Instead the smell of herbs and spices permeated the air. Aaron wasn’t just a cook; he was a chef without a restaurant. His specialty was a cross between seafood and Italian and he handled both with a brilliance that held me in awe. Why he worked down at the charter boat lines and not at one of the restaurants over in Portland, or even here on Peaks, I wasn’t sure.
He talked all the time about opening his own place, wanting to create his own menu, his own atmosphere. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to settle for working in someone else’s restaurant. In the flash last night, I’d been working on a menu, delicious smells all around me. Someone kissed the back of my neck in that vision too. Aaron of course.
Butterflies scurried in my belly. I didn’t have to try too hard to imagine the feel of his lips on my skin and when I went into the kitchen those butterflies picked up speed.
“Morning.” Dressed in his blue jeans, work boots, and company shirt, he looked handsome. “Coffee?”
“Do we have time? I want to catch the first ferry back. Need to start job hunting.” I pushed aside the emotions coiling through my brain, my belly and heart. If nothing else I needed to pretend things were back to normal, at least until I figured out my next step.
“You sure you’re up to it? I mean if you want a place to chill, you could stay here.”
Despite how I wanted to act, I shifted gracelessly and squeezed my hands together. Cool gave way to awkward and dopey because of how I behaved last night. What was I thinking, unloading like that?
“Thanks, but really. I should get back.”
Aaron handed me a mug of black coffee. I carefully avoided touching him. I really wasn’t up to any more flashes. I needed a clear head right now and tossing Aaron into the mix opened an extra can of worms that would have to wait.
“You can ride over with me.”
I nodded and lifted the mug up to my lips. While he moved around the kitchen, I studied him from my new and different perspective. I considered him my best friend for a long time now and never really gave him such examination girls gave guys they were interested in. I wanted to, to see what my new mess of emotions was getting me into.
Tall, handsome, with a haphazard style, the constantly windblown hair needed to be cut. Blue eyes that sparkled whenever he smiled, which he did a lot. Really decent build from all the physical work he did. And he could cook.
Good Lord, Aaron was a catch. Why didn’t he have a slew of girls crowded around his door on a daily basis? He dated some, but none ever went past three dates. Poor girls. I felt for them. Even with my newfound attraction the thought of it going nowhere made me sad.
“You’re staring pretty hard.”
Damn. I glanced down to my coffee and heat rose in my cheeks. “Sorry. Just thinking. I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what got into me. Too many Lime N’ Lagers, I guess.”
Aaron shook his head. “No, Sunshine, you weren’t drunk. Scared, yes. Drunk, no.”
Damn, so he wouldn’t buy the alcohol excuse. Well, the lie had been lame anyway.
“Temporary insanity?”
He grinned. “Temporary insanity for an island boy to move to Indiana. No offense to Indiana.” Then he reached out to me, took my hand and wrapped his fingers around mine. He looked at me expectantly.
In the morning-lit kitchen, his face wavered and dimmed and then day turned into night. Summertime.
Waves crashed over the rocks in an endless, heavenly cycle that lulled me into peaceful relaxation.
I inhaled the briny air, savoring it in my lungs before releasing it slowly.
I sat in a weathered Adirondack chair on a wide verandah overlooking the Bay. Beyond laid the Atlantic. In one hand I held a glass of wine, its flavor still on my lips. My other hand held someone else’s. I couldn’t see whose, but I had a good idea.
The hand was the exact same shape as Aaron’s.
Again the scene wavered. Sunlight filled Aaron’s kitchen and I held a mug of coffee.
I didn’t say anything, hoped my eyes didn’t give me away, that I had another flash into a possible future. Our possible future. He didn’t ask, just withdrew his hand, gave me one last look and got up.
“Ferry’s leaving soon.”
We didn’t say another word to each other, and didn’t touch. We arrived on the dock in Portland and exchanged a simple goodbye.
I trudged up the hill away from Commercial Street toward home. My heart weighed as much as a freight train. I had too much to do today to appreciate the beautiful morning.
I figured since I woke up in this time period, I’d most likely be staying here. That meant job hunting. That meant going home and putting on some respectable dress or skirt and going out to the employment agency Bob recommended.
The idea left me cold. I didn’t want another office job. I didn’t want to be groomed to someday become an HR director. That’s not what I wanted the first time around, why would I want it now?
At least now I could make a change instead of unwittingly skipping merrily down that path, thinking I could do something meaningful soon. When I had a little money under my belt. A career to fall back on. How stupid. I should have known I’d be trapped where I didn’t want to be.
Best to break those chains right now, before they took a solid hold on me…again.
No. I would put on the cute little dress I bought yesterday, forget about the reasons why I bought it, and go back down to the Old Port to find a little shop looking for a clerk. If I had to work two jobs to pay the rent and my quarter of the bills, then so be it. I heard cocktail waitresses made good money in the right place. Then I’d go take those horticulture classes I’d been interested in, find a landscaping company that needed another pair of hands.
I shook off the weights that gripped me and smiled. The old future was past. Yesterday had become my new tomorrow and I had a whole new chance to get it right.
“Hey!”
I stopped and turned around. Behind me, about a quarter of a block, Aaron ran to catch up.
“What did you see?” The words came out choppily as he finally reached me.
I grinned and all the earlier awkwardness melted away.
He was my best friend and I just told him the craziest things in the world and he hadn’t mocked me. And I loved him. Seeing his shining blue eyes filled me with joy and the desire to throw my arms around him. I kept them at my side, but I grinned at him.
“When I touched you. You saw something. What was it?”
A second chance to make our lives different this time.
