Unbreakable: A Salvation Society Novel

by Georgia Coffman

  He assumed the baby was his, and even though I know I should’ve told him otherwise, I couldn’t do it.

  I was scared.

  I knew if I told him it was Aiden’s that Dave would’ve never forgiven me. He would’ve left me alone as everyone else had.

  I did what I thought was best and accepted Dave’s marriage proposal, but I should’ve told him the truth. Maybe he would’ve surprised me and forgiven me in time. Maybe things wouldn’t have ended so badly between us.

  But it would’ve ended, nonetheless, because he and I were never meant to be.

  Being away from him the last few months has reassured me of that.

  Thirty minutes later, I hold my head high, willing my nerves to calm down, and walk inside the restaurant.

  Once I reach her stand, the hostess smiles. “Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”

  “Yes. I’m with CJJ Promotions.” I check the time on my phone. “I’m a little early.”

  “No problem. One of your party has already arrived.” She comes around her stand. “Right this way.”

  It’s a swanky New York restaurant—the ones I see in movies and used to think how amazing it would be to eat at one.

  Now, I am.

  But it’s hard to revel in this moment when I know the hostess is leading me toward Aiden.

  I follow her, stuffing my hands in my pockets to smooth them out—and because I’m nervous.

  My hands are shaking.

  We’re celebrating, and no matter how messed up things are between Aiden and me, I’m proud of him and his company. The creativity behind their ideas. Them. They deserve all the amazing things coming their way, and they definitely deserve a celebration tonight.

  One I’ll force a smile for.

  “Your server will be right with you,” the hostess says, then leaves us alone.

  “You always did like to get everywhere early,” I say, taking a seat.

  “And when did you pick up the habit?”

  “From you, actually,” I admit. “I had to get everywhere twenty or thirty minutes early every time we hung out because I knew you’d be there and waiting. Guess the habit stuck.”

  “You’re welcome.” He smirks.

  I roll my eyes.

  For a brief moment, we feel like us again—the us we once were. Easy. Fun. I catch glimpses of it every time we’re together.

  But as with every time before, it doesn’t last long.

  Silence falls between us, and I can feel the tension rolling off him like the sun’s outer layer.

  Fortunately, Taylor appears with Westin at her side, filling the silence. Jared isn’t far behind them and arrives a few minutes later. Once we’re settled, Aiden’s frown is set in place like it’s glued on, casting an awkward energy around us.

  Or maybe it’s only that way for me.

  “Champagne all around, please,” Westin says to the server, clapping his hands. “This is a celebration.”

  “Hear, hear,” Jared chimes in.

  I can’t help but feel lighter with them here. These guys are fun to be around. The kind of friends you’re drawn to because they make you feel like family too.

  Once we all have drinks, Taylor raises hers, and the rest of us follow. “To hard work. A kick-ass team. And Jock Stock.”

  “To Jock Stock,” Westin beams like it’s his child instead of his company.

  Nodding, we clink and sip our champagne. Aiden watches me with contempt while he drinks his in gulps.

  I sputter, choking on mine like he probably wanted me to. “Excuse me,” I croak.

  “Here.” Westin pushes my water glass toward me. “You all right?”

  “Fine. It just went down the wrong pipe.” I nod to the table, then sip my water.

  I don’t miss how Aiden sneers in Westin’s direction, but Westin doesn’t seem to notice.

  What is his deal?

  Westin never asked me out, as I suspected he wouldn’t. I’ve often wondered the last couple weeks if it’s because of Aiden. Even though I wouldn’t have accepted, the thought that Aiden interfered pisses me off.

  Our server returns for our orders, and the air around me feels stuffy. Like it’s smoke instead of clean air.

  We take turns ordering, then hand the server our menus before she disappears.

  “Taylor, when’s the big day?” Westin asks.

  “In about three months now.”

  “Coming up soon.” He raises his eyebrows.

