by Claire Adams
“I’ll have to thank your mother for whatever she made you drink tonight. I will talk to you tomorrow.” He sounded happy.
I ended the call, only to sink back on my pillows. It was time to sleep for all of us.
Chapter Eight
Rebecca
I sipped my coffee and walked over to the register, stifling a yawn. It was slow this morning at Grayson’s, but that was typical for a cold, snowy morning. I had the radio up just a little louder than usual and hummed along to the indie song that played through the room.
When I opened the shop, I took some liberties. I was going on eleven years as a stylist, so a little change in music wouldn’t hurt anybody.
I started to wipe down stations once it hit ten o’clock. I would only be in here for another hour on my own before Heather showed up for her shift. The door chimed, and I glanced up in surprise.
It was Austin, dressed casually in worn jeans, a plaid flannel, and a thick coat. He held two cups of coffee in his hand. I approached him with a cautious smile, noticing the hat on his head.
“Is your hair okay?” I asked.
“My hair?” Austin asked, frowning. He handed me a cup marked with few letters. “I thought you might want some coffee. It’s chilly this morning.”
My brow furrowed as I stared at him. “I just assumed you’d only come back here if you needed a haircut. But the last one was so recent. And it seems like you’re not spending much time in town at all.”
Kim kept me informed of all the local gossip. I mostly worked and stayed home. The most I’d do is go to Kim’s like I did the other night. She was much more of a social butterfly than I was.
“My hair is fine. You did a great job with it.” Austin sipped his coffee before looking around. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you, Rebecca.”
“Me? About what?” I assumed the last time we spoke would be it. He was only here through the end of the month, and I could hide out that long, apart from being here.
Austin walked over and took a seat at my station. He sipped the coffee again with a violent shiver. “Jesus, it’s cold.”
“You’re the one who came out in the weather,” I responded. He looked at me with a stern expression. There I go, talking like a fool again. “Sorry. What did you want to talk about?” I was like a teenager all over again around Austin.
“I wanted to apologize to you for the other night,” he said.
I tilted my head in confusion. “For helping me?” Austin regretted that?
He waved his hand in the air and shook his head. “No, I could never regret helping you.” Austin smiled.
I reached for my first cup of coffee, finding it empty. I searched around for the cup that Austin brought.
“What I’m apologizing to you for is acting like an asshole,” he said.
“Oh,” I squeaked. I sat down in a seat across from him.
“This whole trip has thrown me, to be honest. It’s been a few years, and in that time, more people have kissed my ass than anything else.” He looked at me with a sincere gaze. “You’ve always been the only woman to put me in my place. You’re the only one who ever challenged me, apart from Mom.”
“I suppose I have,” I admitted with a small smile. I pushed myself back and forth with my chucks against the old black and white tile.
“You had something right,” he said. “I do remember my roots here well, but life is different in New York. I have everything there, and at the same time, nothing at all. It’s a little lonely when you have the money that I do. Everyone just wants something from me. Apart from my assistant, I don’t know who really likes me for me. But you? You’ve always liked me for me and supported my dreams, but you called me out on all that the other night. You seem to do that a lot easier now.” His gaze searched my face.
I blushed. I’d been such a bitch to him the last few times I’d seen him. A lot more than before. But seeing him was such a shock for me after reading he was supposed to be in the Bahamas. I wasn’t prepared for Austin to be here at all.
“You have a fire inside of you that I’m not used to,” he said, breaking my train of thought. “Most women will do anything to please me.”
“I’ll bet,” I murmured, looking down at the floor. I’d tortured myself with the pictures online and the news stories, feeling so plain and ordinary compared to the women he dated. Every story about his newest celebrity girlfriend made me feel worse.
It seemed like he had a new girl every few months. I was so convinced he’d moved on. There was a good chance he was going to do just that when he returned to New York.
“You were one of the few women to walk away from me,” he said. “You were the only one to tell me ‘no’ when I asked you to come with me. Other women have begged me to let them stay around, and you just ended it that day.” His voice was filled with emotion. “You didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“You weren’t rich then. Perhaps any other woman might have done the same.”
He leaned forward and stared at me. “What if I was? What if I could have given you the world on a string? Would you have said yes then?”
I licked my lips as I looked back at him. I felt tears in my eyes as I searched for an answer. “Even back then, I knew you would go off and be successful. But I never wanted your money or your fame, Austin. I wanted our life to continue here in the town that I loved.” I took a deep breath. “I loved it here, and you were willing to just walk away from all of it, including me. I didn’t think you cared, so of course I ended it. What were we going to do? Drag it out until you left town?”
I sucked in my breath and glanced toward the door. This would be a hell of a time for someone to walk in. Thankfully, the streets were pretty empty. “I loved you, Austin. I didn’t want you to leave me. I wanted you to want to stay here and marry me, create a life with me here, where all of our family and friends were.” A tear slid down my cheek, and I bowed my head to try and gain control of myself. I hadn’t cried once for this man since he came back to town.
When I looked up again, I could see the shock on Austin’s face. I never even told him that I loved him. I was scared when I knew he was just going to leave me once he graduated.
