Nicholas Sparks - The Last Song

“I’m just saying.”

“Well, don’t, okay? And what is it with you and…”

“Ronnie?”

“Yeah. What was that about? Yesterday, you spent your whole day off with her, and then she shows up this morning and you kiss her? Are you, like… serious about her or something?”

Will remained silent.

Scott shook his head as he raised a finger, emphasizing his point. “See, here’s the thing. The last thing you need is to get serious with a girl. You need to concentrate on what’s important. You’ve got a full-time job, you volunteer trying to save the dolphins or whales or turtles or whatever, and you know how much we have to practice to get ready for the tournament. You don’t have enough time as it is!”

Will said nothing, but he could see Scott growing more panicked with every passing second.

“Ah, come on, man! Don’t do this to me. What on earth do you see in her?”

Will said nothing.

“No, no, no,” Scott repeated like a mantra. “I knew this was going to happen. That’s why I told you to go out with Ashley! So you wouldn’t get serious again. You know what’s going to happen. You’re going to turn into a hermit. You’re going to blow off your friends so you can hang out with her. Trust me, the last thing you need is to get serious with…”

“Ronnie,” Will filled in.

“Whatever,” Scott snapped. “You’re missing the point.”

Will smiled. “Did you ever realize you have more opinions about my life than your own life?”

“That’s because I don’t mess things up like you do.”

Will gave an involuntary twitch, flashing back to the night of the fire and wondering if Scott was really so clueless.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Will said, but he realized that Scott wasn’t listening. Instead, his gaze was focused over Will’s shoulder, on a spot down the beach.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Scott mumbled.

Will turned around and saw Ronnie approaching. In jeans and a dark T-shirt, of course, looking as out of place as a crocodile in Antarctica. A huge grin spread over his face.

He started toward her, drinking in the sight of her, wondering again what she was thinking. He loved the fact that he couldn’t completely figure her out.

“Hey,” he said, reaching for her.

She stopped, just out of reach. Her expression was serious. “Don’t kiss me. Just listen, okay?”

Sitting beside him in the truck, Ronnie remained as enigmatic as ever. She stared out the window, smiling faintly, seemingly content to watch the scenery.

Ronnie brought her hands together in her lap. “I want you to know my dad won’t care that you’re wearing shorts and a tank top.”

“It’s only going to take a few minutes.”

“But it’s supposed to be a casual dinner.”

“I’m hot and sweaty. I’m not going to come to your house for dinner with your dad dressed like a bum.”

“But I just said he won’t care.”

“I care, though. Unlike some people, I like to make a good impression.”

Ronnie bristled. “Are you saying I don’t?”

“Of course not. For instance, everyone I know loves to meet people with purple hair.”

Though she knew he was teasing, her eyes widened and then narrowed suddenly. “You don’t seem to have a problem with it.”

“Yes, but that’s because I’m special.”

She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Are you going to be like this all night?”

“Like what?”

“Like someone with no shot of ever, ever kissing me again?”

He laughed and turned toward her. “I apologize. I didn’t mean it. And actually, I like the purple streaks. It’s… who you are.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll just have to learn to be more careful with what you say next time.” As she spoke, she opened his glove compartment and began sifting through it.

“What are you doing?”

“Just looking. Why? Are you hiding something?”

“Feel free to sort through all of it. And while you’re at it, maybe you could straighten it up a bit.”

She pulled out a bullet and held it up so he could see. “I suppose this is what you use to kill ducks, right?”

“No, that’s for deer. It’s too big for a duck. The duck would be shredded to pieces if I shot it with that.”

“You have serious problems, you know.”

“So I’ve heard.”

She giggled before settling into silence. They were on the intracoastal side of the island, and between the ever-growing sprawl of houses, the sun was glinting off the water. She closed the glove compartment and lowered the visor. Noticing a photograph of a lovely blonde, she pulled it out and examined it.

“She’s pretty,” Ronnie commented.

“Yeah, she is.”

“Ten bucks says you posted this on your Facebook page.”

“You lose. That’s my sister.”

He watched as her gaze flickered from the photo to his wrist, eyeing the macramé wristband.

“What’s with the matching bracelets?” she asked.

