I thought I’d gotten away from Small Towne for good, but back then I still had too much sweet in me and I didn’t fully realize just how evil people could be.

That particular Friday night I was in my usual perch—the stool behind the counter—devouring the new Sylvia Day book when it happened.

“Hey Ardy.”

Just the sound of the name alone annoyed me. Lifting my head I found myself face to face with Ricky Greenway. Ricky had been the object of my teenage affection—more like obsession—and once he and his friends figured that out, they had gone out of their way to make jokes about all of the things that Ricky was more likely to do than me. It was humiliating beyond belief and I’d long since learned to stop playing their games and falling for their nonsense.

Even before they found out about my crush, Ricky and his crew had always picked on me. Because of them, very few people in Small Towne called me by my full name. Instead, the name Arden had been turned into a joke. RetArden, Larden and Ardy the Retardy were the most popular of the names. The adults did nothing to stop it—so much for bullying being something that was considered bad. No matter how many times my mother or grandparents complained to the teachers and principals at my schools or went directly to the parents of the children who did it, nothing ever changed.

Instead, the adults had taken to calling me Ardy as well, and I’d grown somewhat used to it, even though I didn’t like it. It drove my mother and grandpa crazy, but after a while, it was what it was and I just had to stop letting it get to me. I’d succeeded, but it hurt. The fact that Ricky was standing in front of me calling me Ardy was actually an improvement on the things that he normally called me. Still—I was in no mood to be tortured by anyone from Small Towne anymore. I was out and they couldn’t do anything more to me.

At least that’s what I thought.

“Ricky.”

His pearly whites gleamed when he grinned at me, and I cursed genetics that the two years since I’d seen him last had only made him more handsome. The problem with Ricky was that even though he was a bully and a jerk, he was so damn cute.

“It’s not the same without you in Small Towne, Ardy. How’re things in the big city?”

The very last thing I wanted to do was converse with Ricky Greenway and my response spoke to that. “Bronson is hardly a big city, Ricky. What can I do for you? I have to assume that you’re lost because I know darn well that you don’t read.”

There was a moment where I thought that I saw a flash of annoyance pass over his face, but before I could be certain, it was gone, and he was smiling again.

“I came here to see you, Ardy.”

My immediate response was to call bullshit, but I wasn’t a trouble starter. “Why?”

After running a hand through his perfect hair, Ricky graced me with one of his signature smiles.

“Cause I missed you, silly girl. I know I wasn’t a good guy in high school Ardy, but I done changed. You leavin’ Small Towne and movin’ on out into the big city was the wake up call I needed. The past two years have growed me up right. Didn’t know what was right in front of my nose til’ you left and moved on. Now that I know, I’ve come to court you.”

I want to tell you that I didn’t get soft inside, but I’d be lying. My heartbeat sped up to triple what it had been before—but at least I wasn’t dumb enough to buy what he was selling on the spot. I waffled though, because I couldn’t help but think that it was the kind of thing that happened in books. Why couldn’t it happen to me? Maybe Ricky had finally grown up and realized what was right in front of him the entire time.

Still, I’d been through it with him enough to know not to jump in and believe it.

“You can’t really believe that I would fall for this after two years, right? If you think I’m really that dumb, you’ve got another thing coming. Where’s your gang of followers? They can’t be far because I know for certain that they’re in on this charade. I left Small Towne behind, Ricky—and that includes you and your “jokes.” Thanks for dropping by—the door’s over there. Find someone else to mess with.”

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Ricky’s shoulders drooped dejectedly. “I shoulda figured you wasn’t gonna give me a chance right off.”

Having been the subject of Ricky’s games and manipulations before, I said nothing. He looked surprised by my lack of participation, but it didn’t deter him.

“You know what I’m gonna do, Ardy? I’m gonna prove to you that I’m a changed man. You’ll see. I’m not givin’ up on what we might be, Arden Winger. I’ll be back.”

I had doubted it very much—but he proved me wrong. He came back every day that I worked. A few weeks later I found out he’d called my boss and begged to know what my schedule was. Every time he came, he had one long stemmed red rose in hand from the grocery store. He emailed me several times a day and made my heart go pitter-patter from his charm.

It took him nine weeks to wear me down. By that time I was certain that it wasn’t a joke because Ricky had the attention span of a toddler. He refused to give up, and that more than anything changed my mind. I finally agreed to let him take me out to the local steakhouse, but I’d kept my guard up. At least, I had it up on date one. By the end of two months of dating I was sure that I was in love with him. When Ricky kissed me, I believed that I’d fallen into a fairytale. I had visions of seeing the people in Small Towne that had been so cruel to me, and I knew that if that ever happened, they’d be nice to me because I was Ricky’s girl. No more jokes, hateful taunts or downright cruelty.

Our one disagreement had been about going all the way. He got frustrated because we’d been together for over two months and I wouldn’t even let him near my panties. I explained that I wasn’t ever going to do anything like that before marriage and that if he didn’t like it, he could lump it. He left in a huff that night but then called me the next day and apologized.

“I got respect for you Ardy-girl. You’re so much better than the Small Towne trash I’ve been with. You keep those legs closed baby—you aren’t losing me.”

The following weekend Ricky dropped to one knee right in the middle of the bookstore and asked me to be his wife. We were too young for him to have a ring, but he gave me a promise that someday he’d buy me a rock that would weigh my hand down. I didn’t care one bit about the lack of the ring because I was sold on the fantasy, the happily ever after.

I couldn’t believe that I was going to be Mrs. Ricky Greenway. I daydreamed about our future and completely wrote off our past. It was just like all the best books, where the heroine and the hero get a second chance and fall in love. We talked about our future together and made plans. I had two weeks left in my sophomore semester and we decided to get married after my last day of classes. As soon as I finished college for the year the plan was for Ricky to move up to Bronson. We were going to get a two-bedroom apartment so that I could keep Heather as my roommate. She wasn’t gung ho about Ricky to begin with, but over time she came around and was at least friendly to him.

There was one thorn in my rosebush, and that was my mom. She didn’t like the Greenways and, after years of listening to me cry over how mean Ricky and his friends were to me, she was suspicious of his motives. I got mad at her for being just as judgmental and pigheaded as the folks back in Small Towne and went off. It was the first big fight Mom and I ever had, but I was a stubborn ass, mad at her for being less than supportive. As far as I was concerned, even though we didn’t have a typical relationship she was still my only remaining family and I needed her support. No matter how much I argued, she didn’t back down from her position that something wasn’t right, and I hung up on her one night in a huff.