I cleared my throat and pressed a hand to my cheek. “I need to clean myself up.” Heather would be there soon, and eventually, we’d have some customers. I’d never fallen apart in public over Austin Harris, and I wasn’t about to start now. I stood and walked to the bathroom in the back, certain that everything was locked up. I made sure of that when I opened this morning. I walked into the single room and locked the door before I looked into the mirror.
I looked a bit pale, and my eyes were red. Why was Austin even here? I wasn’t ready to feel so weak in front of him. I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed at my eyes. I could do this. I could walk out there and be just fine and thank him for his apology with grace.
I jumped when there was a tap at the door, turning and hitting my hip on the sink.
“Rebecca, are you okay?” It was Heather. “Your friend said that you’ve been in here a while.” She was a few minutes early.
“Is there a customer?” I asked in a panicked voice, pressing my hands against my skinny jeans.
“No. There probably won’t be for a while with the snow coming down again. But I’m here, so come out when you’re ready.” Her sweet voice faded, along with her footsteps.
I turned to look back into the mirror. I dabbed my skin and eyes with a cool, damp paper towel and braided my wavy hair over my shoulder quickly. I felt so restless. I walked out to the counter where Heather was standing with two cups of coffee and smiled at her.
“Hey,” I greeted her as she looked up from the screen that showed our appointments. She slid one of the coffees my way.
“I brought you this.” I looked to the right to see if Austin was still here. He watched me from my station.
“It’s a popular day for coffee,” I said and smiled. “Thanks.” I knew that my voice sounded high and tha
t my hand was shaking. I took the coffee and walked it to my station, meeting Austin’s gaze as I set it down.
“You didn’t tell me that you knew Austin Harris,” Heather said, turning to look at us.
“I have since high school.” Heather was younger, and a fresh graduate from the beauty school, so she wouldn’t remember him. “You two met then?”
“Sure did,” she replied.
I realized that she was smitten with him. Even in his Texas clothes, Austin was gorgeous. What else could I expect?
“I’d like to take you to lunch today, Rebecca. As a way to apologize and all that,” he said.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
He smiled crookedly at me. He knew what that did to me, and I shook my head slowly at him.
“I want to,” he said. “Pick a place. It’s on me. I can afford to spoil you a little bit.”
Austin stood and asked me for my phone. He did something, and I heard his phone chime as he set mine back on the counter. “Text me when you’re going to lunch, and tell me where to meet you. I’m going to talk to Seth and his dad for a bit.”
I stared at him as he left, pressing my lips together.
“Oh, my goodness,” Heather said. “I think he likes you.”
I laughed. She didn’t know the half of it.
“We were friends in school, and he’s visiting,” I said in a weak voice. “It’s been a while, that’s all. Austin is a silly guy.” I sat down in my seat.
“The press makes him seem so driven and serious. You know he’s a billionaire, don’t you?” her voice lowered.
I nodded sadly. I certainly did, and it might be what ruined us.
“I see stories about him all the time,” she said. “He’s like a celebrity in New York!”
I wanted to tell her there was another side to him. Austin went to school here and lived here before all of that. He liked Star Wars and comic books. He wore jeans and scuffed up sneakers. He drove a piece of crap used car in high school, just like the rest of us.
But I remained quiet, wanting to keep all of that to myself. I felt confused by everything that happened this morning, and I needed to think about it. What was I going to say at lunch? I kind of dropped a bomb before I ran away and felt so scared of what he could respond with.
Ugh. I took a sip of the coffee that he brought and glanced up as the door chimed, signaling the arrival of some customers. That would kill some time until around noon, when I normally took my lunch.
Chapter Nine
Austin
I got the text from Rebecca, telling me to meet her at the local diner just a block from the salon. I used to work there back in high school, and it made me laugh in the middle of talking to Seth and his dad.
“I am going to step out for some lunch,” I said. “Come over for dinner soon, you two.”
“Sure thing,” Seth said. “Where are you going?”
I shook my head. “Bunny’s. I haven’t been there in years.”
Seth smirked at his dad. “You’re in for a surprise, buddy. Have fun.”
I tilted my head at him. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
I told them to call me, and I walked out. The snow had stopped, but a crisp layer of fresh snow covered everything I could see. I was glad that Dad told me to take his old Suburban today. I was going to call the rental place later and try to get them to let me switch to an SUV. I’d have to make the six-hour-round-trip drive, but it might be worth it. I turned to the left and walked over the sidewalk towards the cafe, a place that held a lot of memories. I passed the flower shop owned by Betty Niles and walked inside to get a small bouquet for Rebecca. I was mildly surprised to see that Betty was still here and being helped by a woman who I recognized as her daughter, Maura.
“Austin Harris, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” the older woman exclaimed, squinting at me despite the glasses that she wore. “How are you?”
“Doing good, Mrs. Niles. How about you and your family?”
She smiled at her daughter. “We’re great. You’re like a hometown hero here, young man. I am glad that you came back to visit your mama. She missed you.”
