Page 7 of Curve Balls and Second Chances (Pickwick Pirate Queens #1)
CHAPTER SEVEN
A cross town, Acen was elbow-deep in grease and regret when the past walked right through the open garage bay door in three-inch heels and a designer blouse that had no business being this close to a carburetor. Or in this town for that matter. Not on a bright Saturday afternoon.
Cursing silently, he stepped back from the car.
At least Riley had given him a heads-up so that he wasn’t totally taken by surprise.
He’d have preferred to run into her at the local Piggly Wiggly in front of half the town to this though.
This felt calculated on her part. And he didn’t have time for her calculation in his life these days.
He’d let her screw up his future once because he’d been young and dumb.
Older and wiser – and lesson learned – was the order of the day now.
“Briana,” he said flatly, yanking off his gloves and keeping his distance. “ Can I help you?”
“I hope so.” She flashed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “ My check engine light came on. Thought I’d bring it to someone who actually knows how to fix things.”
He crossed his arms. Apparently , the lack of enthusiasm in his voice hadn’t clicked with her.. “ You passed three shops on the way here.”
“I wanted to see how you’re settling back in.” She tossed her head in a well-remembered move. It made her smooth blonde hair shimmer just below her chin drawing attention to her long slim neck.
Too bad for her that it didn’t work on him anymore. “ You don’t care how I’m settling in.”
Briana’s smile faded. “ That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair is you showing up after twenty years like you left on a lunch break.”
Her expression flickered - guilt, maybe. Or annoyance at being read so easily. “ Look , I didn’t come here to fight.”
“Then say what you need to say.”
She stepped closer, voice softer, put her hand on his arm. “ You and I … we had history, Acen . I just thought maybe, now that we’re both back, we could talk. See where things stand.”
Acen stepped back, letting her hand fall away. “ Nothing stands, Briana . Whatever we had ended a long time ago. You and I … we were a mistake.”
She flinched. “ That’s harsh.”
“It's true.”
She looked away, then back again, eyes sharper now. “ So this is about her , isn’t it?”
“You know damn well it’s always been about her.”
Briana’s jaw tightened, but she nodded like she’d been expecting it. “ You’re still chasing Rose McAllister after all these years? You really think she’ll ever forgive you?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
Briana laughed - quiet, bitter. “ Good luck with that. Small towns don’t forget. And neither does she.”
Then she turned and stepped away, heels clicking across the concrete like punctuation marks on a sentence she’d written years ago.
She turned at the door. “ She’ll never take you back. And we had a good thing once upon a time. This isn’t over, Acen .”
That night, Rose sat on her porch swing, the moonlight silvering the edges of her thoughts.
She still hadn’t responded to Declan’s note. The food at The Silver Catfish was legendary, and part of her wanted to go. To try. To let someone new in.
But every time she thought about it, she saw Acen’s face. Not just how he looked now—but how he’d looked back then. At eighteen, leaning against the hood of Riley’s car, telling her he was leaving. Telling her he loved her , even though he had kissed Briana , but he was going anyway.
And then the weeks. The silence. The long, hollow years.
She closed her eyes, gripping the swings’ chain until her fingers ached.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Declan :
Still hoping for a yes.
She stared at it for a long time.
Then typed: Dinner sounds nice. Tomorrow ?
She hit send before she could change her mind.
Let the past stay where it belonged.