Matt tipped his head back and laughed. “All right, AJ. You win.”
She almost said, “I always do,” but she pulled the words back. “So,” she said, nodding to his basket. “Stocking up on spinach and celery? You must be doing that smoothie diet.”
“A little,” he said. “I do it about half the time.”
“What do you do the other half of the time?”
“Eat steak, lobster, and potato chips.” He laughed again, and the sound of it filled AJ right to the top of her head. She missed him so much, and she hadn’t even known it until that very moment.
“Are you living with your parents then?” she asked, reaching for her grapefruit again.
“No, I’ve got my own place,” he said. “Are you at a hotel?”
“I’m staying with Robin,” AJ said, bagging her fruit. She put it in the cart with the things her friend needed. “She’s waiting for me to make this cake.” She didn’t want to just walk away. She wanted his number. She wanted to go to dinner with him. She wanted to get caught up on his life and tell him all about hers.
Not that she had anything all that impressive to tell, but somehow, with Matt, it wouldn’t matter. Everything was an adventure for Matt Hymas, and AJ stepped into him to hug him again.
“Can I have your number?” she asked. “Maybe we could get together while I’m here. Dinner or lunch, and just get caught up.” She told herself quite sternly that she would not be sleeping with him. She was worth more than that now, and while she did remember what it was like to be beneath the sheets with him, and she’d like that very much, she didn’t need to do it to feel good about herself.
“Yeah, sure,” he said, and she plucked her phone from her purse and handed it to him. As he tapped to put in his number, he said. “I’d love to get caught up. What are you doing tomorrow?” He looked up, his eyebrows up, his expression open and vulnerable. Hopeful.
“Nothing,” she said. “Robin’s going out with her husband for a romantic brunch. Then we were going to her mother’s for dinner, and you’ll be doing me a huge favor if you got me out of going to that.” AJ grinned at him, knowing she was flirting. But this was safe flirting. This was normal; what any woman would do for a man like Matt.
“Dinner tomorrow then,” he said, chuckling. “You sure Robin won’t be upset?”
“I’ll talk to her, and text you,” she said. “Okay?”
He handed her phone back to her. “Perfect.”
She tucked her phone in her purse and grabbed him in another hug. “Sorry,” she said as she laughed in his ear. “It’s just so good to see you.”
“And you.” He stepped back, and AJ caught a hint of redness crawling up underneath his beard. She’d always adored his embarrassment, and he seemed not to know how utterly handsome he was. How kind. How just wonderful.
AJ certainly hadn’t known all of that about him when they were teens. She’d known he was different, because he’d made her feel differently about herself than the other boys did. He’d treated her with respect, despite her reputation.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, and she forced herself to walk away.
“AvaJane?” he called after her.
She turned back to him, wishing she could use his full name the way he used hers. “Yeah?”
“Can I get your number too? That way, I can follow-up with you if you don’t text me.”
“Hey.” She cocked her hip, feeling far too old to be doing such a thing. “I’m going to text you.”
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he said, pushing his cart over to her. He looked down at her, and AJ had a feeling he was sizing her up, evaluating her, and making multiple decisions all in the space of a few seconds. “I let you get away once,” he said. “I’d rather not make that mistake again.” He held his phone at the ready, looking from it to her, his eyebrows raised.
Let her get away?
AJ didn’t know how to respond. She quickly recited her number, and Matt put it in his phone. “Thanks.” He leaned down and swept his lips along her hairline. “I’ll talk to you tonight.”
With that, he went back to the onions and garlic, leaving AJ to stare after him.
I let you get away once.
She checked out, loaded up her groceries, and drove back to Robin’s house, where the woman had bowls filled with wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and one with butter and garlic.
“Sorry,” AJ said, lifting the bags to the counter.
“You’re fine,” Robin said, taking out the parsley first.
AJ unpacked the other ingredients, her mind spinning around one question. “Robin, do you believe in a soulmate?”