  “Yes, and there’s still a lot of work to do. Thank God, Sage knows the right questions to ask the caterers, photographers, and everyone else. She’s been a huge help.”

  “She does have the experience, after all,” Aiden mumbles.

  I furrow my eyebrows, blinking in his direction.

  “Where’s the ceremony?” Jared asks.

  “We’re having a small one on Long Island. It has a gorgeous view of the water.” She pauses as they nod. “What about you guys? Ever been married?”

  Aiden grunts, then downs the rest of his champagne while the rest of us aren’t even halfway through ours. He signals the server for another as she walks by.

  “Jared was close, but she burned his apartment down before he could pop the question,” Westin teases.

  “I was not close. I barely made it out of there alive.” Jared scoffs.

  “Do tell the story, please.” Taylor leans forward as Jared rubs his temples.

  The server comes by with Aiden’s champagne and tops off our waters, reassuring us our appetizers are almost ready.

  Aiden remains quiet as Jared says, “My sister came to visit, right? We’re close in age—only a year apart—and she was in the shower when my then-girlfriend, Vanessa, stopped by. I forgot we’d made plans to cook lunch because my sister showed up unannounced. She does that.” He checks our surroundings like Vanessa’s lurking in the shadows. “And Vanessa flipped. Tossed the food she brought over to the ground, then grabbed a lighter and set my mattress on fire, calling me a liar and a cheat.”

  “No way.” I cover my mouth.

  “My sister and I managed to put out the fire while Vanessa broke almost everything in my living room, then stormed out before I could even explain.” Jared’s eyes widen, dumbfounded, and I am too just by listening to it. I can’t imagine living it.

  “That’s crazy.” Taylor shakes her head. “Sounds like you dodged a bullet.”

  “Every now and then, you meet a girl. She’s hot, funny, and seemingly sane… until she isn’t,” Westin jokes.

  “Tell me about it.” Aiden glares at me, and I mentally slap him for being an ass.

  I shift in my seat as the server sets our appetizers in the middle of the table.

  And Aiden asks for another champagne.

  “Dude, chill,” Westin tells him under his breath.

  “We’re celebrating, aren’t we? All of our success,” he spits like he’s disappointed.

  But it’s probably only because of me. He’s mad I’m the one he has to celebrate with, and my chest sinks.

  I shouldn’t have come.

  “I have a story for you.” Aiden rubs his hands together, and I hold my breath when he turns his dark gaze toward me. “Have you all heard about the time Sage got kicked out of a club? Sweet and innocent Sage. She realized she didn’t like beer, but vodka… vodka she liked. She got wasted and—”

  “Aiden,” I hiss, narrowing my gaze at him as he continues, anyway, his voice full of resentment and cruelty.

  “—kept trying to dance with the bouncer. The bartender had to cut her off, and she got mad and wrote asshole on the bar with her lipstick. Well, she wrote assho because she forgot how to spell the whole word in her drunken—”

  “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?” I grab his arm and nod toward the door, where we can avoid an audience, mainly my boss, although the damage is likely already done.

  The server comes by with another drink and takes away his empty flute. Before I can pull him up, he takes a large gulp, then pushes h
is chair back. When he stands, his chair falls backward, making us all jump. Silently, he picks it back up and sets it upright.

  “After you.” He makes a show of holding his arm out, his voice sarcastic, and he doesn’t seem to care that he’s causing a scene.

  “What is your problem?” I seethe once we’re outside on the sidewalk. “Do you realize we’re at a business dinner? This isn’t a damn fraternity party.”

  “No, because if we were, you’d be making out with your fucking boyfriend. The one you married just so you wouldn’t be alone.”

  “I wouldn’t have had to be alone had you been an adult—”

  “Ha,” he yells. “And you were so grown up?”

  “You’re still a fucking child.” I shake my head, brushing past him.

  “And you’re a liar.”

  I stop, hanging my head, my guilt weighing on me.

  The sounds of cars passing, of the city carrying on, fill the heavy silence between us until he speaks again.

