The Man, The Myth, The Nerd: High School Billionaires #3 Read online

  Maybe he should be.

  I shook off the thought. “I’m fine,” I said. Or at least, I would be fine.

  I felt Tieg’s eyes on me; I could sense his frustration. He didn’t think we were done here. He hadn’t said everything he’d wanted to say.

  Well, too bad.

  I straightened beneath Brady’s arm and turned back to Tieg. He was watching me with that heavy-lidded gaze. Gone was the vulnerable boy and back was the hardened kid who’d gotten a bad deal. You know…right up until he’d hit the jackpot.

  “We should go,” Brady said.

  I nodded.

  “You two going out on a date?” The disdain in Tieg’s voice made me want to scream. He’d always been jealous of Brady, and I never quite knew why. Brady and I were never like that. Well, we tried once but it was a mistake. We both realized that right away.

  Still, I hated the judgment in Tieg’s tone, and it made me want to do something crazy.

  Like kiss him.

  No, stop it! My body and mind had gone nuts. He didn’t deserve any more kisses from me. And I sure as heck didn’t deserve judgement from him. Who did he think he was?

  “Yes,” I said, my tone crisp. “We’re going out.”

  I felt Brady stiffen beside me, but I ignored him, along with an uneasy feeling in my gut. A sensation that only intensified as I watched Tieg’s eyes darken with something wild and fierce.

  Possession.

  I’d seen it there before, and once upon a time I’d loved that look—it told me he was mine just like I was his.

  But I wasn’t his, not anymore. From what I saw online when I wasn’t trying to look—it was clear he had his fill of girls. Throw a stick in Hollywood and you’d hit a model or actress he’d dated.

  I drew in a deep breath, but anger and resentment burned through me. I wasn’t sure who I was angrier at—Tieg for giving me that look that said I was his, or me for almost believing it. I mean, I’d wanted to kiss him.

  What was wrong with me?

  Something flickered across Tieg’s face, and the angry possessiveness faded. “Daisy, there’s still things I want to say—”

  “Tough,” I said. “There’s nothing more to say.” With Brady’s arm still tight around me, I found myself remembering exactly where I was. This wasn’t three years ago, and I wasn’t a kid.

  Neither was he.

  Brady tugged at me and I started to walk away, but I stopped. Words tumbled out of me, words that needed to be said. “You know, Tieg, I might have been able to forgive you if you’d come back years ago—”

  “I wanted to,” he interrupted. “You have no idea how much I wanted to.”

  I arched my brows. “And? What happened? You got hypnotized by all the fake boobs surrounding you?”

  I heard a snicker coming from the open doorway behind me, and I spun around. “Eat! Now!”

  The siblings scattered, heading back into the kitchen, bowls and forks clattering as they resumed eating—or pretending to eat.

  “I didn’t know how,” Tieg started. “After the way I left—”

  “After the way you left, you sure as heck ought to have come back sooner. I deserved this apology three years ago, not now when you’re only here because your new friend Jamie asked you to come.”

  “It’s not like that,” he started.

  I shook my head. “You know what? I don’t care. I don’t care why you left or why you stayed away, because it’s all in the past.”

  “I never meant to hurt you.”

  “But you did,” I said quickly. I swallowed down a wave of tears. Truth be told, it wasn’t just the awful things he’d said that had hurt—I’d known what he was doing, and much as I hated it, I got it. But what really hurt—what I could never forgive—was that he hadn’t come back. He hadn’t been here when I’d needed my best friend. He hadn’t been there for me or Eliza or Keith or any of us. And they’d adored him almost as much as I had.

  With that thought in mind, I tilted my chin up. “I’m glad you’re here to help with the concert. This town could use your star power.” I filled my tone with as much derision as he’d done when he’d asked about me and Brady. “But once it’s over, I hope you go back to wherever it is you came from…and stay there.”

  Brady stiffened again beside me, and that toxic pit in my stomach made me want to throw up.

