Flirting with Fire Page 23

  I really don’t want to hear this.

  “He went on and on about you. How he wished he did know you. That it felt like he’d wasted these past ten years because the woman he’s meant to be with, he’d already met years prior.”

  She smiles like that should appease me in some way.

  It kind of does.

  I clear my throat. “Nice of him to say.”

  She laughs in an exasperated way that asks ‘how much more convincing do I need to give you?’ “I don’t know who brought Hunter into my life, but he was there for a purpose. He gave me Devin and for that I’m grateful. People come in and out of our lives, some return, some you never see again. I like to think there’s a reason that this is your time with Mauro. Maybe back then it wasn’t the right timing. Do you really want to take the chance that the paths you’re on don’t meet again?”

  I sip the tea and allow her words to soak in.

  “We don’t know each other well, but I do know Mauro. He and Hunter were close since the academy. I’ve seen women come and go in and out of his life and none of them have had anything like what you two do.” Her hand covers mine and I see she still wears her wedding band. “I promise you, his feelings are genuine and true.”

  With a squeeze on my hand, she turns around and leaves as I lower myself to the wood floor wondering what the hell I’m doing. My eyes shift around the room, taking in what we built together. This house was a bid away from being bulldozed and now it’s a bright and happy home, ready for a family to build memories, a life in.

  Cailin’s right. Something brought Mauro into my life. We could’ve had that date and then never saw each other again, but he showed up at that auction.

  Regret and determination fill me and I stand up, finding my phone and calling his number.

  No answer.

  I hammer out a text message for him to call me as soon as he’s out of the interview.

  Locking all the doors and shutting all the windows, I run out to my car, peeling away from the curb to wait for him outside his apartment.

  I have to make this right. I just hope it’s not too late and my issues haven’t scared him away.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Mauro

  “Just get as many people there as possible. I don’t care who they are. Did you leave the outfit on her bed?” I ask Lauren, who thankfully has moved over to Team Mauro.

  Our agendas match—make Madison see she’s deserving of love. I have no doubt that if I pull this off, she’ll be back to giving me hell tomorrow.

  “It’s all set, but she hasn’t returned home yet,” she says.

  “I drove by after my interview and her car wasn’t there.”

  I pace around the grass, wondering where the hell she could be.

  “What’s up, man?” One of my buddies arrives to help me set this entire thing up.

  “Hey.” I nod toward the area where the other guys are lingering.

  “Did you call her?” she asks.

  “I texted her. I’ll call her now.” Lauren hangs up and I see that there’s a text message from Cristian waiting for me.

  Cris: She’s outside the apartment waiting for you. I just woke up from my double shift.

  Fuck. She’s come to talk to me and I can’t even make it to her.

  Me: Tell her to go home. That I’m not there.

  Cris: Pretty sure she’s going to stick around and wait.

  Me: Do whatever you have to do, just get her home so Lauren can do what she needs to do.

  Cris: I’ll try.

  I pull up Lauren’s contact and send her a message so she’ll know what’s going on.

  Me: She’s at my apartment. Cristian is going to try to get her to go home. Did you get a hold of her?

  I pace a path from one side to the other. I need to pull this off.

  Lauren: She said she’s an idiot and she’s going to wait for you until you come home. I don’t think she’s budging on this.

  Damn it. I thread my fingers through my hair.

  Me: Okay. She had texted me so I’m going to tell her to meet me at your house.

  Lauren: Then I’ll kidnap her. Perfect.

  Starting a new thread, I pull up her earlier text that I was going to ignore until she got here.

  Me: I can’t talk right now but let’s meet at your house in a half hour?

  The three dots appear immediately.

  Madison: I’m at your apartment. Just come here. Your brother just left. I don’t want to talk in front of Vanessa or Lauren.

  I stare up at the sky silently asking why this woman is determined to be so stubborn.

  Me: I’ll get to your place quicker. We can go somewhere and talk.

  That’s the best I have before begging her to go home.

  Madison: Okay, I’ll head over there now.

  Finally. I pull my thread with Lauren back up on my phone.

  Me: She’s heading home now. Make sure you get her in that dress before you bring her.

  Lauren: On it.

  I spend the next hour preparing a scene going off someone else’s memory. It’s time to redo history.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Madison

  I walk into my bedroom, Lauren on my heels from the moment I opened the front door.

  “I know I’ve been stupid so you can stop your lectures. I’m apologizing and I’m going to try and put all the past behind us…” I trail off as I spot a dress I’ve never seen before laid out on my bed with a small note placed on it.

  I glance back to Lauren, who’s smiling.

  * * *

  Come back to two thousand and eight and let’s start fresh. Put on the dress and have Lauren drive you to me.

  Love,

  Mauro

  * * *

  “I’ll let you change.” She shuts the door behind her and I have the passing thought that I now realize she’s wearing a pair of baggy pants and a tight t-shirt that shows a sliver of her stomach.