  “You should’ve told me.” I feel him right behind me. His heat. His pain. It rolls off him and onto me like we’re connected. One.

  But we’re not.

  We’re nothing but a tragic memory.

  “And you shouldn’t have abandoned me, hooked up with countless women, because of what you thought you saw,” I say without turning around.

  I feel him lean down as he tucks my hair behind my ear. His breath is warm on my exposed neck. “You have no idea what happened that summer,” he whispers, his voice distant, yet his fingertips graze my arms like he’s in this moment with me.

  And against my better judgment and restraint, my body responds to his touch of its own accord.

  I’m drawn to him—every part of his anger, his intensity, him.

  No matter how badly it hurts.

  I slowly turn to face him, our lips close. “No, I don’t know what happened, Aiden. All I know is that I was left to pick myself up and dry the tears I shed night after night. The overwhelming emptiness inside me because after I lost the baby”—my voice cracks—“I’d lost every part of you too.”

  He licks his lips, his fingers stopping on my wrists, curling around them like he wants to hold me, but instead, he brushes past me, nudging my shoulder with his along the way.

  As he reaches the door, I wrap my arms around my waist and take a moment to catch my breath.

  I’m reeling.

  My nerves are shaken.

  When my breaths finally come out evenly again, I return to our table inside. Our food has arrived, and Aiden and I eat in silence. I barely say anything as I mentally prepare to apologize to Taylor for tonight.

  To apologize for Aiden’s behavior. For letting my personal life interfere with a business dinner.

  Mostly, right now, I only hope Aiden doesn’t make it worse. Because, if he does, I might lose my job and have to start over once again.

  But as we continue eating, as the servers come and go, what scares me almost more than losing my job right now, is how strong his pull is.

  How badly I wanted Aiden to lean down and kiss me. When we were outside, his lips so close to mine, a large part of me wanted to give into him.

  And that would be dangerous for so many reasons.

  Chapter Sixteen

  AIDEN

  I let the roaring fire inside me fester.

  And I drink champagne like it’ll put out the flames, when it’s really just stoking them.

  She was pregnant with my baby and didn’t tell me.

  A baby.

  My baby girl.

  To make matters worse, Sage showed up here in heels that make her legs appear longer, lean and sexy, and all I can think about is wrapping them around me while I fuck the tension out of both our bodies.

  Her red lipstick is seductive and taunting.

  I almost kissed her outside.

  For a moment, I thought about tugging her hair in my hand and biting her lip to punish her for the past, but mostly, I wanted her to pay for looking so damn perfect every time I see her as if she owns the world.

  Like she owns my goddamn heart.

  But I don’t want her to.

  I don’t want to fucking need her like I do.

  Once I reach the bottom of my third glass of champagne, and I’m still not drunk, I get even more pissed.

  I drink two more glasses while they chatter around me. Their voices become faraway background noise as I disappear into the dark void inside me, spiraling into oblivion.

  I thought she was happy with Dave.

  When she was carrying our baby.

  While I was miserable.

  I take a generous sip of bubbly, my mind racing.

  Jenson Ross was a big fucking success. Our following on every social media platform has increased by twenty percent already, and our engagement is up by twelve percent. People are excited about Jock Stock. About us.

  About the future.

  But with Sage’s revelation, part of me is stuck in the past.

  Before I know it, the uneaten food in front of me blurs and resembles a color wheel on my plate.

  “Anything else you forgot to tell me?”

  The room shifts in my vision.

  “A secret life? Undercover FBI agent? I mean, did you ever even love me?”

  A hard hammer hits my shin, like a doctor’s checking my reflexes. It takes me a moment to feel the sting and realize Westin kicked me.

  Which is when it hits me that I’m the one talking.

  I’m saying these things out loud at the dinner table while my colleagues stare at me. I rapidly blink to try to clear my vision, but it’s difficult. It feels like there’s a blanket over my head.

  “I think it’s time to go.” Westin grabs my arm to stand, and I go willingly.