  I’d never been that mean before—not to anyone.

  I hated it. I hated myself for what I’d said.

  But it was what I did next that I could never forgive myself for.

  “Daisy,” Tieg said as I started to walk away.

  I don’t know what came over me, but Brady was holding me tight and Tieg had hurt me so badly. All I wanted to do was hurt him back, in any way possible.

  In the worst way possible.

  There was no rational thought involved as I went up on my tiptoes and kissed Brady on the lips.

  I broke away and saw the hurt in Brady’s eyes.

  It cut through my heart like a razor.

  Oh sweet mercy, what had I done?

  Chapter Five

  Tieg

  They say you can’t go home again. That wasn’t true. I watched Daisy drag Brady away after that kiss, and in seconds they’d piled into his truck and driven away without a backward glance.

  That old saying wasn’t true. You could go home again—but it was rather like visiting hell.

  Was that a wee bit melodramatic? Well, tough. I just watched the girl I’d loved since forever kiss another guy. The other guy.

  And oh yeah…let’s not forget the part where she pretty much informed me she never wanted to see me again.

  I ran a hand through my hair and stared after them long after the dust settled in the truck’s wake. That had gone…horribly.

  Seriously, I could not possibly have made more of a mess if I’d tried.

  Everything I’d wanted to say, everything I’d meant to get across—I’d planned it out but all my planning was for nothing because the moment she slayed me with those green eyes, I was a goner.

  I should have known because that was the way it always was between us. People give Romeo and Juliet grief because they were so young and so dramatic, but let me tell you…I was pretty sure Daisy and I gave them a run for their money.

  We’d always been intense, this thing between us had never been subtle.

  The difference this time? Normally, I was the brooding, angry one. It had always been Daisy who was trying to cheer me up and drag me out of my shell.

  Not today. I’d never seen this side of her before.

  Not that I didn’t deserve it.

  Now somebody tell my gut that I had no right to feel so incredibly ill at the sight of her with Brady. I’d known it was a good possibility, right? I’d always assumed that with me out of the picture he’d make his move.

  I just hadn’t expected her to fall for him in return.

  “Don’t take it too personally, Tieg.”

  The sound of an oh-so-sincere, incredibly wise seven-year-old jolted me out of my reverie and had me spinning around to face Beth. She was watching me with something horrifyingly close to pity.

  Holy crap. Yesterday I was a world-famous rock star making mad amounts of money. One day back in Jordan Springs and I was the object of a little kid’s pity.

  Look how far the mighty have fallen.

  She sat on the front steps and patted the seat beside her for me to do the same. I didn’t hesitate. “How’ve you been, Beth?” I asked as he sank down beside her.

  “So-so.” She tilted her head from side to side, looking so much like Daisy had at that age it was hard not to grin.

  “So-so, huh? Times tough in kindergarten?”

  She shot me a glare. “I’m in the first grade.”

  My brows shot up. “Is that right?” I whistled as I sank back and stared straight ahead. “All grown up.”

  Her sigh made her sound seventy rather than seven. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you, Tieg
.”

  Yeah. She sounded just like a little Daisy. My voice sounded unnaturally gruff. “Sorry about that.”

  I felt her shrug beside me. “It’s okay.”

  A grin tugged at my lips.

  We stared straight ahead at the flat grass-covered land that led to the main road. “I’m surprised you remember me.”

  “I don’t remember much, but I remember you were nice to me.”

  I would definitely not cry like a little girl over a…little girl.

  “I listen to your music sometimes with Eliza,” she said. “But don’t tell Daisy.”

  A quick glance showed she was serious. “You listen to my music, huh? Do you like it?”

  She nodded quickly, still so serious. “It’s good. Eliza likes it too, but she’d never admit it.”

  “Daisy would be angry?” I guessed.

  She shrugged. “It would make her upset. We know better than to mention you.”

