by Caitlyn Dare
“Fucking hell, that’s impressive.”
“Language, Conner,” James barks, looking anything but comfortable with us all together. He keeps looking between me, Remi, and our joined hands like he’s going to shank me any minute.
You’re not getting out of this quite that easily, motherfucker.
The restaurant is more pretentious than I expected, and I hate it from the moment we walk through the doors. Everything is either perfect white or chrome. The floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the almost three-hundred and sixty degree view of the Bay beyond, and when I ask for a beer the waitress turns her nose up like I’ve ordered a glass of shit.
“Champagne for the adults and orange juice for the kids, please,” James says, stepping in.
“Kids?” I ask incredulously when the waiter has walked away. “None of us are fucking kids.”
“You’re under twenty-one, so no alcohol will pass your lips tonight.”
I scoff and sit back in my seat. Remi’s hand brushes up my thigh, and I reach down to wrap my fingers around it as I try to keep my cool.
I don’t want to fucking be here, pretending that we’re the fucking Brady Bunch.
It’s bullshit, all of it.
“What the fuck is this shit?” Conner asks, his eyes wide as he stares at the menu before him. It might as well be written in another fucking language for all the sense it makes.
“Just pick what meat you want and the rest can be a surprise,” I tell him as James’ eyes drill into the top of his head. “What was wrong with a normal restaurant where we can wear normal clothes and eat normal sounding food?”
“It’s Remi’s birthday, she deserves the best.”
“Even though she specifically told you she didn’t want this.”
“That’s enough,” he hisses. “Stop trying to ruin it.”
“Me? You want me to stop ruining it? Un-fucking-believable. Are you really that clueless?”
He stares at me for a beat before the waiter reappears and puts an end to our slanging match to take our orders.
“Remi, I know your birthday isn’t officially until Friday, but with Cole’s first game and the party I’m sure you’ll all attend after, I thought we should celebrate tonight. So, without further ado. Happy birthday, sweetheart.” James hands over a perfectly wrapped box.
She’s forced to remove her hand from my leg, and I reluctantly let her go, although I miss her calming touch the second her heat leaves me.
“Oh wow,” her eyes go wide, “I wasn’t expecting anything. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t even know what’s inside yet, baby,” Sarah coos, nodding toward the box eagerly, hinting to the fact that she’s well aware of its contents.
We all watch in silence as Remi pulls open the ribbon and slides the top off. She pulls back the tissue that hides the contents before she gasps. “Oh my goodness, James. I can’t. This is too much.”
“Nothing is too much, sweetheart. You deserve it and more.”
We all watch with bated breath as she reaches in and pulls out what has her so shocked. The last thing I expect to see when her fingers emerge is a fucking car key.
A tornado begins to swell within me. He bought her a fucking car. I risk a glance over at my brothers, who are also staring at it in utter disbelief.
For years we go without anything, not even a fucking phone call. I might be the only one out of the three of us who’s turned eighteen so far, but I didn’t get a fucking car. All I got was a fucking OD’d mother and a fucked-up life.
Remi’s hand trembles as she places it on the table. She glances my way, her eyes burning into my side of my face as my stare remains on the key.
This is total fucking bullshit.
Is this why he wanted us here? So he could rub everything we don’t have in our faces? Are we really that unworthy? That unlovable?
That meaningless?
“That’s not all.” James eyes the box again, and Remi hesitantly looks inside.
She pulls out an envelope. Assuming it’s just a card, I sit back and try to work on my anger not getting the better of me. This is the last place I need to lose my cool with James, but I’m balancing on a very thin edge right now.
As expected, Remi pulls a birthday card from the envelope, but it’s not until something falls from it that I see red. My head spins and my fists clench.
“James, no. I can’t accept this.”
“You can and you will. It’s for the college of your choice.”
“This is fucking bullshit.”
Gasps sound out around the restaurant as my chair goes toppling back and all eyes turn on me, but the only ones I see are his. The lying motherfucker who’s trying to ruin my life with his manipulation and lies.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Remi
I can’t breathe.
The entire restaurant is watching us, a mix of disgust, curiosity, and surprise swirling in their eyes.
Ace is looming over me, anger rolling off him so dark it’s palpable. I reach out for him, staring into his eyes and willing him to calm down. “Sit down, Ace, we can talk about it.”
There’s no way I’m accepting a car and the check off James. It doesn’t feel right, none of it does, and my heart sinks for the three boys around the table who look gutted.
“Ace, I suggest you sit down, son. You’re ruining Remi’s birthday meal.”
I shoot James a pleading glance. He’s making it worse. I know he probably didn’t mean to rub his wealth in his nephews’ faces, but that’s exactly what he’s done, and now he’s driving a wedge between me and Ace so deep I feel like I might fall in and never find my way out.