“Sure,” Robin said without looking up from the cutting board. “I don’t think they’re exclusive, but I absolutely believe two people can be soulmates.”
AJ nodded and folded up the recyclable bags. She turned to tuck them into the cupboard where Robin had gotten them when she asked, “Why?”
“I ran into Matt Hymas at the store.” AJ spoke slow enough that she could turn around and face Robin before she finished the sentence.
That got Robin to stop chopping. “You’re kidding.”
“He said he let me get away once, and he didn’t want to let me go without getting my number.” AJ smiled just thinking about the man and the way he’d touched his lips to her forehead. “He said he’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Wow.”
AJ sat at the bar and looked at Robin as she went back to chopping parsley. “He asked me to dinner tomorrow night. Do you care if I skip eating at your mother’s?”
Robin’s movement didn’t stutter or pause. “Of course not. I’d kill not to go.” She wore a disgruntled look on her face. “Go with Matt. You’ll have way more fun.”
“Okay,” AJ said. “If you’re sure.”
“Absolutely,” Robin said, finally glancing up. Her expression changed from displeasure to happiness. “And you know, AJ, maybe he is your soulmate. You’ve had such a hard time finding someone, and maybe it’s him.”
“He was the only boy I ever truly liked in high school,” AJ admitted.
Robin’s eyebrows went up. “Is that right?”
“Yeah.” AJ shrugged. “He got me in a way no one else did, except for you guys.”
Robin nodded. “I know what you mean.”
“I’m not going to sleep with him,” AJ said.
Robin scooped up the parsley with the edge of her knife and dumped it all in the bowl with the butter and garlic. “AJ, you can do what you want. You’re forty-five years old.”
“I’m not the same person I was when I was fifteen,” she said. “Or eighteen.”
Robin pulled her gaze back to AJ’s. “I knew you snuck off to see him that night.” She laughed and shook her head as she started stirring the butter. She really leaned into the movement, and AJ thought she was trying to churn a whole new crock of butter for how hard she mixed it.
“I can admit it now,” AJ said. “I just felt so stupid. Did you know he called me in Miami, and I ignored him?”
“No.” Robin pushed the bowl of butter and a mold toward AJ. “Put this in there. Really pack it in.”
As AJ started on that, she told Robin about the phone calls from Matt that her roommate had screened for her at Miami State. “I just figured I’d never see him again, and there was no point. We’d had our fun; he needed to move on.”
“Do you think he did?”
“He just said his youngest started at college last week, and his divorce was final last month.”
“And no, he hasn’t moved on,” Robin said. “Or else he wouldn’t have asked you out, only a month after his divorce.”
AJ didn’t dare hope for such a thing. She’d thought about Matt over the years, of course. She’d simply never acted on any of her thoughts, and he obviously hadn’t either.
“I’m going to go call him,” AJ said, after she finished molding the butter. She slid the molds into the fridge and turned to hug Robin. “Thank
you so much for letting me stay here. Thank Duke for me too.”
“Oh, he’s going to get his thanks,” Robin said with a devious smile.
“Robin.” AJ rarely heard Robin say anything about her sex life, but the two of them laughed together, and AJ was so glad she’d come to Five Island Cove, even if it set her back from earning an on-air position.
“Say hi to Matt for me,” Robin called after AJ as she headed for the staircase that led up to the guest bedroom.
“I will,” AJ said, her heartbeat prancing in a way it hadn’t in years. For the first time in at least that long, she had real hope that she wouldn’t have to live the rest of her years all alone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eloise turned and put the salad bowl on the dining room table. “Time to eat,” she said. “All devices, please.” She twisted back to the counter, where she’d put a small basket. She held it out to Grace, who smiled as she put her tablet in the basket. Billie didn’t look as excited to give up her phone, and she cocked her head toward Aaron, who hadn’t looked up from his device.
“What about him? Does he have to give up his phone too?”
