Forever Branded (Billionaire Love Series #1) (6 page)

It all came to a vicious head one day.

He cornered me at my locker, running his hands through my hair, acting as if he was really into me.

Just when I thought he was going to kiss me, he leaned in close. “Do you really think I would kiss you?” he asked in horror, his friends appearing out of nowhere.

A flash went off in my face as I heard the familiar click of a Polaroid picture being taken. The boys’ mocking laugher filled my ears as I nodded dumbly, stunned by his malicious tone.

“Gross,” he let out with a maniacal laugh and walked away.

Humiliated, I wanted to crawl into my locker and never come out.

I have never understood how people can be so cruel, especially just for kicks. It was later on I found out, I was part of a bet to see who could get an ugly girl to like them.

Yep, that was me in ninth grade.

The ugly duckling.

I still had my braces on; I hadn’t really developed and my eyes were too big for my face. On top of that, I was dealing with the stressful and sad situation of watching my mom die from cancer. Keeping up on the latest trends and making sure I looked good every day wasn’t high on my priority list.

It took another year for me to grow into my face, but the damage was done.

I was hurt and humiliated. Scarred, really.

I guess I was lucky he didn’t try anything worse.

From that moment on boys were off limits.

I remained suspicious and wary of the male sex, even as I went into my senior year of high school. I didn’t have much to do with them as I put my head down and excelled at my studies.

So, it was easy to dismiss Beau and walk away, even though he’d apologized. I reminded myself it had been hard enough to meet with him and deal with his crappy attitude.

He had ruined his one and only chance to work with me.

Beyond that, he was all risk.

Scary.

Edgy.

Vibrating with an energy I found dangerous.

I had no desire to venture out of my comfort zone.

So I let him slip from my mind as I grabbed my seat and got out my trig book and notes. Class started and I got absorbed in my math work.

Before I knew it, trig was over and I was on my way to biology. After that was English, the class right before lunch. I was sorta dreading it as it was my one and only class with Beau.

I entered the dreary classroom, which mirrored every other room in the school. Flat, thick, white cement blocked walls that resembled a prison with small windows up top, just enough to let in light.

With no air conditioning, the school always ran hot, which contributed to the room smelling like a combination of chalk, sweaty teenagers, and whatever the cafeteria was serving for the day.

Ignoring the aroma in the air, I passed Beau on my way in, determined to avoid him as I took my seat in the first row.

“Okay, people. Settle down,” Ms. Sprite ordered as the bell rang.

“Today, we’re going to get into partners and discuss how Jane Eyre’s passionate nature is established in the novel. I’ve already picked out your partners, so I don’t want to hear any complaints. Listen for your name...”

A collective groan went through the room as Ms. Sprite began calling out partners. The screech of desks scooting across the floor filled the cinder block room as names were rattled off.

Not particularly concerned about the assignment, I was glancing over my notes as I heard, “Marla Matthews and Beau Shepard.”

“Ugh,” I muttered under my breath, caught off guard.

What the hell?

Did that woman have no shame?

I glanced back at Beau. “Come on over, Sunshine,” he called happily from across the room, motioning me over.

I sat still for a second, contemplating my options. I could insist on a different partner or I could muddle through with Beau.

Neither choice appealed to me.

Furthermore, I was pretty sure Mrs. Sprite wasn’t willing to let me switch things up. She seemed determined to make us work together.

Crap, I was just going to have to suck it up and suffer through.

Resigned to my fate, I picked up my backpack to move as Ashley DeGraw shot me a cold stare. Great, now I had the meanest, most popular girl in school shooting daggers at me because I was working with Beau.

Just what I needed.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I said, sliding my desk in Beau’s direction.

“Cheer up, Sunshine. You could be working with Dusty over there.” He pointed to the other side of the room to a goofy looking kid known for weird outbursts. “I hear he picks his nose.”

I rolled my eyes. “Good to know. I guess there’s an upside to working with you.”

He laughed. “That’s a first. Most ladies would be happy to work with me.”

“Why’s that? Your sparkling personality?” I fired back.

He grinned again, blowing on his fingers and polishing them against his grey T-shirt. “No, it’s for my awesome good looks.”

I laughed despite my desire to stay detached. “All right, Shepard. Let’s get to work.

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” he let out on a heavy sigh.

“I guess it’s good that at least one of us read
Jane Eyre
.”

He twirled his finger in the air. “Whoo-hoo.”

“You have no idea what a good story this is.”

“Is it really that good, Sunshine? I just couldn’t get over all the angsty words they use.”

I grinned at his use of angst. “Did you try to read it?”

“I took another crack at it. But I still didn’t get very far.”

“Okay, then, let me fill you in on poor Jane Eyre. She’s an orphan. One that life has not been kind to. She lives with her mean aunt and cruel cousins who make her life miserable. Eventually, when she’s a little older, she is sent away to school. It’s not much better than her aunt’s house, but she does make a couple of friends she loves dearly. After a while, one of her friends dies and the other marries, and Jane decides to leave the school.”

He crossed his lanky arms. “Doesn’t sound so great.”

“Well, give it chance. This is where it gets interesting. She gets a governess job at Thornfield and meets the passionate demanding master of the house, Edward Fairfax Rochester, whom Jane finds attractive and fascinating.”

“Yeah, still not working for me.”

He was starting to irritate me and I didn’t like him bashing the book. “Would you just stop with the comments? You don’t have to like the story, but you do need to know it.”