“Ace, please...” I say, tugging his hand. But his eyes are fixed on James, burning with so much contempt, I feel a tingle of fear. I know Ace hates his uncle. I know there’s more going on here than I understand, but I barely recognize the guy standing beside me right now.
“Ace, look at me.” I stand up, facing him. His chest is heaving and his eyes are so dark and empty. A violent shiver runs through me.
“Come on, let’s eat and try to make the most of it. Please.”
“This was a mistake,” he grits out. “I should never have come.”
Hurt swells inside me. “Hey, look at me.” I touch my palm to his face. He’s staring right past me. “Ace, please,” I beg.
“Excuse me,” the manager appears, “is there a problem?”
“Yeah, there is,” Ace’s tone is ice cold, “but don’t worry, the trash will see itself out.” He rips his hand away from mine and stalks toward the entrance. I’m about to take off after him, but James leaps from his seat.
“Stay,” he says, rubbing his jaw. “I’ll go and speak to him. I perhaps didn’t handle that very well.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I nod. To my surprise, Conner and Cole don’t go after their brother. Mom is whispering something to Cole, and Conner is shaking his head as if he can’t quite believe what just happened.
“He got you a fucking car,” he sneers.
“I didn’t ask for it,” I choke out, rubbing my throat. My eyes flick to the door Ace just stalked out of. People are no longer staring, instead casting furtive glances at our table while they chat and eat their meals. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
Mom’s face pales. “I didn’t know he was going to give you the check, not here. I swear.”
So why did he do it?
It makes no sense.
James isn’t malicious. Sure, he might get it wrong sometimes, especially where Ace and his brothers are concerned. But he cares. If he didn’t, he would never have taken them in.
I glance to Conner, ready to ask him if he thinks I should go check on his uncle and Ace, but he beats me to it.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You saw what happened just now.” He lowers his voice. “That’s the Ace we know. The guy with the short fuse and qu
ick temper. I love my brother more than anything, but he’s messed up, Remi. More than you’ll ever know.”
“I’m going to check on—“ I’m halfway out of my seat when James returns.
“Ace won’t be coming back.”
“What did he say?” I swallow the pain burning my throat. “Maybe I should go after him?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, he needs some space to cool off.”
I look at Conner and Cole, hoping they’ll back me up. Cole’s eyes are narrowed, and I know he isn’t happy with what went down, but indecision flickers in his gaze. Conner looks resigned. His brows are drawn tight, and his eyes hold a sadness that squeezes my heart.
“He’s his own worst enemy, Remi,” he says. “All he had to do was play nice.”
I’m out of my seat before I can stop myself. “I’m going to see if I can talk to him.” Without looking back, I hurry out of the restaurant.
But when I get outside, there’s no sign of Ace.
I dig my cell phone out of my purse and call him. It rings out, so I text instead.
Remi: We need to talk about this, please.
I stand there, waiting for his reply. Desperate for a sign he’s okay. He’d been so angry when the check slid out of my birthday card. Betrayal. Resentment. Hatred. It all swirled in his eyes, radiated from him, but I saw through it. I saw the young boy trying to be a man in a world that only ever taught him disappointment.
A world that had repeatedly told him he wasn’t good enough.
Remi: I’ll be here waiting, when you’re ready.
I hit send and inhale a deep breath. Hopefully, Ace will realize that it’s not our differences that define us but how we feel and love and live.
Ace says he doesn’t care about anything, but I know he does.
He cares too much.
Ace didn’t come back. He didn’t call. He didn’t text. It’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the Earth. But Conner didn’t need to tell me where his brother had gone off too. I knew there was only one place Ace would escape to when things got too hard.
The Heights.
Part of me wants to go after him, to borrow Mom’s car and go down there and demand he talk to me, but I don’t. Because I realized something else after the shitshow that was my birthday dinner last night.
I can’t be the only one fighting for us.
“Hey, almost birthday girl.” Hadley sits down and nudges my shoulder. “Why the frown?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Wouldn’t happen to do with a certain brooding bad boy causing a scene at The Blue Bay last night, would it?”
“News sure travels fast.”
“I heard Mr Triskin telling Mrs Gomez.”
“Triskin was there? Great, that’s just—“
“Relax.” She chuckles. “Who gives a shit what Triskin or anyone else thinks? I’m more worried if you’re okay.”
“He’s gone, Hads.” Sadness coils around my heart.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“He didn’t return to his uncle’s. He isn’t in school today. He won’t answer my calls or reply to my messages.”
“That’s rough.”
I nod around a weak smile. “Some birthday, huh?”
“He’ll come back. I saw the two of you in the hall the other day. He’s just as smitten as you.”
“And if he doesn’t?” I want to believe Ace will be back once he’s cooled off, but part of me worries things will be different now.
“You should have seen him, Hads. He was so angry. I could kill James for doing that.”
“What did he do?”
“He bought me a car. A freakin’ car. And then as if that wasn’t enough, he gave me a check for college.”