Eloise wanted to warn her to watch her tone, or her father was going to flip out. Instead, Eloise pulled her phone from her pocket and placed it on top of Billie’s. “Yep. Everyone. It’s family dinner night.”
“Are you in our family?” Grace asked, looking at Eloise with wide eyes, filled with something like hope.
“I—”
“Of course she is,” Aaron said, standing. He deposited his phone in the basket and put his arm around Eloise’s shoulders. “Girls, Eloise and I have started talking about getting married.”
Billie squealed and leapt from her chair. She hugged both Eloise and Aaron at the same time, and Eloise put one hand on the girl’s back while she looked at Aaron, surprise threading through her.
Aaron beamed back at her, and he held secrets in those dark eyes. A thrill ran down her arms, and Eloise hugged Grace too.
“All right.” She stepped over to the fridge and started to raise the basket to the top of it when Aaron’s screen brightened with a text.
No notification sounded, and Eloise saw the message appear at the top of the screen.
Tonight. 11:30. I’ll be there.
Eloise’s lungs froze, with all the air in them. While she still stared at the phone, the text disappeared.
Her brain screamed at her. That was Laurel.
One of Aaron’s detectives, and the woman who had been on the scene with Kelli and Zach.
Behind her, she heard the angry voices of Aaron and Billie, and she quickly put the basket on top of the fridge and retraced her steps to the table.
“If you’d just listen,” Billie said. “I have prepared a really great argument for why I should be able to go to Kara’s party.”
Aaron rolled his eyes, and Eloise wished he wouldn’t do that. Didn’t he know that only fueled Billie’s attitude?
“I’ll listen,” Eloise said, never taking her eyes from Aaron. He looked at her, and she lifted her eyebrows. The message was conveyed, because he dropped his head and had the decency to look cowed.
She wondered if he’d do the same if she confronted him about cheating on her. She just couldn’t believe it. She’d never detected any dishonesty in Aaron, but the alarms in her head wailed at her that he’d been slipping out of the house late at night recently. She didn’t stay every night with him, but he’d had to “go into work” twice when she had been with him. The most recent time had been two nights ago, on Friday night.
“I’ll listen too, Bills,” he said.
“You will?” she asked. “For real, Dad?”
“Yes,” he said, taking a big pile of salad. “For real.” He passed the bowl to Billie, who filled almost her whole plate.
“Okay,” Billie said, passing the bowl to Eloise. Grace already had salad, so Eloise took as much as she wanted while Billie began her argument.
“First, Kara’s parents are going to be there. You know Scott Pyre really well, Dad, and he’s not going to take his eyes off of us. Kara’s actually really worried about it.”
Aaron took a square of lasagna, and helped Grace get one too while Billie continued.
“Second, there are only going to be three boys there. We’re not going to pair off.”
“How many girls?” Aaron asked.
“Five,” she said.
“Is Jake going to be there?”
“No,” Billie said. “And that’s my third point. Jake isn’t even going to be there, and he’s the only one I like. Therefore, there’s no reasonable explanation for why I shouldn’t be able to go to the party on Friday night.”
Eloise concealed her small smile as she cut herself a square of lasagna, which suddenly took all of her attention. Billie had gotten a lot better at her persuasive arguments, and Eloise didn’t see how Aaron could tell her no.
She also couldn’t see how a man as attentive to his daughters and their safety could lie to her, sneak around on her, and carry on another relationship with another woman. None of it made any sense.
“Who’s driving you?” he asked.
“Okay, I’ve worked that out too,” she said. “So Addie lives a couple of blocks over, right? I was thinking one of her parents could drive one way, and one of you—” She looked from Aaron to Eloise and back. “Could drive the other.”
Eloise’s whole soul expanded, as if she wasn’t already as happy as she could be. After all, Aaron had just announced to his girls that he intended to marry her. Their reactions were wonderful and made her feel so loved and accepted.