  Puzzled but hopeful, I strip out of my jeans and sweatshirt, putting on a dress very similar to the one I wore ten years ago. The one that ended up drenched in beer. I’m tying my shoes when my bedroom door opens and there stands Vanessa and Lauren.

  Vanessa’s decked out in a gold headband and a babydoll top.

  “Are you ready, Maddie?” she asks. “I heard there’s a bonfire going down tonight and Mauro Bianco is going to be there.” She flutters her eyes. “He’s so dreamy.”

  Lauren knocks her shoulder. “Two thousand and eight, not nineteen sixty-eight.”

  Vanessa laughs.

  “I’m ready.”

  Hope feels like it’s filling my chest from the inside out, expanding my chest with every breath. I stare in the mirror for a moment reflecting on the differences between the person I was a decade ago and the one that stands here now, not just in appearance, but personality, too.

  A decade ago I never would have been able to hold a conversation with Mauro. Kissing him just about made me mute, never mind sleeping with him. I would have agreed with everything he said because that’s what I thought you were supposed to do with boys. Now I fight for what I believe in. I didn’t know what I wanted out of life back then, but I do now.

  And I can’t let my fears and insecurities stop me from having them. Mauro is a good man and if he says that he cares for me, I have to trust in that. The same way he was trusting me not to hurt him.

  I realize now that there are no guarantees in life. The best any of us can do is try. And if we fail, well…at least we had our moment in the sun. It’s better than withering away to nothing in the shadows.

  The three of us head out of the house to the garage where Lauren’s Fiat awaits.

  “Your parents are so great to buy you this car, Lauren.” Apparently, Vanessa is still pretending we’re in high school. “My dad told me no car until I’m eighteen. I’ll get him to cave though.”

  The three of us continue to make jokes like we really are sixteen again and living with our parents.
>
  “Did you know that all the Bianco brothers are going to be there tonight?” I ask because now that I’ve figured out what’s going on, the outfit I saw Cristian in earlier at his apartment makes more sense. He was wearing his jeans halfway down his ass with a brown belt and plaid shirt. Totally ten years ago.

  “Whatever. The only one worth anyone’s time is Mauro. You should totally talk to him tonight, Mad.” Vanessa nudges my shoulder.

  “I don’t know, I think they all have their own redeeming qualities,” I say.

  “Luca can suck my tit. He’ll never have a chance with me. He’s so cocky and thinks he’s great at everything he does,” Lauren says.

  I raise my eyebrows at her.

  Finally, we arrive at the same place high school bonfires were held ten years prior and Lauren parks on the grass.

  There’s a bonfire roaring in the middle of the field between two sets of trees. People are scattered over the grass, Solo cups in hand, laughing and having a good time.

  “Party time!” Vanessa hollers. She wasn’t there originally when I begged Lauren to go home, but I wish now that she were.

  We all file out and I’m not sure how he managed it, but everyone acts like they don’t know why we’re there, barely giving us a glance. Searching the area, I spot Mauro talking to a group of guys.

  A smile crosses his lips, his eyes flowing over my body like it’s the first time he’s seen me.

  I blush, of course I do, and shake my head at the absurdity of this entire situation.

  He’s wearing what he wore that night minus the backward hat which I’m kind of happy about because I love his hair so much. Oh and he’s added his letterman jacket, though it’s a little snug now with all his muscles.

  “Come on, let’s get a drink.” Lauren tugs me the other way.

  We head into the woods where the conversations we pass consist of topics like kids, date nights, and save the dates rather than SATs, parents, and midterms.

  Lauren fills her cup but makes me leave mine empty. I’m surprised Lauren remembers or maybe she’s going off of what I told Mauro about that night.

  Regardless, I end up on a log in front of the fire. As I watch the flames, I assume he’ll appear across from me and our eyes will meet.

  “Do you mind?” his voice says from next to me and my body hums with the awareness of him.

  I look up and his smile is so wide I’m ready to throw myself into his arms, begging him to forgive me for my stupidity and take me back to his apartment. I just want to go back to where we were.

  “No,” I say, playing my part although he’s changed the script.

  He sits down and sips his beer. “I’m Mauro.” He holds out his hand.

  “Madison.”

  “Nice to meet you.” He stares ahead. “I saw you earlier with your friends.”

  “Yeah, we’re sophomores. You’re a senior right?” I can’t help but smirk at him.

  He nods. “I am. You want some M&Ms?” He pulls a bag out of his letterman jacket.

  I smile wide. “My favorite, how did you know?”

  He pours some in my hand. “I didn’t. They’re my favorite, too. Kind of cool the way they’re our initials huh?” He pops a few into his mouth. “I heard they’re great with cheesecake.” He winks at me.

  “Really? I’ll have to try that sometime.” I bump his shoulder with my own.

  “Maybe we can try it together?” His thigh presses to mine and the cage to the butterflies in my stomach is opened. How can he still have this effect on me?

  “Are you not drinking?” he asks, noticing me flipping my Solo cup around.

  “No, I’m the driver.”

  “Great, I’ve had a few, not too many but I shouldn’t drive. Do you mind giving me a ride? You can drive my truck.” He pulls his keys out of his jacket.