“My sister and I make them.”

“To support a worthy cause, no doubt.”

“No,” he said, and when he said nothing else, he was impressed that she seemed to intuit that he didn’t want to say anything more. Instead, she carefully tucked the photo back in place and lifted the visor again.

“How far away do you live?” Ronnie asked.

“We’re almost there,” Will assured her.

“If I’d known it was this far away, I would have walked home. Since we’re heading farther and farther away from my house, I mean.”

“But you would have missed my scintillating conversation.”

“Is that what you call it?”

“Do you plan on insulting me some more?” He glanced at her. “I just need to know whether or not to turn up the music so I don’t have to hear it.”

“You know you shouldn’t have kissed me earlier. It wasn’t exactly romantic,” Ronnie shot back.

“I thought it was very romantic.”

“We were in a garage, you had grease on your hands, and your buddy was gawking.”

“A perfect setting,” he said.

As he slowed the car, he flipped down his visor. Then, after making a turn, he came to a stop as he pressed the remote. Two wrought-iron gates slowly slid open, and the truck rolled forward again. Excited at the prospect of having dinner with Ronnie’s family later that evening, Will didn’t seem to notice that Ronnie had gone quiet.

Okay, she thought, this was ridiculous. Not just the grounds with the sculptured rose gardens and hedges and marble statues, or the massive Georgian mansion supported by elegant columns, or even the overpriced exotic cars that were being waxed by hand in an area reserved for such things-but all of it.

It wasn’t just ridiculous. It was beyond ridiculous.

Yeah, she knew there were rich people in New York with twenty-three-room apartments on Park Avenue and houses in the Hamptons, but it wasn’t as if she’d ever spent time with those people or been invited to those homes. The closest she’d ever come to seeing a place like this was in magazines, and even then, most of those had been flyover shots taken by paparazzi.

And here she was, wearing a T-shirt and torn jeans. Nice. At the very least, he could have warned her.

She continued to stare at the house as the truck zipped up the drive, turning in to the roundabout in front of the house. He came to a stop directly in front of the entrance. She turned to him and was about to ask whether he actually lived here, then realized it was a stupid question. Obviously he lived here. By then, he was already getting out of the truck.

Following suit, she opened her door and stepped outside. The two men washing the cars glanced at her before quickly going back to work.

“Like I said, I’m just going to rinse off. It won’t take long.”

“Fine,” she said. Really, there wasn’t anything else she could think to say. It was the largest house she’d ever seen in her life.

She followed him up the steps that led to the porch and paused briefly at the door, just long enough to see a small brass plaque posted near the door that read, “The Blakelees.”

As in Blakelee Brakes. As in the national automotive chain. As in Will’s dad didn’t simply own an individual franchise but had probably started the entire business.

She was still trying to process that simple fact as Will pushed open the door and led her into a massive foyer centerpieced by a grand staircase. A dark-paneled library beckoned on her right, while some kind of music room opened to the left. Directly ahead lay a huge, sun-filled open room, and beyond that, she saw the sparkling waters of the Intracoastal Waterway.

“You didn’t tell me your last name was Blakelee,” Ronnie mumbled.

“You didn’t ask.” He gave an indifferent shrug. “Come on in.”

He led her past the staircase toward the great room. At the back of the house, she saw a massive covered veranda; near the water, she caught sight of what could only be described as a midsize yacht parked at the dock.

Okay, she admitted it. She felt out of place here, and the fact that everyone probably felt out of place the first time they came here was no consolation. She might as well have landed on Mars.

“Can I get you something to drink while I get ready?”

“Um, no, I’m okay. Thanks,” she said, trying not to gawk at her surroundings.

“You want me to show you around first?”

“I’m fine.”

Somewhere ahead and off to the side, she heard a voice calling out.

“Will? Did I hear you come in?”

Ronnie turned to see an attractive woman in her early fifties, wearing an expensive linen pantsuit and holding a wedding magazine, step into view.

“Hey, Mom,” he said. He tossed his truck keys into a bowl perched on the entry table, right next to the vase of fresh-cut lilies. “I brought someone over. This is Ronnie. And this is my mom, Susan.”

“Oh. Hello, Ronnie,” Susan said coolly.