Page 1 of The One I Hate
Prologue
Simon
“Speaking of regrets…”
My words to my friend Wes trail off as a woman barking orders catches my eye. She doesn’t just catch my eye; she makes me do a full double-take. I have to blink a few times, because no way can I be seeing who I’m seeing.
We are at a wedding reception for the Rolling Hills wedding of the year for the newly married Jake and Whitley Evans. The object of my attention seems to be the caterer. She’s wearing the uniform—a white chef coat that’s long on her short stature—and she’s pointing to the servers and gesturing wildly. When she waves a hand in dismissal, they all but run to their food stations.
A woman who can command attention. I like it.
Now I’m even more intrigued to see if this woman is who I think she is, or if this is the whiskey playing tricks on me. But just as I shift to get a better angle, she’s out of sight.
No. I must’ve been seeing things. No way that’s who I thought it was.
Wes is still talking. What were we talking about? Oh. That’s right. How he’s fucking things up with the woman who at this point doesn’t deserve him because he’s acting like an ass.
“Speaking of regrets…” I begin once more. “I don’t have many. But I do have one, and it’s not telling you what a money-hungry bitch your ex-wife was. We all agreed to keep our mouths shut because at the time you seemed happy. Well, guess what? I’m going to speak now. Only this time you’re the one being the little bitch.”
“Excuse me?” Wes asks, looking offended.
“I’m saying we didn’t do anything to save you from your first wife. But I’m going to try to save you from being miserable for the rest of your life. Betsy is it. You’re not going to do better than her. If you fuck this up, her future will be fine. It’s your future that’s going to suck.”
There. I said what I needed to say to Wes. Now I can go back to trying to find the woman who bears a striking resemblance to the girl I once knew as Bug.
When I saw her a minute ago, I would have bet a million dollars it was her. I mean, in theory, it could be. Then again, I haven’t seen Charlie Bennett in fifteen years, so what the hell do I know? I don’t know where she lives, what she did with her life.
I haven’t thought about her in ages. But that was by design. When she vanished without warning, I had to force myself to erase her from my memory. It was the only way I could move on.
But if I’m being honest, my heart never moved on. She broke it that day. No—she fucking shattered it.
I tried to call and text. So many times. Calls went straight to voicemail. But that didn’t stop me from leaving message after message. I sent emails. She never told me where she lived, so I couldn’t go bang on her door. Which I would’ve done. I wasthatdesperate for answers.
Answers I never got.
Over the years I convinced myself that she blocked my number. I don’t know the reason why she would’ve done it, butsomehow me being blocked stung less than her hearing and reading every desperate message I sent, only to ignore them.
Frankly, now that I think about it, I don’t know what’s worse. We were friends. Or so I thought. Yes, we were competitive. Yes, we loved to one-up each other. Yes, we both always wanted to get the last word. We were stubborn and knew how to drive the other crazy. But at the end of the day, we were friends. Before she left, I had actually hoped that we could be more than that. And I thought she felt the same way.
The kiss we shared made me believe so.
The Charlie doppelgänger reappears, and now I know it’s her. Well, I’m eighty percent sure. The whiskey I’ve enjoyed from the open bar is fueling the rest of my confidence. But I’d know Charlie Bennett anywhere.
There’s only one problem: Bug was blonde. This woman is a redhead.
Bug…I haven’t thought about that name for so long. She hated when I called her that, which only made me want to use it more. I loved riling her up. Seeing her cheeks flush. Making her smile with my antics.
She was beautiful. And if the woman I’m looking at is her, she’s just as gorgeous as the last time I saw her. This woman is full figured, just like she was. Curves that drove me fucking crazy. Full breasts and hips that I used to fantasize about digging my fingers into. This woman is filled out even more, and I almost have to bite my fist to keep myself in check.
It wasn’t just her body that attracted me to Charlie. She was the total package. Brains, beauty, and boldness. Her confidence was sexy. Her mind was fascinating. And her wit? The woman could verbally spar with me better than anyone. My pants got tight more than once because of that.
Take right now for instance. The woman who might or might not be Charlie is at least four inches shorter than every servershe is talking to. Yet, standing there in her chef’s coat, pointing her finger in all directions, she’s commanding the room. Letting them know who’s boss. I can tell she’s not taking shit from anyone, and by the look of the workers, they know better than to even say a word.
Hell, even if this woman isn’t Charlie, I might have to go introduce myself.
I hear my other best friends, Shane and Oliver, say something to Wes, who is still going on and on about how he might lose the woman he loves, and though Wes is my boy, I couldn’t care less right now. Because for the first time since I caught sight of her, the woman I’ve been staring at turns to face me.
Jesus fucking Christ that’s Bug…
