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“That was holding back?” Lucas asked, lightly touching the swollen skin around his eye.
“Just know, you make my sister cry again and it’ll be a thousand times worse.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Lucas looked up to see his grandfather hurrying toward them. His orange Hawaiian shirt stood out like a beacon of light in the crowd. He pushed through everyone and stopped in front of Lucas, grabbing his chin and pulling his face toward him to examine. Lucas winced as he touched the throbbing skin.
“You damn delinquent!” Joe yelled at Marco. “I’m calling the cops!”
Marco looked unfazed. “Go ahead. Tell Reid I said hi.”
“You little—”
“Grandpa!” Lucas exclaimed, stepping in between the old man and Ella’s brother. “Enough.”
Lucas had no idea how they’d kept this up for so many years. He’d been subjected to it for a short time and was already tired of the constant hatred and bashing.
“Enough?” Joe exclaimed. “Did he or did he not do that to your face?”
“He did, but—”
“Marco what is this?” Vinny scurried down the boardwalk, his hands in the air, Italian flowing freely from his mouth.
“I’ll tell you what this is,” Joe yelled to Vinny. “Your delinquent spawn assaulted my grandson.”
“Chiudi la bocca,” Vinny spat.
“Did he just tell me to shut my mouth?” Joe demanded.
Vinny shouted in more Italian, and Joe yelled back, each fighting to be louder than the other.
Lucas’ head was still spinning from the punch, from Ella’s betrayal; he couldn’t deal with this right now. He wanted silence and an ice pack. Not this ridiculous bickering that would get them nowhere.
“Grandpa, let’s go,” Lucas said, grabbing Joe’s arm and pulling him toward their side of the boardwalk. Ella had been right on that first day. It was better if he stayed on his side of the boardwalk.
“I am not going anywhere,” Joe said. “Not until I see him in cuffs, where he belongs.” He pointed his finger at Marco who looked away, a smirk firmly planted on Marco’s face. His arms crossed over his chest, and he seemed more amused than anything. Lucas almost admired his calm demeanor.
“I won’t press charges,” Lucas said. “So it’ll be a waste of your time.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Joe asked.
Lucas looked back at Marco. “No, I think I had some sense knocked into me.”
He couldn’t change what Ella did, but he could decide not to be a part of this ongoing feud. It was a battle with no end, and he was done fighting.
Chapter 20
Ella looked out to the Harbor, the sun setting and streaking the sky in pretty shades of orange and pink. It was too pretty for her mood. She sat down on the dock next to Marco’s boat and pulled up the line from the side.
The six pack of beers she knew would be there floated to the surface, and she grabbed a can before letting the others fall back into the water.
She took a swig, letting the beer try to numb her further. Between Enzo, her grandfather, and Lucas she had never been so torn or hurt. The fact that her own family couldn’t look past their last names and let her find happiness hurt deeper than any cut could. And Lucas. How could he even think she would betray him like that? She would never.
She loved him.
She didn’t care that he was a Prescott. She didn’t even care that he lived in California. None of it mattered to her, but even he couldn’t see beyond the feud enough to trust her.
The ache in her heart was almost too much to bear. She took another sip of beer when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. There was only one person who walked so heavy even when trying to be quiet.
“How’d you find me?” she asked, though she wasn’t surprised.