“Wow, okay, that’s huge.”
“I know. And to make matters worse, I had no idea. It isn’t any wonder Ace hates me. He and his brothers grew up in the Heights with nothing, and then James goes and gifts me a car and a check for college like it’s a store card for the Gap. What the hell was he thinking?”
“He probably wasn’t thinking. That man is completely smitten with your mom, and he adores you. It’s just money, and everyone knows James Jagger has plenty of that lying around.”
“Which is why none of it makes any sense,” I say, something about the whole thing bugging me. “James has all this money, the house, endless resources... and yet, he left his sister-in-law to fend for herself and raise three kids after her husband died? Why didn’t he help them?”
“I thought your mom told you he did try?”
“Yeah, but why didn’t he intervene?”
“Families are strange things, girl. I know that better than anyone. Perhaps he did try, and in the end he had no choice but to walk away?”
“Yeah, maybe.” But I still didn’t buy it. There was a piece of the puzzle still missing.
“Your boy will come around, and when he does, you can have crazy wild make up sex.”
“Hads!” Warmth spreads through me.
“Tell me you don’t want to?”
I press my lips together, fighting a smile. I do want that. Damn, I want it so much.
But first, Ace needs to come to his senses.
“Anything?” I ask, hopeful as I slide into Conner and Cole’s car.
Conner grimaces, and I have my answer.
“Well, has he said anything?”
“Just that he needs time.”
“Time, right,” I grumble.
“Listen, Remi, maybe it’s just time you accept that you and Ace are—“
“Con,” Cole warns.
“What, man? I don’t like seeing her waiting around for him like this. She deserves better.”
I flinch. I know he means it as a compliment, but I only hear another strike against his brother.
“You told him I didn’t accept the check, right?” I’d wanted to refuse the car too, but Mom begged me to see sense. It was just a car. I could get a part-time job to pay for the gas and insurance, and finally having my own set of wheels would be kind of cool.
In the end, we’d compromised. At the weekend, James is taking me to exchange the brand new Audi for something less flashy and more economical.
“See, bro, I told you.” Conner and Cole are having their own conversation.
“You told him what?”
Conner meets my confused stare in the rear-view mirror. “You’re in too deep with Ace.”
“I am not—“
“Listen to yourself.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “You turned down a check for college, Remi. That’s some messed-up shit.”
“It isn’t... I wasn’t expecting that from James. If I wanted someone to pay my way, I’d take my dad’s money.”
“But that’s just it.” He slams his hand against the steering wheel, startling me. “You’ve got options. You have a line of people trying to help you. And you’re throwing it all away and for what, a future with my brother? I hate to break it to you, but you’re kidding yourself. Girls like you don’t end up with guys like us.”
“Conner, that’s not—“
“Just hear me out. It’s cute that you try to shed your rich girl skin, commendable even. But when people see you and my brother together, that’s all they see. The rich girl slumming it with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s never going to get past that, and one day, you’ll end up hating him for it.”
I sink back against the warm leather. Is Conner right? Am I just a permanent reminder to Ace of everything they’ve never had?
Have I been fooling myself this entire time?
“What my dick of a brother is trying to say—” Cole starts, but I cut him dead.
“I get it, thanks.” The words get stuck over the lump in my throat.
Needing a distraction from the tension in the car, I dig out my cell phone and check for messages.
But there’s nothing.
Deciding to try one last time, I text Ace.
Remi: I won’t text aga
in. Maybe you realized I’m not worth it. Or maybe you’re just drunk or high and trying to figure out how to tell me you’re an idiot for running last night... whatever it is, I want you to know that I see you, Ace. I see you, and I’m still here.
I hit send and close my eyes. I don’t expect my cell to ping with a reply. And I definitely don’t expect his name to flash across my screen.
Ace: We should talk. Tomorrow night, after the game?
Remi: Yes, where?
A flicker of hope grows inside me.
Ace: Pool house? James is out of town and Conner and Cole will be at the party. So it’ll just be the two of us.
Remi: I’ll be there.
Ace: Good.
His tone isn’t exactly filling me with happiness, but I’ll take whatever I can get right now. Because I know that if we sit down and talk, we can figure everything out.
Together.
I’m about to text another reply when my cell pings again.
Ace: Oh, and Princess—wear something sexy. We have a lot of making up to do.
A bolt of desire pulses through me, and I can barely contain my smile. We’re going to be okay.
I just know we are.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ace
It might be two days later, but the moment when I saw the figure on that check signed by James fall from the card is on constant replay in my mind.
The second I stormed out of that restaurant, I was gone. It didn’t matter what I was wearing, I took off running even before James had a chance to try and dig himself out of the hole he’d already landed himself in.
He tries to make out like he’s the decent guy for taking us in, giving us all the things we deserve and missed out on, but the only one he cares about is her.