  “Sure, let me find my friends to let them know.”

  “Cool. I’ll wait by the truck. It’s over there.” He points off into the distance.

  We both stand and he steps closer to me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thanks for this.”

  “You’re welcome,” I croak out because I’m torn on wanting to finish this scene to see what else he has planned and jumping him right now.

  “Hurry, okay?”

  I nod and he steps back until he disappears into the darkness.

  God, I miss him already.

  Turning around, I survey the crowd to find Vanessa and Lauren. At first, I spot no one and I’m about to tell Luca who’s pretending to arm wrestle someone to fill Lauren in for me. Then I see she’s the one standing behind Luca’s competitor screaming at him to kick Bianco’s ass.

  I head over to her and tap her on the shoulder. “Hey, can you get a ride home? Mauro just asked me if I could drive him home.”

  “Um, no you agreed to be my DD. The hell if you’re going off with that shithead.”

  Luca stands up. “That shithead would be my brother.”

  “Okay, funny guys. This didn’t actually happen so I’m driving Mauro home. Lauren you have your car and I played the game, so…thanks.”

  They both smile at me but quickly narrow their eyes at each other again.

  “I was kidding.” She hugs me. “Go get him, Mad,” she whispers in my ear before releasing me.

  Luca places his hand on my shoulder. “Give him hell and I mean it. Don’t make it easy on him.”

  I smack his hand and walk away from them, looking around for Vanessa, but when I don’t see her, I figure Lauren will tell her and so I head toward the truck, walking faster the closer I get.

  Just like that night ten years ago, he’s leaning on the passenger side waiting for me. This time he isn’t swaying or looking like he might throw up.

  “Thanks for this, Madison.” He hands me the keys.

  “Mauro,” I say being done with the game, but he places his fingers on my lips.

  “We need to play the song.” He leans forward, his hands on either side of my face and he closes his eyes. “Just listen to the lyrics of the song, okay? It says everything I want to on this night.” He kisses my forehead and then releases me.

  I climb into the driver’s seat, a little intimidated by the size of his truck. Once we’re on the road the song, “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol starts to play. The lyrics speak so much to my heart and the two of us. The irony that it played ten years ago when we were strangers to one another isn’t lost on me.

  By the time I’m pulling up to his parents’ house, tears are falling down my face.

  “I’m so sorry, Mauro,” I choke out.

  He takes the keys out of the ignition, gets out of his car and then opens my door.

  “Come on. Let’s go to the park.”

  He entwines our hands, his callused palms giving me comfort and letting me know that he’s already accepted my apology.

  We walk across the street. The park equipment is newer now and a locked fence surrounds the outfield.

  “Well, we’ll have to do this a little differently this time around.” Mauro releases my hand and climbs the fence. “Come on.” He waits for me as I do my best to get over the fence without flashing him. Not that he hasn’t already seen all of me.

  “We’ll pretend the fence wasn’t there.” He laughs, taking my hand again and guiding me to centerfield.

  He sits down first and pats the grass next to him. I silently oblige and we both lay back in the grass.

  “Do you know what you want to be?” he asks, staring at a sky that’s littered with stars to wish on tonight.

  “I’m not sure. What about you?”

  He rolls on his side. “I want the trifecta—the house, the family, and the career. Hopefully one day I get it.”

  “I’m sure you will. You’re a pretty great guy.”

  He slides closer, his hand touching my cheek. “I have a vision that in ten years I’m going to meet a woman who will change my life forever.”

  “Really? A vision?”

  He chuckles. “Yeah,
I think she’ll look a lot like you.”

  “Weird, I had the same vision of you.”

  Our eyes lock, blue on blue, and the feelings that pass between us without words feel more powerful in this moment than anything the world can throw at us.

  “Can I kiss you?” he whispers.

  I nod, swallowing down my excitement, my joy of finally being able to kiss him.

  He’s hesitant at first like he was the first time our lips met, but the fire, the time apart quickly consume us and he rolls me onto my back. His thigh separates my legs as our mouths claim one another.

  Finally, I’m back to where I feel like I fit—with Mauro.

  Peace travels through my body even as my arousal pulsates out of control.

  “Man, that’s some kiss. Will you come to my bedroom?”

  I smack his shoulder. “A little forward don’t you think?”

  He nibbles at my neck. “What I want to do to you can’t be done in public.”

  I place my hands on either side of his face and pull him away from my neck so that he’s looking at me. “Take me home, Mauro.”

  “I love those four words,” he says, springing to his feet and hauling me up with him.

  We rush to get back to the truck, him driving this time instead of me. I’m so busy staring at him the entire ride I don’t even pay attention to the time it’s taking to get to his apartment.

  “You didn’t have to do all that,” I say, my hand in his as the song plays on repeat.

  “I did. It’s how that night should have gone.” He stops at a light and he bends over to kiss me. “I’ll forever regret those ten years I missed out on with you, but I’m not going to dwell on that if I’m lucky enough to have an entire future with you.”