Page 2 of Rival Hearts

Grady Castillo.

I never uttered his name. Hadn’t spoken it in years. He’d burst onto the music scene with his stint onCenter Stage, the talent discovery program, when I was at college in Florida. Lila had told me how crazy my town went over one of our own winning the top spot. A heap of money and a recording contract. When he only produced one successful album and then largely disappeared,Iwas thrilled.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Fernando called over the familiar beat of the song. “I wonder what he’s doing back here.”

I braced myself for the lyrics. I didn’t want to look at him, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

He’d aged well, which caused a spike of irrational anger. His brown hair was artfully tousled, and his brown eyes, even from here, had the same soulful expression. They hinted at so much emotional depth, just under the surface. Those eyes probablyfooled many women into thinking he was a decent guy. His skin was a light shade of brown, a color I used to envy because my pale, freckled skin could never achieve it. Those impossibly long, muscular legs were bent, and his boot-clad feet rested on the rungs of the stool he was perched on while he strummed his guitar.

This song, more than any of the others on his album, boiled my rage. The song was a lie. Whenever it came on the radio, I turned it off. If someone started singing it, I had to grit my teeth. Everyone in our little town knew this song was about Grady’s brother, Trent, and his stint in jail. It was also about me. What cut the deepest was that some people believed Trent had gone to jail protecting me.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

But we’d created our lies together, and I wasn’t one to break a promise. The experience taught me to be more careful about who I got into bed with. I suppose we all learn that particular lesson at some point, but for me, that lesson was layered.

Lila, who was the only person in the world other than Trent who knewmostof the truth, wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She pressed her cool cheek to mine with the hint of barley floating around us.

“If you want to get out of here,” Lila whispered in my ear, “just say the word.”

I tilted my head back but couldn’t quite make eye contact. “I’m not ruining your birthday because Grady decided to grace us with his presence.”

Before I’d admitted some of the truth, Lila was a puddle at Grady’s feet like the majority of the town. He’d made it into the finalCenter Stageshow, and everyone rooted for him. Then, he won the top prize. Around here, Grady was a golden boy, even if his fame didn’t stick anywhere else.

The sound of the guitar rose, spreading out across the bar, and the room came alive with the crowd bursting into the chorus. A rousing anthem about brotherly love and the betrayal of a woman. Every word cut me like the sharpest knife. I gritted my teeth, determined to ride his performance out. Surely, Grady wouldn’t be the sole singer on stage. Other people would perform. He’d sing a few songs and disappear. I could suffer through his brief appearance for Lila.

She gave me a squeeze and eased off my shoulders to wander back to Tyler and her seat beside him. I had fled to Florida for college, telling everyone who asked that my move was for a warmer climate. The truth and a lie, all rolled into one.

After Trent was arrested, I needed some distance from this place, from these people, from the jackass on stage who blamed me for his brother’s harsh sentence. Throughout it all, I hadn’t told anyone the truth. When Lila visited me in Florida, I had finally broken down and told her almost everything. All the lies had been shameful, but for some reason the truth had felt worse.

Song after song I sat with my arms crossed, wishing I could be anywhere but here. He didn’t bother to speak between songs, to work the crowd. Other people in the bar clapped, sang along, sighed wistfully at the sheer magnetic presence of Grady Castillo, while I fumed. Each lyric was another needle pricking me. As much as I hated him, his album proved he felt exactly the same.

Our relationship hadn’t always been bitter. In high school, when I’d gone to Sunday dinner at Trent’s house, I caught Grady staring at me as though he couldn’t figure me out. His curiosity made me happy, ignited something in me too.Let him stew.Let him wonder. Then, the fuse I’d lit blew up in my face.

“I need a drink,” I muttered to Fernando before standing and smoothing my skirt. Water wasn’t going to be enough. Shoulders back, I headed toward the bar. There was a long line, and I stoodtapping my foot out of sync with the musician on stage. I was almost at the front when the music stopped, and I sighed with relief. Did I still need a drink? If this ordeal was over, there was no need to give into a bad habit. Turning on my heel, I plowed into a very solid, very broad chest.

The soft fabric of his shirt, the tangy smell of him assaulted my senses with a flurry of punches, almost knocking me out. The simple navy round neck slithered across his muscles underneath. Part of me hated that I knew about his muscles, but beneath my hatred was a frisson of lust, familiar, unwanted.

My body was a traitor. I’d spent the last hour staring at the center of his chest instead of his stupid chiseled face, not giving him the satisfaction of making eye contact. What would I see in Grady’s eyes when I glanced up? Twelve years ago, we’d been this close, closer, and those eyes stole a piece of my soul. I couldn’t afford to give any more away.

With a deep breath, I stepped back and stared at him. He was stupidly tall and broad. I couldn’t remember exactly how tall. Six foot five, maybe? Enough to hurt my neck if I was too close, barefoot, and looked up for too long. I squared my shoulders and gave him a sugary smile. “You must be thirsty.” My tone was so sweet it dripped syrup. “All that singing would be hell on your voice. No need to speak.” I held up a hand in the direction of his face. “I wouldn’t want you to strain your precious vocal cords.”

Grady’s brown eyes scanned me, and I tried to decipher the emotion behind them. Amusement and something else I couldn’t place. He chuckled and raised his bottle of water. “No need to worry, Maggie May. I don’t make a living off my voice anymore, so I can let it get as rough as it needs to be.”

The familiar timbre sent an unexpected jolt through me. I hadn’t heard his voice in person since that night. Goose bumps rose on my arms, and I yanked my sweater tighter. “My middle name isn’t May.”

His lips quirked up, unrepentant, and he didn’t respond. Someone tried to get his attention. He shook his head and gave them an apologetic smile, gesturing toward me. “We’re catching up.” The crowd around him thinned back.

“No, we’re not,” I muttered.

His lips quirked again, but he didn’t say anything.

“You’re back in town, then? Trying to make something of your life?” I jutted out my chin and crossed my arms. Any sense of playing nice disappeared. The goose bumps on my skin were from disgust, nothing else. I hated him.

He scanned the crowded bar. “Seems to be a few people who think I’ve already made something of myself.” He shrugged. “But they’re probably easily impressed—give them a glossy surface and they’ll root for anyone.” He directed his pointed gaze at me and sipped his bottle of water. “I heard you’d graduated from ruining one man’s life to taking down a whole town. Little Falls still standing, or have you demolished it as well?”

His mother lived in Little Falls on the opposite side of town to my family. Penny Castillo had put my sign on her lawn during the previous election. Of all the conflicts I had helped to settle over the last four years as mayor, none of them caused my blood to boil like Grady was doing right now. He knew nothing about anything.

Leaning forward on my toes, I said, “I’ve spent the last four years looking after the people you abandoned while you chased fame and fortune.” I raised my eyebrows in a challenge. I’d been the one to help Penny Castillo fix her garage when a windstorm had taken off half the roof; I’d been the one who picked up Trent from jail when he was finally released; I’d been the one to find his brother a job a few towns over when no one else wanted to hire him. What had Grady done? Won a singing contest and disappeared.

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