At First Hate (Coastal Chronicles)

Lila and I laughed.

“Yeah right,” Lila said.

“I know. I know. Hollywood beckons,” Josie said dramatically. “But I miss y’all.”

“You know she’s drunk,” I said. “She’s resorted to y’all again.”

Cole grinned. “Welcome back, Josie.”

She waved her hand at us. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. But I like being here. Everyone in LA is so fake. They all want a piece of me, and I want to keep a few pieces to myself.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with your divorce, does it?” Lila asked.

Josie sighed. “Guys suck.”

I nodded. “Seconded.”

Cole shrugged. “You’re not wrong.”

We all wanted Josie to move back. As much as I wanted it to happen, it never would. Just like me and Derek.

It had been nearly all evening before I let myself think of him again.

I stepped out of the living room with a murmured, “Bathroom,” and stared at myself in the mirror.

I hated this. I’d made my choice, and I fucking hated it. I wanted him back. I wanted this to be the right time and place. I didn’t want it to be like every other time. But I didn’t know how to change it. Or if it was even possible.

A knock at the door kept me from wallowing.

“Mars, want me to get it?” Lila called.

I stepped out of the bathroom in confusion. “Nah, it’s okay.”

Who the hell would be here this late at night? Probably some stranger who was on their way to someone else’s house. I couldn’t imagine any other scenario.

I yanked the door open and gasped. “Derek?”

39

Atlanta

Present

“Hey, Mars.”

Derek Ballentine stood outside of my door in Atlanta. And he looked… good. He looked fucking great. He had on chinos and a white button-up with the top button undone and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. None of the fatigue I saw on my own face from our breakup was visible on him. His pouty lips were upturned and his hazel eyes so bright and endearing. He looked more like a Greek statue in that moment than a man at all.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out.

My friends rustled around behind me. I had no clue what they were doing, but clearly, they were trying to be stealthy and failing.

Derek shot them an amused look. “Mind if I come in?”

“I…” I blinked at him in confusion. “Sure.”

I pulled the door open wider and let him in. That was when I found Cole helping Josie to her feet—maybe she’d had more than I thought—and Lila trying to herd them away.

“We were just going,” Lila said in a perky tone.

“You don’t have to go,” I said.

She waved me away and helped Cole maneuver Josie. “Call me if you need me.”

She winked at me and then hustled out of my apartment with her boyfriend. Why did this feel so familiar? Hadn’t Josie and I plotted something similar only a few months ago for her? Had they contacted Derek?

“That was… subtle,” I said after she closed the door.

“Indeed. I don’t think any of them are much known for their subtlety.”

“Did they call you?”

Derek furrowed his brow. “No. Should they have?”

“It’s their style.”

“No, I’m not here at their behest, but my own.”

“And why is it that you’re here?”

“For you, of course.”

“Right,” I said softly. My head was fuzzy, and I didn’t think it was the alcohol. Derek was here. He was here. And I’d ended it. So, it wasn’t adding up. “But…”

“You thought I was going to let you go that easily?”

“Derek, it’s not that I wanted this to happen. But with everything between us…”

“I screwed up in the past,” he said, taking my hand in his. “I didn’t see what was in front of me. But Marley, I’ve been searching for you my whole life. I’d be an idiot to not fight for you. I choose you. I want you.”

My mouth went dry as I heard him utter the words I’d always wanted to hear. “But the case…”

“Funny story: I dropped the case.”

My jaw fell open. “You did what?”

“I told my dad that I wouldn’t do it.”

“But… but partner?”

He shrugged. “My dad was pissed, but once he got over me dropping the case, he was actually impressed. Nothing he’d said made me bend or break to him, and I think he could respect that.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. It was all so much. Everything I wanted and couldn’t believe he was saying. Was it possible that he’d actually given this up for me? “I don’t want you to resent me for this.”

“How could I? You never asked me for it. I did it because you were right. It wasn’t fair to have that case between us. Not when I was pursuing you. And I didn’t want to stop that, Mars. I want to be with you. I want you to be mine. All mine.” He brought my hands up to his lips and placed a kiss on them. “I know we have a long way to go, but when I’m with you, everything disappears. I just exist here with you.”