Wild Love (The Wilde Brothers #1)

Chapter 4

4

SCARLETT

P laying darts with Marigold the other night was a little stilted. We had to fend off male attention while we played. But we managed to ask each other a few What are you doing now? questions. Neither of us mentioned the fact that I'd ghosted her the last few years.

The incident with Steve had me questioning my choice of friends. No one in the cast or production crew stood up for me.

I couldn't confide in my family or even Eli. Especially not when I was attracted to him. When I thanked him for the ride, his eyes had heated. I hoped he was imagining me riding his cock. It was fun to flirt with Eli, but it couldn't go anywhere.

The fact that he was off-limits made him more attractive. I loved a good challenge. If someone didn't think I should or would do something, I did it. It worked the opposite way too. That's why I never went to college, even though I was interested in a theater program.

My parents didn't have a lot of money and wouldn't want to waste it on a silly degree like theater.

I parked downtown, feeling content for the first time in a long while. Now that I was back, I could appreciate the quaint, small town nestled in the mountains. The peaks that bordered the town made it feel like a safe haven.

Marigold had suggested an Italian place for lunch, so I parked on the street. I found the restaurant and walked past the small outside eating area that was vacant now that it was cold. Inside, I blinked to adjust to the dimness.

Marigold waved me to the back where she was already seated in a booth.

"Thanks for meeting me," I said as I slid across from her.

Marigold smiled. "Of course."

I grabbed the menu. "It was hard to talk in the bar."

"It was loud," Marigold agreed. "And there were a lot of men vying for your attention."

"For our attention," I automatically corrected.

Marigold raised her brow. "If you say so."

"What's good here?"

"Any of the sandwiches."

I scanned the section until I settled on a grilled chicken with mozzarella and tomato on a ciabatta roll.

When the waitress came, we ordered our sandwiches and iced teas.

With the menus out of the way, I didn't have any other choice but to face my old friend. "I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch over the years."

Marigold shrugged like it was no big deal. "People drift apart. It happens."

"Yeah, but you were my ride or die." My lips twitched.

Marigold laughed, looking more carefree than I'd seen her since I'd been back. She was the good girl to my bad. The light to my dark.

"I missed you." I couldn't contact her when I was gone because I'd feel bad for leaving everyone behind, and I had to keep moving forward. But I couldn't explain it to her. Most people didn't understand my wanderlust .

"I missed you too."

I clasped my hands together on the table. "Tell me what you've been up to. I know you're a librarian at the local library but not much else."

"I'm content working in my hometown library. I'm living my dream. Not that my parents understand that."

Her parents were the academic type, always traveling from one country to the other to find material to write about in their next research papers and books. They were always disappointed that Marigold didn't follow in their footsteps and work in academia.

"Not dating anyone?" I asked, eager to hear more about her personal life.

"I was dating one of the teachers at the elementary school, but it didn't go anywhere. He wanted to get married and have kids."

I scoffed. "That sounds terrible."

Marigold sighed. "I'd like to get married. I'm not getting any younger, but there was no spark."

"I can't say I've had that with anyone." I've been attracted to people but nothing electric. My mind wandered to my exchange with Eli the other night. That had been something. I'd felt alive after talking to him. My skin actually tingled. If he wasn't my brother's friend, I'd definitely pursue something with him, knowing I'd be leaving soon anyway.

Eli didn't seem like a guy looking for something long-term. He probably hooked up with a new tourist every weekend. That shouldn't bother me, but it made me uneasy.

"I feel like there's something bigger out there," Marigold continued. "Something better for me. But I'm not sure how I'm going to find it here. We know all the guys. We went to preschool with them."

"Have you thought about moving? "

Marigold shook her head. "Not at all. But there aren't many single guys here who we didn't grow up with."

"Tell me about it." I wanted to ask her if she ever did anything about her crush on Chance, but I wouldn't embarrass her by bringing it up. I could see Marigold with an accountant or a teacher but not my brother.

"Enough about me. How are things with your family?" Marigold asked gently, knowing how I'd always felt like I didn't fit in. She understood my need to get out of here after graduation.