  I’m buzzed, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I’ve shoved my foot in my mouth.

  But everything goes dark, except for Sage, the woman I’ve loved for years.

  Her innocent eyes and soft curves.

  Her fire.

  I imagine her swollen stomach. A glow surrounding her.

  A baby in her arms as she smiles at me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  SAGE

  I bang on his door, cursing his name between knocks.

  When he doesn’t open, I drop my purse to the ground and use both fists, sure that his neighbors will wake and yell at me.

  But I don’t care. Right now, all I care about is strangling Aiden Baxter and kicking him in the balls so hard he’ll think twice before humiliating me again.

  After the guys left, I apologized repeatedly to Taylor. I don’t think I took a single breath between pleas. She said she understands but that we need to talk on Monday.

  The thought that it won’t go well has me ready to vomit.

  And punch Aiden in his crooked nose to break it all over again.

  I continue banging, my hands growing numb, until he finally opens it.

  There he stands, shirtless, his pajama pants hanging low on his hips, his wavy hair so wild and sexy that my breath almost hitches.

  Almost.

  He stands there like he doesn’t have a care in the world when my whole life may have been ripped apart tonight.

  Right when it was beginning.

  “How dare you?” I hiss, brushing past him into his apartment. “This is my job. Whether or not you think I’m to blame for what happened eight years ago, I’m not going to lose it because of you. You were out of line!” I whirl around to him, sure that my cheeks are red.

  Sure that my chest will explode any minute from how hard I’m panting.

  “Sure, come in.” Aiden closes the door.

  “This isn’t funny. This is not the time to be cute.” My voice is squeaky. The madder I am, the more high-pitched it gets.

  And right now, I’d make cats cry.

  He stuffs his hands in his pockets, his gaze on the ground, his shoulders sagging. He seems… sad. Nothing like the Aiden at dinner.

  “I
’m sorry,” he finally says, lifting his gaze to mine, and it steals my next breath.

  The guilt in his eyes knocks me back like he shoved me.

  Yet, they’re still the same eyes I used to get lost in.

  And it pisses me off further, because the Aiden I knew would’ve never done something like this.

  I place my hands on my hips—he will not get away with this so easily. “Sorry for what exactly? Telling Taylor—my boss—about the night at the club in college? Embarrassing me? Or is it for acting like an ass since I moved here? Tell me, Aiden—”

  “I’m sorry, okay?” He spreads his arms wide, naturally flexing his muscles, and raises his voice, bringing some of his anger back from earlier. “It hasn’t exactly been easy seeing you again. To be around you again after all this time. Especially after what you told me. For fuck’s sake, Jersey, I can’t even process a baby.”

  I sharply inhale, my body stiffening.

  “I’ve been… shocked. Angry. Ever since you told me, I’ve gone from one to the other, and tonight, I don’t know. I snapped. I’m sorry, but…” His voice trails off, and his shoulders slump farther. “I can’t help but think everything could’ve been different. With us. With the last few years.” He shakes his head as if he knows his words are empty and futile.

  “We don’t have a time machine to take us to the past—we only have now.” I step toward him. “We work together now. We need to find a way to do so without jeopardizing both of our careers.”

  “I don’t know how to be your fucking client. How to sit across from you at meetings and keep my hands to myself. How to fight my urge to strangle you or kiss you.” He swipes at the corners of his twitching lips like he’s imagining crushing them on mine. “You drive me insane,” he whispers.

  I hardly register him stalking toward me.

  I’m frozen, stunned by his admission.

  That he feels anything for me aside from resentment.

  Before I know it, he cups the back of my head and crushes his lips to mine.

  It’s surprising how well his lips mold to mine.

  Heady.

  My eyes automatically roll back as he sucks on my top lip, then moves to the bottom one, and I get lost in this kiss that I feel down to my toes. His tongue sweeps across mine in a punishing massage, sending heat to every lonely crevice of my body.