And to now be included in the equation of driving Billie to or from her party, Eloise found the future she wanted just out of her reach.
Tonight. 11:30. I’ll be there.
What was that about? Maybe Aaron had just asked Laurel to attend a class or a hearing.
She told herself not to be stupid. There weren’t classes or hearings at 11:30 at night.
Maybe he’d given her someone to visit. It really could be anything; it didn’t have to be a meeting between the two of them.
He wouldn’t do that, Eloise thought. Not moments after he’d told his kids about marrying her.
“What do you think, El?” Aaron asked, forking up a bite of salad and lasagna together.
She didn’t know how he ate the hot food with the cold, but she was growing more and more used to it now.
She blinked to get her thoughts aligned where they needed to be. She could deal with Aaron’s texts to Laurel later. “I think your daughter is exceptionally bright,” Eloise said. “She knows not to do anything she shouldn’t with a boy, and she has a sound plan for getting to and from the party.” She reached for her drink. “I wouldn’t mind driving one of the ways.”
Aaron nodded and looked at Billie. “I wouldn’t either. I suppose you can go.”
Billie stared at her father, and then burst out of her seat, knocking into the table as she did.
“Oh okay,” Eloise said, reaching to straighten her plate.
“Thank you, Dad,” Billie said, throwing her arms around his neck. He chuckled at he patted her back.
“Love you, Bills.” He held onto her one arm as she drew back and they looked into one another’s eyes. “Don’t make Eloise a liar, okay? She said you’re a bright girl who knows not to do anything she shouldn’t.”
“I won’t, Dad.” Billie met Eloise’s eyes as she took the quick steps back to her chair. “Thank you, Eloise.”
Eloise just nodded, because she wanted to tell the girl she loved her the way Aaron had, but she didn’t quite know how.
Later that night, Eloise lay in Aaron’s arms, breathing in the scent of his skin as he traced a pattern on her bare upper arm. She loved being with him, as no one made her feel as loved or as comfortable as he did. They’d just finished making love, and while Eloise had tried to prolong bedtime and then take an extra-long time being intimate with him, she knew it wasn’t eleven
-thirty yet.
He finally sighed and slipped his arm out from under her head. “Be right back, baby,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.
She kept her eyes closed until she heard his footsteps in the bathroom, and then she opened them and watched him check his phone. The blue light basked his face in eerie shadows, and she saw the frown as it pulled down his eyebrows. “I have to go into work, El,” he said.
She moaned and said, “Really? Again?”
“It’ll be fast,” he said, tossing his phone on the corner of the bed as he started to get dressed. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Eloise sat up, determined not to let him go without making sure she was in the forefront of his mind. “Aaron,” she said. “Is this something I should get used to? You slipping away to your mistress in the middle of the night?”
He laughed and came around to her side of the bed. “My mistress?”
“Your job,” she said.
He pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her fiercely for a few moments. “No,” he said. “I rarely get called into work at night. There’s just someone new on the graveyard shift right now, and I like to keep my night crew on their toes.”
“Who texted?” she asked.
“Laurel,” he said, stepping away. He sat on her corner of the bed and pulled on his boots. “If you’re still awake when I get back, I’ll sing you to sleep.” He grinned at her, and Eloise watched helplessly as he twisted to grab his phone and then left the bedroom.
“Well, he didn’t lie to you,” she said. Laurel had been the one to text him earlier, and perhaps she really was going to do something at eleven-thirty but now needed his help.
Eloise thought about setting an alarm for herself but decided against it. She couldn’t sleep anyway, and her imagination went wild in Aaron’s absence.
He returned in under an hour’s time, and Eloise was still awake, on her side of the bed, just as he’d left her.
She kept her eyes closed though, and Aaron made minimal noise as he changed out of his clothes, used the bathroom, and slipped back into bed with her.
Eloise rolled over then, her fingers seeking the hard ridges along Aaron’s chest. “You’re awake,” he whispered.
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