"Awkward as usual. They're happy I'm home. But I know they're wondering when I'll leave again."

"Are you staying with them?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm only here for a short while. No point in looking for an apartment. But it's weird staying in my childhood bedroom. Nothing has changed."

"You might confuse them at times, but they've always loved you."

I shrugged. That didn't mean I didn't feel like they deserved better. A daughter like Marigold who followed the rules, studied, and got good grades. She probably brought home the nice guys. Not ones that rode away with their daughter on a motorcycle.

"How is the theater?"

"I love it." I loved being someone else on stage, and I adored singing. I was transported to another place up there. And it satisfied my wandering soul. It was just my boss that ruined what I loved about my job. Now I wasn't sure I could ever go back that lifestyle. My trust was blown.

"Are you in between jobs?" Marigold asked as the waitress dropped off our iced teas.

"Not exactly." I ran a shaky hand over my thigh.

Marigold frowned. "Did something happen?"

She always had my back. I could trust her. Even if it had been years since I'd been home. "My boss was getting a little handsy."

At her disgusted look, I quickly added, "It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Did you complain about it?"

I laughed without any humor. "Complain to who? He's the one in charge. He wrote my paychecks. It was either put up with it or leave. So I left."

Marigold surprised me by reaching across the table to cover my hand with hers. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. What are you going to do?"

"Hope Steve didn't blacklist me with every other theater company, so I can find a new job." The problem was they wouldn't like that I'd left in the middle of a production. And I'm sure he'd already told everyone his side of the story.

Marigold brightened. "I just had the best idea. Some of the kids have been asking for a theater class. Would you like to come in and teach one?"

My face heated. That sounded a lot like a commitment. "I'm sure you could find someone more qualified."

Marigold gave me a disbelieving look. "You literally work in theater."

"I don't have a degree, and I know nothing about kids." Occasionally, we worked with child actors. I enjoyed their enthusiasm, but I wasn't sure I could teach a class to a lot of them.

"Will you come and meet with a few kids that are interested? Maybe you could answer their questions about what it's like to act."

My throat was suddenly very dry. "Yeah, I could do that."

Marigold smiled and clapped her hands together. "Yay! I'm so excited."

I held up my hand. "I'm not promising anything. I'll do my best. "

"You're so passionate about acting and singing. I'm hopeful that will come through, and the kids will love you."

I shook my head, laughing. "I forgot how positive you can be."

Our food came, and we dug in. "This is so good. I feel like I'm always eating sandwiches on the go. I never get to sit and enjoy a meal." By the time our shows were done in the evening, only bars were open, and I was a little tired of that scene.

But I had enjoyed sitting at the bar in Eli's lodge. I sensed his eyes on me, and it made me feel powerful, beautiful even. I hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Steve broke down my confidence and made me question my sanity when I just wanted to focus on my work.

"If you have time, I can give you a tour of the library and show you where we hold classes. We have a small stage area that could work if you wanted to give more classes."

I held up my hand. "Let's take it one day at a time."

"When we were kids, there wasn't a program until high school. Why didn't you ever do it then? I always thought you'd be perfect for it."

"Theater was for the popular girls." Girls like Marigold. Who were pretty and dressed preppy. Not for the darker girls like me. I was too busy skipping classes and agitating my dad to focus on a play.

"That's too bad. We missed out on all your talent."

I rolled my eyes. "Please. You've never seen me perform."

"I saw videos online," Marigold said hesitantly, as if she was worried about my reaction.

Nerves fluttered in my stomach. "Were they good?"

Marigold nodded, her dimple appearing when she smiled big. "You were amazing. I'm so proud of you."

I huffed out a laugh. "Proud of me? I didn't even go to college. "

Marigold's forehead creased. "You don't have to go to college to live your passion."

"You're a librarian, encouraging young minds. I provide entertainment. It's not life-changing."

"The arts are life-changing for a lot of us. Especially those of us who don't have any talents. I can't sing or act."

"You were always a good writer," I protested.

Marigold waved a hand. "That doesn't really come in handy."

I arched a brow. "Unless you wanted to write a book."

Marigold grimaced. "Which I don't."

We finished eating and split the bill.

