She Reunites With Her High School Crush, Not Realizing the Boy She Knew Is Now a Billionaire Falling
The Wedding Reunion
Marlo Rivers hated weddings. She especially hated ones where she had to return to her hometown and fake a smile while watching her high school ex marry someone else. She adjusted the strap of her simple navy blue dress.
She hovered near the open bar. She was silently praying no one remembered her as the girl who tripped during senior prom and took down half the dessert table with her. But small towns remembered everything.
“Champ?” the bartender asked, handing her a glass.
“Only if it comes with a time machine back to when I thought I’d be a famous photographer by now,” she muttered.
“You always did have a dramatic flare.”
The familiar voice made her freeze. Slowly she turned. Standing there—taller, broader, and ridiculously more handsome than memory allowed—was the boy she’d crushed on all through high school. It was her best friend’s twin brother.
“Vance Fletcher,” she said, blinking like he might vanish if she looked too hard.
“In the flesh,” he said, his grin crooked and effortless.
He looked nothing like the shy, lanky guy who used to sit behind her in chemistry and doodle on his notes. Now he was all custom-fitted tux, expensive watch, and the kind of confidence that made her stomach flip.
“You… wow. You look different.”
“So do you.”
His eyes dragged over her, warm and lingering.
“Better somehow.”
She laughed, caught off guard by the compliment.
“Are you here for the wedding?”
“Yeah. My sister made me come. Said I needed to stop hiding in my glass tower and remember where I came from.”
Marlo raised an eyebrow. “Glass tower?”
Vance paused, then shrugged. “Just work stuff. Boring.”
The band started playing something soft and romantic. Couples began drifting to the dance floor. Marlo sipped her champagne, suddenly aware of how alone she felt.
“You still live here?” he asked.
“No. I’ve been in Chicago trying to get my photography business off the ground. It’s not exactly thriving.”
“Maybe you just need the right client.”
She looked at him. “Are you volunteering?”
He laughed, and it hit her in the chest how easy it was to fall back into this rhythm with him. It felt like no time had passed.
“Dance with me,” he said suddenly, offering his hand.
“What?”
“You heard me. Come on, for old time’s sake.”
Marlo hesitated. But the way he was looking at her, like she was the only person in the room, made it impossible to say no.
His hand was warm as he pulled her onto the dance floor. Their bodies brushed and her heart thudded too loud in her ears.
“This feels weird,” she said.
“Because it’s been 10 years?” he asked. “Because I’m not that scrawny kid with braces anymore?”
She gave him a look. “You didn’t have braces.”
“I had emotional braces.”
She laughed again. He smiled like he’d been waiting all night to hear it. They danced in silence for a moment.
“You know, I had the biggest crush on you in high school.”
She looked up, startled. “No, you didn’t. You barely spoke to me.”
“I was too busy trying not to pass out every time you looked at me.”
Marlo’s stomach flipped again.
“Well, you hid it really well. I regret that.”
His voice dropped a little. “I would have asked you out if I thought I had a chance.”
God, his eyes. They were still that same stormy green, but there was something deeper behind them now, something heavier.
“You’re full of surprises tonight,” she murmured.
“You have no idea.”
After the wedding, Marlo walked into the parking lot with him. She expected him to head towards some ordinary rental car like the rest of the out-of-towners. Instead, he stopped in front of a sleek black Aston Martin.
Her jaw dropped. “This is yours?”
“Yeah. I figured if I had to come back here, I might as well do it with style.”
“You drive a car that probably costs more than my apartment lease.”
He opened the passenger door for her. “Want to see how it rides?”
She hesitated. “This isn’t some weird flex, right?”
“No,” he said, suddenly serious. “It’s just… I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to impress you.”
Marlo climbed in. The interior smelled like leather and luxury and something else: him. She looked over at him as he slid in next to her. The city lights caught the edge of his jawline.
“You’re not telling me something,” she said.
He kept his eyes on the road. “Maybe.”
“Vance?”
He glanced at her. “I run a company. Investment firm, global tech stuff.”
“It blew up a few years ago.”
She blinked. “Blew up how?”
“I’m a billionaire.”
Silence. She turned to him. “You’re joking.”
He shook his head. “I wish I was, honestly. I liked it better when people didn’t know. But you, I didn’t want to lie to you.”
Marlo stared out the window, trying to process. “So you’re saying the guy I used to pass notes to in English class is now one of the richest men in the country?”
“Basically.”
“And you’re still that guy?”
“I’d like to think so.” He paused. “Are you mad I didn’t say anything sooner?”
“No,” she said. “I’m just wondering why you came back here at all.”
He looked at her and his voice dropped. “Because I heard you’d be at the wedding.”
Marlo’s heart stopped. “You came back for me?”
“I never forgot you, Marlo. Not even once.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s a bold move.”
He leaned closer. “I’ve played it safe my whole life. I’m done with that.”