  Was it possible my insides were made of ash? Because it was starting to feel that way. Like there was a cold deadness inside of me now that I knew Daisy would never forgive me.

  “Eliza told me you were a big nerd.”

  My head snapped to the side. Not to sound like a conceited jerk but…I was kind of a rock god. Rolling Stone said so. “A nerd?”

  For the first time all day I laughed, and Beth’s face lit up in response. “Daisy said she’s right.”

  “Oh she did, did she?”

  Beth nodded happily. “She said you only learned to play the guitar because Mom asked you to.”

  “She’s right.” The thought of Daisy’s mom made my grin grow. I looked behind me wondering if she’d come out to talk to me or if she was just as mad at me as everyone else. Their dad, too. He’d probably still be working but I hoped I got to see him at least once. Daisy’s family had always been good to me, more of a family to me than my own.

  “Why’d Mom make you learn the guitar?” she asked.

  “She didn’t make me,” I said. I mean, I had some pride, okay? But yeah, in reality, Daisy’s mom had heard me playing around with the instruments they had in their basement and decided that I had talent. She’d been the one to buy me my first guitar and had taught me the basic chords…enough to get me started. The rest I’d picked up from YouTube videos.

  Beth was still watching me.

  “Okay, yeah, she made me.” Beth laughed and I grinned down at her. “She made me play for the church.”

  “You played at church?”

  I nodded, smothering a grin at the thought of how much the tabloid would just love to hear this story and here I was sharing it with a kindergartener…sorry, a first grader. “I used to play every Sunday morning for the kids. All the kid church songs…”

  She nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I know ’em.”

  I was sure she did. Their mom ran the church’s Sunday school program. “Where is your mom?” I asked. “Is she around?”

  “No, she’s dead.”

  I jerked upright, and my eyes shot to Beth to see if she was serious.

  She was.

  My stomach plummeted and my skin turned cold, as if my body could understand what she’d said even though my brain couldn’t register. Beth was already moving on. “Dad’s still working, but I bet he’d like to say hi if you want to stick around.”

  “Beth—” I stopped. I stared at this girl with the wide, familiar green eyes. “Is she really—I mean, um…” I cleared my throat. “When did your mom pass away?”

  “Almost two years ago.”

  I stared at her. Two years and I’d had no idea. Daisy had lost her mom, the entire family had been grieving and I’d…

  I’d been traveling the world, living the dream.

  No wonder Daisy hated me. She had every right to.

  “Beth,” I said, already scrambling to my feet. “I need to talk to Daisy.”

  She waved a hand and for a second she looked like a little old grandmother instead of a child. “Go, go,” she said.

  I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to laugh or cry around this kid. She looked up at me with an arched brow. Knowing, wise, slightly cocky, and way too old for her years. “Seriously, Tieg, don’t take what she said too seriously. She’s been through a lot since Mom died.”

  My heart felt her words and the heaviness in them but I gave her a smile as I ruffled her hair. “She’s lucky to have you looking out for her.”

  She nodded seriously. “We all look out for each other.”

  My chest tightened again. That was the way it had always been with Daisy and her family, and it was one of the things I’d wanted the most. One of the ways I’d been so jealous of them.

  Of course, they’d taken me in too, with the same kind of unconditional love…

  And I’d blown it by leaving without so much as a goodbye. Worse, I hadn’t been there for them after their mom passed.

  “Do you know where they went?” I asked.

  “The grove up past the Maddox place,” she said. “You know where it is?”

  I nodded, a bittersweet smile tugging at me. Know it? I remembered that place well. It was where Daisy, Brady, and I used to go camping with her family. It was where the kids from our class went to hang out once we got a little older…

  It was where I had my one and only kiss with Daisy Lou Whittaker.

  Chapter Six

  Daisy

  The tension in the truck was unbearable.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally blurted out.

  Brady sighed, his hands adjusting on the steering wheel as he fidgeted with the radio dial.