Marigold stood and grabbed her purse. "Are you ready to see the library?"

I couldn't say no. "Sure."

We decided to walk because the sun was shining and the library was just down the road. When we passed the police station, the glass door opened.

Chance stepped outside in his uniform, looking put together.

I grinned. "Hello, big brother."

"Scarlett." His gaze moved from me to Marigold. "Are you staying out of trouble?"

"You know Marigold was the one who got me into trouble." I hooked my arm through hers.

Marigold scoffed because that was a lie.

Chance's gaze swung to Marigold. "How are you, Marigold?"

Her body stiffened. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"We met for lunch," I said to break the awkward exchange.

Chance crossed his arms over his chest. "Where you off to now?"

"Marigold wants to give me a tour of the library," I said lightly.

"Is that so?" Chance asked Marigold .

"I'm trying to convince this one to teach a theater class." Marigold looked at me.

"I said I'd do one class. The kids will probably hate it, and then you won't need me anymore," I said.

"Don't sell yourself short," Chance chided, and I paused to consider him. Since when did my family support my love for acting?

Chance dipped his head. "You two have a good afternoon. And, Scarlett, let me know if I can take you out for dinner one night."

My brother never wanted to spend time with me one-on-one unless he was giving me a lecture about not breaking Mom's and Dad's hearts.

"Will you be in your uniform?" I asked to give him trouble.

He smoothed a hand over his uniform shirt. "I can be casual."

"That I have to see." I hooked my arm through Marigold’s, and waved at him. "See you around."

Marigold sighed. "Your brother is so nice."

"Yeah, he's one of the good ones," I said sarcastically, used to people preferring him to me.

Marigold paused in the middle of the street. "I didn't mean that you aren't."

I picked up the pace, not wanting to talk about me or my brother. "Come on. I want to see if the library has changed since we were kids."

Marigold laughed. "When did you ever spend time in the library?"

I paused for a second; I didn't think I had. "I like to read now."

Marigold looked at me with new eyes. "Since when? I was always trying to get you to read when we were kids."

"I was too busy doing the opposite of what everyone wanted me to do. Being on the road so much can be boring, so I started with audiobooks, then moved to paperbacks. It was a nice escape."

"You want to get a library card while you're here?" Marigold opened the door for me.

I just gave her a look. "That might be too big of a commitment for me."

She laughed. "I'll wear you down eventually."

I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd be gone soon. I'd do this one class for her, and then the urge to get on the road would be back. I was sure of it.

Inside, she showed me the circulation desk, then the children's section. There was a stage by the windows. "This is nice."

Marigold rubbed her hands together. "You're getting excited, aren't you?"

"I'm impressed the library put this in." Especially since schools were removing programs.

"We sent out a checklist of things the public wanted, and this is one of the options the community picked. So you think you can do it? If so, I'll send out the sign-up to the community."

"I'll do one." I was confident the kids wouldn't be impressed with me. They'd want to know if I'd acted in something big, and I'd never done anything more than small stages. It wasn't like I was on Broadway or had gone to L.A. for my big break into acting. I was okay, but not big enough for something like that.

"Great. Let's look at the calendar." Marigold led me over to the children's desk and pulled up a digital calendar on her screen. "Let's do Saturday."

"I think my parents are having a barbecue at the house. Did you want to come? Otherwise I won't have anyone to talk to."

Marigold looked up at me. "Will your brother be there?"

"Probably. So will the Wilde brothers."

"I can be there."

I was feeling impulsive, so I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her. "Thank you. It's so good to see you again. "

"Just keep in touch the next time you leave."

"I will." I blinked away the sting of tears. "Come on. There's a shop I wanted to show you. They have all these costumes and fun stuff we could use in a play."

I gave her an exasperated look. "Marigold. I'm here for a week or two at most. I'm not putting on a play."

"But it's so cool," Marigold pleaded.

I was interested, so I said, "Okay."

"I know you're leaving soon. I won't get my hopes up that you'll stay." Marigold kept her voice light, but I felt bad for letting down the people in my life. That was probably why I didn't stay in touch with anyone. There were too many expectations, and all they did was push me further away.