He stared back for a long second. “All right, Sunshine. Tell me the rest.”

“Jane saves Mr. Rochester one night when she notices smoke and flames coming from his room. She puts out the fire which was about to take him out.”

“A little action. That’s good.”

I just couldn’t contain my excitement for this story anymore. “This is where the mystery begins. Who is trying to harm Edward? He tries to convince Jane a servant has set out to kill him, but she has her suspicions that it’s someone else.”

“Oooh...” he supplied sarcastically.

I just frowned at him. “Anyway, while Jane is trying to solve the mystery, Mr. Rochester also appears to be pursuing a woman, Blanche, who is a similar class to him while Jane quietly holds her love for him in. Jane knows that Mr. Rochester doesn’t care for Blanche, but she can’t do anything about it. Meanwhile, Rochester always seems to be aware of Jane’s every move, wanting to be near her and talk to her. Hence the angst and passion of the story.”

His gaze crinkled up in amusement. “Sunshine, you sure do get excited about this book.”

“I know. It’s one of my favorites.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“So based on what I just told you, why do you think Jane is such an impassioned girl?”

“Uuhh... I don’t know.” He shrugged, playing the dumb card as he looked away.

That wasn’t gonna cut it. “Come on. Think about it. Give me a real answer.” I stared at him, willing him to be serious for a moment.

He took off his Baltimore Gators ball cap for a second and scratched his head. “Okay...Sounds like she had a tough childhood. Something had to keep her going.”

“Yeah, she had a rough go of it.”

“Her passion kept her going, even though no one was rooting for her. Sounds kind of like me and my dad.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah, he’s a real hard ass.” A depth of pain appeared in his gaze for a moment, making me realize Beau’s life wasn’t a walk in the park.

“Do you get along with him?” I asked gently, intrigued by his admission.

“Sometimes. He’s always pushing me to be the best and he rides me all the time.”

“I’m sure that’s tough.”

“Yeah, but what am I gonna do?”

“You can do whatever you want. Your dad may have expectations of what you should be doing with your life, but what do you want to do?”

“I haven’t figured that out, Sunshine,” he breathed out as he gave me a half smile.

We stared at one another for a long second, something foreign unfurling between us. I could feel its soft tendrils beckoning me to give in to something dangerous. I broke eye contact as the attraction grew stronger, unnerved by what was happening between us. There was no way I was going to give in to it.

I cleared my throat, trying to disguise the intensity humming through my veins. “Okay, let’s get back to Jane Eyre.”

“Jane Eyre... right,” he said, staring intently at me.

*****

“And with that, everything started to change,” I said, tapping my fingernails against my tea mug.

“I can see that,” Grace sympathized.

“At the time, I didn’t realize I had started to fall in love with him when he showed me just a hint of vulnerability. But I’ve always been a sucker for that.”

“Yes, you have. But one of the things I like best about you is your compassion for others.”

“It always seems to get me in trouble, though. At least it did with Beau.”

“Well, sugar, I would love to hear the whole story today, but I’ve got to scoot out the door and go pick up the kids.”

“I understand.”

“Let’s talk this week after you’ve had some time to process. I definitely want to know more.”

“Okay, we’ll talk later.”

We stood up and I walked her to the door.

She turned toward me as we strode into my foyer. “Thank you for trusting me with your story. This is good, Marla. I know you and Emma talk about having faith that things will work out. So, knowing you have carried this desire for twenty years, I’m holding faith for you that this situation with Beau will have a happy ending.”

I couldn’t help but scoff at the idea. It seemed so improbable. “I appreciate the thought, but it’s hard to imagine how we would get there.”

“You just have to have hope. Let the universe work out the details.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Yes, it is. Now tell me this...what do you want, sugar?”

“Oh, boy,” I sighed and ran my hand through my thick bangs. “I want so much when it comes to Beau. I’ve certainly had plenty of time to think about it.”

“Yes, you have.”

I gazed into her kind eyes, daring myself to be honest. “Do you want the appropriate wants or the real wants?” I asked, hoping she would force me to say the truth.

“Do you even have to ask?”

“I guess not.” I folded my arms and bit my lip as I thought about my answer. It was hard to put my feelings into words. “I’m tempted to say I really want him to forgive me, which I do. I could also say I really want him to know the truth about why we broke up and how I never wanted to hurt him.”

“Those are all valid reasons, Marla, but what is it you really want?”

“Oh, Grace.” I shot her a desperate glance. “I’ve loved Beau for a long time now, but so much time has passed it’s hard to believe we could ever be together again. He hates me,” I admitted in a defeated voice. “Do you think it’s even possible for us to find our way back to each other?” I asked in a broken whisper.

She smiled in that knowing way of hers, like the universe let her in on its biggest secrets. “Of course you can. There’s gotta be a reason this is happening right now. You have to believe the stars are aligned to give you the biggest desire of your heart after so many years of waiting for him.”

Such conviction in her words. I wanted to believe her, but it had just been so damn long. “I don’t know. We had our chance and I blew it, or at least I was forced to blow it.”

Her glance burned with a bright curiosity. “Ooh, that sounds like another juicy part of your story.”

My eyes suddenly filled with tears as the pain came rushing back. “It wasn’t juicy. It was horrible.”

She patted my arm comfortingly. “I know it was, sugar. But regardless of how everything went down, don’t you want to believe love conquers all?”