last conversation had been about, although it was probably something inconsequential. But all Scarlett could think about were the last moments of her sister's life. For all their life they had been so close that people assumed that they were twins, and their bond went so deep that it was almost like having a phantom limb. She felt what Lisa felt and vice versa, but when the accident happened, Scarlett didn't feel anything. She hated that Lisa had to be alone and wondered what had been going through her mind in the split-second before she lost consciousness. Did her whole life flash before her eyes or was she only aware of the twisting metal and searing heat that blazed around her?
The doctors said that it all happened so quickly that she wouldn't have suffered, but Scarlett didn't believe that. She only wished that she could have been there and let Lisa know that she wasn't alone.
It had been such a shock to the whole family when it happened. You always heard about these things happening, but never imagined that it would happen to yourself and how it would be like in the days afterwards. Even when Scarlett saw Lisa lying helpless in the hospital bed, she couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. Death wasn't like what it was in the movies. For months afterwards, it was hard to forget that Lisa wasn't there, that she simply didn't exist anymore. Scarlett wondered whether she had cried enough, or if she had cried too much. There wasn't a right way or a wrong way to deal with grief, and Scarlett had tried to channel it into something productive. Everything had changed for her and her parents that day. When Lisa died, a part of each of them had died as well.
What made it worse was that they never found out who killed her. The other driver had already been taken to hospital, and the crime had never been able to get to court for reasons that neither Scarlett nor her parents understood. In the end, it had taken too much energy and too much time to fight. All they knew was that the other driver had been taken to hospital as well, but there was nothing after that, and that had been the end of it. It didn’t seem just, but over time the Parkers just had to try and make peace with what happened.
Thus, they were left as three when once there had been four. Scarlett spooned healthy portions of food onto her plate and her mother raised a toast to her for her promotion.
“A media executive. Who knew you'd be such a high-flyer!” Janice said.
“I still remember when you used to eat crayons. You've come a long way since then,” Steve said. Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him.
“Do you know what kind of things you'll be working on yet?” Janice asked, ignoring Steve's comment.
“It's mostly going to be similar things to what I worked on before, but now I'll be in charge of all the campaigns. It's a lot more responsibility.”
“Well, you deserve it. We're both very proud of you.”
“That's enough about your job. What about your personal life? Is there any movement on that horizon? We aren't getting any younger you know, and we would like to have grandchildren at some point, preferably before we're senile so we're still able to play with them!” her father said.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him again and dug her knife into a piece of meat, tearing it away with relish.
“I'm very happy being by myself right now,” she said. “I've been through a lot recently and I'm just happy to focus on my job. If I met the right guy then that might change, but for now I'm just going with the flow.”
“It's a shame you and Matt had to break up, I always thought he was a decent guy.”
“Yeah, I did too,” Scarlett said bitterly. Janice quickly changed the subject, and for the rest of the meal they spoke about idle matters and current affairs, but each of them continued to glance at the empty seat, feeling the absence of Lisa, and the melancholia that came with it.
After dinner, Scarlett helped her mom clear up the plates and wash up while Steve went into the front room to sleep his meal away.
“So have you heard from him again?” Janice asked.
“Yeah. He keeps calling me. What should
I do?”
“I guess all you can do is keep telling him you're not interested. Eventually he'll get the hint.”
“But what if he doesn't? I never thought he'd have this side to him. Things just went from bad to worse. I can't believe I ever saw anything in him in the first place.”
“I know. People are like that sometimes.”
“It would have been easier if he didn’t turn out to be a big jerk. I mean, if he thought there were problems, then why not come to me about them instead of going to someone else? It's not my fault that he has no ambition. What right did he have to get mad at me just because I wanted to focus on my career? And now he wants to make up? I'm seriously considering going to the cops about it if he doesn't stop. It's bordering on harassment.”
“Well, let's hope that he takes the hint soon.”
“I've given him more than a hint! I've got enough to worry about with the new job I don't need Matt spoiling it for me as well.”
“Are you looking forward to tomorrow?”
Scarlett sighed, calming her temper somewhat. She washed a plate, then stacked it next to the others, watching the soapy suds dribble down.
“Yes. I mean, it feels weird because I'm going to be working in the same building, so it should be the same, but I have no idea what the people on the new floor are going to be like. I'm going to miss everyone that I already work with, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Once I get there and find out what projects I'm working on, I'll be able to get down to work and it'll all go smoothly,” she said. They continued washing up and a comfortable silence descended upon them. There was so much that they wanted to say and so much left unsaid, but they both knew what was on each others' mind.
“What do you think she'd be doing now?” Scarlett asked softly. Janice paused for a moment, although she could have foreseen that the question was coming. Somehow the conversations always came back to Lisa even when they didn't want them to.