Chapter 20
Ella looked out to the Harbor, the sun setting and streaking the sky in pretty shades of orange and pink. It was too pretty for her mood. She sat down on the dock next to Marco’s boat and pulled up the line from the side.
The six pack of beers she knew would be there floated to the surface, and she grabbed a can before letting the others fall back into the water.
She took a swig, letting the beer try to numb her further. Between Enzo, her grandfather, and Lucas she had never been so torn or hurt. The fact that her own family couldn’t look past their last names and let her find happiness hurt deeper than any cut could. And Lucas. How could he even think she would betray him like that? She would never.
She loved him.
She didn’t care that he was a Prescott. She didn’t even care that he lived in California. None of it mattered to her, but even he couldn’t see beyond the feud enough to trust her.
The ache in her heart was almost too much to bear. She took another sip of beer when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. There was only one person who walked so heavy even when trying to be quiet.
“How’d you find me?” she asked, though she wasn’t surprised.
“When you weren’t at your spot at the beach, I knew there was only one other place you could be. Stealing my booze,” Marco said as he sat down beside her. His legs dangled over the dock, his black work boots skimming the water’s surface.
“Yeah well, I’ve had a rough day.” She took a swig from the can, letting her silence speak for itself.
He pulled the line and grabbed a beer for himself. “Grandpa and Enzo are worried about you,” Marco said.
“What else is new?”
“So, this is how it’s going to go?” he asked. “I say something, you snap back at me with sarcasm and displeasure, and we go back and forth until one of us walks away?”
“I’m rather comfortable here,” she said.
Marco laughed then took another sip of his beer. He looked out across the harbor and rested the can against his thigh. “I get it, you know? Falling for someone who is all wrong for you… yet unable to stop loving them.”
Ella turned her gaze to him. Everyone knew the story of Marco and Aubrey, but Marco never talked about it. Ever. Aubrey was completely off-limits and for good reason. The girl practically destroyed his life, took away his chance at leaving this place, all because he loved her. And he didn’t just love her, he was soul deep, unconditionally devoted to her. He’d never been the same since.
Ella never thought she’d understand him, but after everything, she was seeing Marco a little clearer.
“How do you move on?” she asked.
“You just do. Piece by piece, you gather yourself, force yourself to keep going until one day you do it without telling yourself to.”
“It hurts so badly,” she said, her façade finally crumbling under the pressure of her sorrow.
Marco draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her tight against him. “I know. It gets easier. Not right away but eventually. I can promise you that much.”
She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she was tired of tip-toeing around, afraid to make waves. It wasn’t the Moretti way, and it was time she stopped trying to avoid the hard topics because life was full of them.
“Do you still think about her?” she asked.
Marco was silent for a long moment, staring out into the horizon. He played with the beer tab, wiggling it back and forth when he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “That’s the thing about love. Once you give your heart to someone, they’ll always own a piece of it. So yeah, I still think about her.”
“Do you think either of us will ever get our happy endings?” She was never big on fairy tales, but she had always hoped that one day she’d at least be happy.
“I do,” he said with confidence. “We’ve been through enough in this lifetime; it’s the least the universe can do.”
“I hope so.” Though, she wasn’t feeling too confident in the universe right now. If anything, she felt like it was conspiring against her.
“And hey.” He nudged her shoulder. “I’m sorry about… well, you know.”
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Marco didn’t apologize, and if he was, it must’ve been something serious.
“Oh, you don’t know.” He nodded, drumming his fingers against his thigh.
“Don’t know what?”
He broke the cap off from fidgeting with it and took a long sip. “Kind of punched your boyfriend.”
“Marco!”
“What? I saw you run off crying. He asked for it.”
She had been so consumed in her own grief she hadn’t noticed Marco had seen any of that. If she had, she could’ve reasoned with him and prevented the confrontation. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. I barely touched him.” Marco’s idea of “barely touching” put Enzo in the hospital with a broken nose once when they were teenagers, so his words didn’t hold any weight. For all she knew, he could’ve knocked Lucas unconscious. But Lucas wasn’t her problem anymore. He’d made that decision.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said, feeling shame and disappointment for having to point it out.
“Maybe not, but the guy loves you.”
She rolled her eyes. “How do you know?”
Marco looked at her straight on and smirked. “He told me.”
“He told you that?” she asked not believing him at all.
“Yeah, I said he did,” Marco said, annoyance filling his tone.
Could Lucas really have told her brother that he loved her? He hadn’t even told her. She knew what she felt for him was real, but she also thought that maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was lust and not love. But if he told Marco then maybe what they shared really was love. Maybe love didn’t follow a timeline. If it was real and right it didn’t matter how many days it took to notice it.
“Did he really?”
“Are you calling me liar?” Marco asked, looking at her with curiosity.
“You’re the last person I’d call a liar,” she said and meant it. “I don’t think you know how to lie.”
He laughed. “There’s no point. It only complicates things.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So what happened?” Marco asked as he yanked up on the rope. “Or are we going to have to go through this entire six pack before you finally tell me?”
It was tempting. “Would you believe me if I told you that he thinks I lied to him when I didn’t?”
“Okay, I’m confused. I need you to explain a little more here.”
Ella laughed. The whole situation was one big complicated mess. “I’m assuming you saw the flyers.”
“About the fundraiser to save Joe’s?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Lucas told me about Joe’s situation, and I suggested a fundraiser, but Lucas refused the idea because he thought Joe would hate it. Then today there are flyers all over town.”
“And Lucas thinks it was you who did it,” Marco said, piecing the puzzle together.
“I’m the only person he told, but I swear on Mom’s life, that I did not make those flyers. I didn’t tell anyone either. Not even Cami or Krissy.” Angry tears pricked her eyes. She felt like she was being punished for lying to her family and sneaking around to see Lucas. Like it was the universe’s sick way of teaching her a lesson. It really was out to get her.
Marco wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “I believe you, El.”
“At least somebody does.” She rested her head on Marco’s shoulder, grateful to have him in her life. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said. “He has a life in California, and I’ll never leave Willow Cove. We were doomed from the start.”
“This is some Romeo and Juliet shit right here.”
“Except that story ended in death, and the only thing that died today is my pride.”
“Come on.” Marco nudged her arm. “I’ll take you home.”
She hugged his arm. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to sit here a little longer.”
“Whatever you want, sis. Whatever you want.”