I blushed. I’d just earned some money, not saved a life. “I don’t know about that,” I mumbled and looked around the tiny store. “I’d like a small bouquet. Something pink.” That was Rebecca’s favorite color.
“We have some tulips that just came in,” Maura told me as she reached into an old cooler. “Here we go. What do you think?”
“They’re perfect,” I replied. She quickly constructed a delicate little bouquet. I paid her and added a generous tip before I headed out, worried about running late to lunch. She was only on an hour break.
I walked into the diner and paused when I looked around. “He’s a bit proud of you,” Rebecca said from my right. She stepped over to me and looked around the walls covered with various pictures of me.
I frowned. “That or obsessed,” I remarked. I caught sight of Gus coming out of the kitchen.
“Austin! It’s great to see you here. I’ve been following your career and all your hard work. Congratulations.” Gus walked out and shook my hand. I thanked him. “Come on in. Pick a table and we’ll cook anything you want. I know you’re probably used to that fancy city food now.”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was enjoying the food here more than ever before, slightly embarrassed that he was making such a fuss over me. There were a few other customers seated around the small room, looking at me and pointing. I shot Rebecca a helpless look. She shrugged.
We found a table in the corner, and I finally presented her with the flowers.
“You didn’t have to,” she said, blushing.
“All part of the apology,” I assured her.
She lifted the flowers to her nose to inhale them. “Tulips always look so perfect when they bloom,” Rebecca murmured.
Someone approached the table.
“Hi, Austin. Rebecca. What would you like?” The sweet girl was flustered. I smiled gently, hoping she’d relax.
“I’ll have the grilled cheese and vegetable soup, Nadine,” Rebecca said. “Thank you.”
I asked for the bacon cheeseburger and fries. We both asked for hot chocolate to drink, and I smiled at Rebecca.
Gus brought the food out himself, and he stuck around to chat. It was good to talk to him, but Rebecca and I didn’t get much time to talk. As we ate, what seemed like the whole town came through the doors. News traveled fast there, even in the winter.
I had to admit it was flattering that they all wanted to talk to me. A lot of people thought I wasn’t going to make good on my goals, and I proved them wrong. They were all here to say it to my face now, and I basked in it for a moment. I knew these people and liked them all. I knew that they liked me underneath all the high school attitude.
Once the meals were finished, Gus tried to insist that he wasn’t taking a penny of my money. It was an honor to have me here, and he clapped me on the back as I looked down at the table. “Gus, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s a sight to see the two of you sitting in here again. You used to bring Rebecca here all the time.” He smiled at her and leaned back to take this all in. I was certain this was the most excitement North Reed had seen in quite some time.
“That I did,” I murmured, locking my gaze with Rebecca’s.
I managed to convince Gus to let me do something for him. After a bit of discussion, I signed some of the covers he had on the walls. He asked if he could take a new photo for the wall, and of course, I agreed. We took several together, all over the diner, before some of the other customers asked for the same. I complied since so many of the celebrities in New York were jerks to their fans, but I kept looking at Rebecca the entire time.
She smiled as she watched. When the crowd was satisfied, I managed to sit across from her. She looked at her phone. “I have to walk back, Austin. This was nice though.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
; She laughed softly. “You’ve been saying that a lot today. But it’s fine. They all loved seeing you. I can’t complain about that, Austin.”
I leaned closer to her, and her cheeks flushed pink. “Let me walk you back, at least,” I offered.
She nodded. I left a large bill on the table for a tip and led her to the door, still clutching her flowers.
Once we were outside in the frigid air, I shivered and looked at her. “I never hated this town, Rebecca. I just had dreams that were too big for it. I wanted to work on Wall Street and learn as much as I could about investments.”
She nodded. “I know that. You dreamed about it for a long time.” Her voice was soft. “You got your dream.”
“I loved you as well, Rebecca.” I watched as she glanced at me. “That’s why I asked you to come with me. I wanted you to be part of my dream.”
“Maybe we should have just said it back then,” she said. “But it felt too fast, too soon. For me, at least. We were so young, and I knew how it was going to end.” Her eyes were clear as she met mine. “I suppose I didn’t see the point.”
“I hated leaving you,” I said. “I thought about you all the time. They’re all so proud of me here, and all I ever wanted was for you to be a part of it. I wanted you by my side.”
“Bad timing.” She started to walk again.
I caught up and joined her. “Yeah, I guess so.”
We walked in silence. She stopped in front of Grayson’s and looked at me.
“What?” I asked her, my tone light and teasing. “If you want a picture with me, you can just ask.”
She smiled. “I have a lot from high school. I like thinking about that time, Austin. I don’t need one of you now. Thanks for lunch. Thanks for…everything.”
“I think that you should thank Gus for lunch, not me,” I said.
She shrugged. “Thank you for these,” Rebecca said as she held up the flowers. “They’ll look great on my station.”
I told her goodbye one last time and watched her walk inside. I made the short walk to the car and got inside before starting the engine. The heat took a minute, and I sat to wait as I thought about Rebecca. I remembered the day we met.