Next-Door Nemesis(81)
Before anyone has the time to respond, Ruby is out of her seat and on her feet.
“Yes, Collins!” she shouts. “That was amazing!”
It doesn’t take long for the rest of the crowd to join in. Other than my family and Ashleigh, nobody is as enthusiastic as Ruby, but the applause mends something I didn’t know was broken inside me. For so long, I felt like an outsider, like I didn’t belong.
Not anymore.
I finally feel at home . . . and it only took me running for the HOA to make it happen.
* * *
? ? ?
I hate that Nate’s speech was good. I really thought he was going to bomb,” Ruby grumbles as she grabs a piece of cheese off the charcuterie board Ashleigh brought over to celebrate me not falling on my face.
“I don’t know why.” I slump down into the chair next to her. My entire body aches. I didn’t realize how tense and stressed I was until the meeting ended. “He’s been on the HOA already and he’s always been good at public speaking.”
He spoke at our graduation and I may have hated him at the time, but I still had to admit it was a really good speech. There’s something about the way he carries himself, confidence in the way he moves, the thoughtful inflections of his voice, that make him damn near transcendent when he talks.
“Well, I think you both did a phenomenal job.” Mom drops a bowl of pita chips and hummus next to the board. “I didn’t know if you were going to stick this out, but you did. No matter what happens next, I’m so proud of you.”
At almost thirty, I thought I wouldn’t need my parents’ approval anymore. But as I sit at the table, hearing my mom say she’s proud of me, warmth flows through my veins and my vision begins to blur. These last few months have been so tumultuous; I went from low to high to low again. I had no idea how much of my self-worth was tied to my career and finding success in Los Angeles until I lost them both. Moving back home, I didn’t know if I would ever feel proud of myself, let alone make my parents proud.
“Thanks, Mom.” My voice is thick with unshed emotion. “That means a lot to me.”
Instead of saying anything, because she knows I will cry and I don’t want to cry at a table with my friends, she takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
It says everything words could never.
Before things get too emotional, the doorbell rings.
“Finally!” Ruby shouts. “That better be Nate with the wine. You can’t do charcuterie without wine.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I push out of the chair to go open the door.
I may or may not have told Nate that if there’s a way to win Ruby’s heart over, it was through quality wine. It’s a long shot, but he jumped on it. Plus, even if it doesn’t work, at least we’ll be properly boozed.
He’s earlier than he said he’d be. It’s only been a couple of hours since I saw him last, but the anticipation of seeing him again spurs me to walk to the door a little faster. I swing open the door, fully prepared to launch at him, when I come to a sudden halt.
Because it’s not Nate.
“Hey, Colly. You’re looking good.”
It’s Peter.
Chapter 27
The wheels in my mind spin as I try to process what is happening. The last time I saw Peter, he was watching me destroy his car through our apartment window. As far as I know, there are still charges pending against me and I thought we weren’t supposed to be within one hundred yards of each other. Yet here he is, standing on my parents’ sidewalk in all his California god perfection.
Even though he’s a trash human whom I truly wish nothing but the worst for, I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t gorgeous. He was handed cards from modeling scouts more than once when we were together. From his permanently tanned skin to his square jaw, whiskey-brown eyes, and long, lean surfer’s body, he is what dreams are made of . . . and he knows it.
He was quick to turn on the charm and use it to impress the young, impressionable girl in the classroom he was in. To manipulate, lie, and steal from those around him. From those who trusted him most.
So even though he’s standing in front of me, aiming his megawatt smile that could grace magazine covers? I’m not impressed.
No.
I’m pissed.
My fingernails bite into my palms. The urge to wrap my hands around his throat hasn’t lessened over the months.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper so that I don’t scream. If I’m lucky, I’ll get him to leave without anyone being the wiser.
“Really, Colly?” The nickname I used to love makes my skin crawl coming out of his mouth. “Don’t be like that.”
My throat burns as I swallow the poison I want to throw at him.
“Don’t be like what? Like a person still pissed that you stole my fucking work, sold it as your own, and instead of admitting what you did, doubled down to get me blacklisted from the only career I ever wanted?” Any hold I had on my temper slips away as the memories and feelings I’ve been suppressing since I stepped onto that Delta flight months ago resurface. “And then you show up at my parents’ house and expect me to be what? Happy to see you? Are you fucking insane?!”
Just like I knew would happen, footsteps echo through the house as everyone inside rushes to see what’s wrong.