Rival Hearts (Little Falls #1)

2. Maggie

Song after song Maggie sat with her arms crossed, wishing she 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 Maggie fumed. Each lyric was another needle pricking her. As much as she hated him, his album proved he felt exactly the same.

Their relationship hadn't always been bitter. Sometimes in high school, when she'd gone to Sunday dinner at Trent's house, she caught Grady staring at her as though he couldn't figure her out. His curiosity pleased her, ignited something in her too. Let him stew. Let him wonder. Then, the fuse she lit blew up a bomb in her face.

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

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

Her body was a traitor. She'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 she see in Grady's eyes when she glanced up? Twelve years ago they'd been this close, closer, and those eyes stole a piece of her soul.

With a deep breath, she stepped back and stared at him. He was stupidly tall and broad. She couldn't remember exactly how tall. 6'5, maybe? Enough to hurt her neck if she was too close and looked up for too long. She squared her shoulders and gave him a sugary smile. "You must be thirsty." Her tone was so sweet it practically dripped syrup. "All that singing would be hell on your voice. No need to speak." She 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 her, and Maggie tried to decipher the emotion behind them. Amusement and something else she 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 timber sent an unexpected jolt through her. She hadn't heard his voice in person since that night. Goosebumps rose across her arms, and she yanked her 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 Maggie. "We're catching up." The crowd around him thinned back.

She wanted to slide away with them. "You're back in town, then? Trying to make something of your life?" She jutted out her chin and crossed her arms. Any sense of playing nice disappeared. The goosebumps on her skin were from disgust, nothing else. She 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 her 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 Maggie's family. Penny Castillo had put Maggie's sign on her lawn during the previous election. Of all the conflicts Maggie had helped to settle over the last four years as mayor, none of them caused her blood to boil like Grady was doing right now. He knew nothing about anything.

Leaning forward on her toes, Maggie said, "I've spent the last four years looking after the people you abandoned while you chased fame and fortune." She raised her eyebrows in a challenge. She'd been the one to help Penny Castillo fix her garage when a wind storm had taken off half the roof; she'd been the one to pick up Trent from jail when he was finally released; she'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.

"Only four years?" His eyes drilled into her. "What was Trent's sentence again?"

Maggie hated the heat creeping into her face.

Rage.

The heat was from rage and not humiliation. "It'll be me looking after them for another four years twenty-four hours from now."

"What are you talking about?" His sharp gaze turned curious, thoughtful.

Her jaw ached from holding back the diatribe threatening to explode out of her. "I'm running uncontested for another term as Mayor of Little Falls."

Grady pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked toward the ceiling. "Uncontested?"

"That's right." Lila appeared out of nowhere to throw her arm around her shoulders. Her words were slurred, but Maggie was so glad for the backup her level of drunkenness didn't matter. "It's because she's the best fucking mayor in any town anywhere."

Throwing back his head, Grady laughed. "In any town anywhere?"

With a frown, Lila used one finger and pressed it into his broad chest. "Yes! God. Why do you have to be such a hot prick?"

Maggie clamped her hand over Lila's mouth. In the morning, Lila would regret those words. "She meant the prick part. The hot part is the Jell-O shots talking. Everyone in this bar is hot to her right now."

Grady's eyebrows lifted, and he raised his bottle to his lips again. "What makes you so sure no one is going to run against you at the last minute?"

Lila laughed through Maggie's hand and removed it from her face. "Because they'd have to own property in town, get enough supporters or file as an independent, and they'd have to think they could beat Maggie. No one is that dumb or that desperate." Considering how drunk Lila appeared to be, Maggie was impressed with how smoothly her little speech spilled out of her. "And," Lila added holding up her finger, "we know everyone who fits the criteria, and they're not running." She cocked an eyebrow at Grady and flicked out a hip. "Maggie's got it in the bag."

On instinct, Maggie wanted to correct Lila, but the expression on Grady's face made her hold her tongue. Technically, Lila wasn't wrong, but Maggie didn't like the way Grady's gaze turned calculating as it dragged across them. He chuckled to himself, and a hint of amusement lit his face.

A Hispanic woman Maggie didn't recognize appeared at the edge of their circle. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Castillo. But we were hoping to get a selfie and an autograph? You're like the biggest celebrity around here."

"Sure." Grady half-turned toward his fan. The smile on his face had faded at the request. "Ladies." Grady pointed his water bottle at Maggie and Lila. "I'll be seeing you around. I bought some prime real estate in Little Falls. Looks like we'll be neighbors." He backed away from them and then trailed the woman to her group.

"Neighbors?" Lila squeaked out. "Grady Castillo is coming back to Little Falls for good?"

That's what it sounded like. Maggie's heart thumped wildly in response. Did that mean she'd have to see him all the time? With that thought at the front of her mind, she stepped up to the bar and ordered a drink.

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