  We were late. I’d promised the others I’d bring cupcakes and pop to celebrate Allison’s birthday, and I’d totally forgotten until after we’d left.

  Brady had remembered. Thank goodness for Brady.

  I glanced over at him now as he peered at the road as if this was his first time driving up the old dirt road to the campsite.

  “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that.”

  He glanced over at me. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

  I bit my lip as shame crawled over my skin like a sea of red ants. See, here was the thing. Brady liked me. Or at least, he used to. He’d had a crush on me back when we were kids, and I knew it.

  I wasn’t blind. Back when we were in middle school and junior high, I’d just ignored it. I’d never seen him as anything more than a friend…I couldn’t. My heart had only ever belonged to Tieg. He’d been my first crush, my first love, and then my first kiss.

  Brady had been…my friend. He knew it, I knew it.

  We should never have tried to make it something more. But after my mom died, he’d been there for me, and I’d been grateful.

  In hindsight, sure…I can totally see that gratitude was not the right emotion on which to base a relationship. I wasn’t even sure you could call it a relationship. It had been more like a two-week awkward attempt at two friends trying to kiss.

  I’d tried to feel something for him other than friendship, I really had. Life would have been so much easier if I could have felt something for him.

  But I hadn’t, and Brady knew it.

  He’d been the one to call a halt to it. He’d said we both deserved better than lukewarm feelings in a relationship, and he’d been right. It had been almost too easy to slide back into friendship. But, the thing was, that brief foray into a romantic relationship had changed things between us. He’d admitted his feelings and there was no going back from that.

  We were once again the best of friends, but there was an understanding between us. I didn’t talk to him about other boys—not that there was anyone to talk to him about—and I most certainly didn’t use him to make Tieg jealous.

  Okay, that hadn’t so much been an understanding until today, but it went without saying. It was common decency. It was mutual respect.

  “You need to talk to him, Daisy,” Brady said.

  “I did.”

  He shot me a sidelong look that spoke of a lifetime of friendshi
p. “You need to really talk to him.”

  I pursed my lips and looked out the window.

  “Look,” he said, fidgeting in his seat beside me. “I know you’re still hurt, but you clearly still have feelings for the guy—”

  “I don’t—” I stopped mid-protest as Brady shot me another look.

  “You do,” he said. “And it’s not fair to use my feelings for you against him.”

  That sucked the wind right out of me. “I’m sorry,” I said again softly.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I know. But the thing is, that wasn’t like you.” He shook his head. “I almost didn’t recognize you back there.”

  His words stung, but I knew it was partially because they were the truth. I hadn’t recognized myself.

  “You need to talk to him, and find some way to forgive him—” He held up a hand to stop me when I went to interrupt. “You need to forgive him for your sake, Daisy, not his.”

  I sighed as I slumped back in the seat. He was right. I hadn’t liked that person I was back there. It wasn’t like me to be so angry, to be so bitter. “I know, it’s just…he hurt me.”

  “He only hurt you so badly because you love him so much.”

  I stiffened at that. Not because his words were so shocking but because he’d used the present tense. I opened my mouth to deny it, but no words came out. I ended up clamping my jaw shut and turning to look out the window again.

  “Fine,” I finally said as we pulled up to the site where our friends were already gathered. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

  Brady parked and shut off the engine. His voice was once again back to normal, filled with amusement even when he answered. “Better yet, you could talk to him tonight.”

  I frowned at him before following his gaze.

  No way.

  It couldn’t be…

  I stared with wide eyes at the sight before me. Tieg, surrounded by our friends, hanging out like he’d never left.

  “Just like old times,” Brady muttered before getting out of the truck.

  I sat there frozen for way too long, torn between guilt at my earlier actions and a ridiculous, unstoppable excitement. I wished I could deny it, but there was no other way to explain the adrenaline that coursed through my system at the sight of him. There was no other explanation for the way my heart was tripping over itself, racing so quickly it made my breath quicken and the blood rush past my ears.