“You and me. Sitting on a verandah having a glass of wine after we closed up for the night.”
“Closed up?” His brows furrowed and he tilted his head.
“Our restaurant.”
“In Indiana?” The note of horror in his voice made me laugh.
I shook my head. Indiana had been his possible future, one I erased with my second chance. “Over on Peaks. Best baked stuffed lobster and seafood Alfredo in the state. Worth the ferry ride from Portland.”
His shoulders slumped in what I could only assume was relief. “Thank God,” he mumbled under his breath.
I pushed a piece of dark hair away from his forehead, relieved when he leaned into my touch. “I’m glad I’ve eased your mind.”
“Our restaurant?”
I think the rest sunk in. I nodded.
“As in we’re partners? Business partners?”
“I, uh, think a little more involved than that.” I took a step toward him. I didn’t know if this was the right time, but if I didn’t admit how I felt, maybe something else would change this new future.
“It’s about time, Sunshine.” His face softened and he slid his hands around my waist.
I thought I’d see another glimpse into the future, but I didn’t see anything but the here and now, feel anything but his touch, which soothed away every last fear and doubt I felt the day before, leaving behind a warm glow.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting
for you to see me as more than a friend?” Aaron rested his forehead against mine. “I love you, Sunshine. Always have.”
My heart filled with the happiness and fulfillment I hadn’t even known I’d been missing. That was enough. I didn’t think I could possibly want more. The need gathered in my belly, spread straight to my heart. “I love you too. I can’t believe I never saw it until last night.”
How had I missed this before? How had I gone through years of Aaron being my best friend and never know how much more simmered under the serene surface of our relationship. Underneath a whole ocean of life and love existed.
Maybe tomorrow I’d wake up and be right back where I’d been two days ago. Aaron touched his lips to mine, killing the thought. My happiness was too flawless, my heart perfectly content.
When I was a kid I would’ve called it “do overs,” but as an adult, I had no clue what to label my good fortune. A rip in the fabric of time?
Didn’t matter. Fate had a funny way of working things out.
The End
COMING SPRING 2013 TO AMAZON
THE BETTER MAN
Lorelei Warren is facing every bride's nightmare; she's been left at the altar with nothing but a Dear Jane letter from the cheating groom, and a church full of friends and family. Will Draper, her best friend and the best man is there to pick up the pieces. He's been in love with Lorelei for years and he can't resist her. Now Lori has to decide what direction her life will head, especially when it comes to Will. Can she risk losing his friendship or is what she feels for Will worth pursuing?
EXCERPT:
Chapter One
“…I hope someday you’ll forgive me.”
The tears rolling off Lorelei’s cheek fell onto the single sheet of paper, turning the signature into a splotch of blue ink. She didn’t have to see the frigging signature anyway. This was the second time she’d read the damned letter. The bastard! The rotten, lousy, son of a bitch bastard! She leaned back against the wall and slid down until she settled in a cloud of white tulle.
Her fist closed around the letter. She crumpled it into a tight ball and threw it across the floor. The paper ball bounced once and rolled up against the shiny black toe of Will’s dress shoe.
“I’m really sorry, Lori.” Will stepped over the crumpled note.
“It’s not your fault, is it? Did you make it all happen?” Lori glared up at the man. He’d shed the black tux jacket and tie.
“No, but I can be sorry anyway, can’t I?”
Lori furrowed her brows and dragged the wispy white veil from her hair.
It made her head ache. She balled it up like she had the letter and tossed it as far away as possible. Unfortunately, the light material didn’t go far. It parachuted open and floated gracefully to the floor, pure white against the rich, dark-red carpet.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Angrily, she swiped at the tears in her eyes with her pristine, white, elbow-length glove, ruining the material with an ugly black smear of mascara.
“I’m concerned about you.”
Lori continued to glare. “Shouldn’t you be with him? After all, you are his best man.”
Will’s jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise he remained still, his gaze firmly holding hers.
“I’m your friend, too. More your friend than his. Don’t think I condone his choice.”
Deep down she believed him, but for the moment, she kept him lumped in the same category as her runaway groom, an easy target for her anger and disappointment. She didn’t want pity from Will or anyone else. She couldn’t deal with the shame and embarrassment she would encounter as a jilted bride. Her stomach churned at the thought. She was tempted to curl up into a tight ball and wait for everyone to leave.
“Is everyone still out there?” She shifted her gaze down to the black mascara stain on her glove. She peeled the glove off and let it drop onto her lap.
“Most of Brian’s side left. His parents are still out there. I think they’re pretty horrified over this and want to say something to you. Your bridesmaids are ready to bust the door down to get to you and smother you with support, and I think your parents and brother are plotting Brian’s demise.”
Always the comic. A smile tugged at her mouth but died before it could completely form. The heartbreak pulled her down, along with the black anger.
Her fingers tightened around the lacy skirt of her gown. If only it were Brian’s neck.
She leaned back against the wall, closed her eyes, and relaxed her fists in a half-hearted attempt to squash the fury simmering deep inside. She wanted to block out any reminder of what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, like the sight of the bouquet she’d hurled against the wall after reading Brian’s letter. She had no idea where the one-carat diamond engagement ring she’d sent flying across the room had gone. She didn’t give a good goddamn, either. Slowly, in the silence broken by Will’s even breathing, Lori let her anger recede, if only for a moment.
“Why did he do this, Will? Why like this?”
“I have no idea.”
His voice was close. She opened her eyes and found him sitting on the floor next to her. “I had no clue he was unhappy or even seeing someone else. I feel like such an idiot.” Anger flashed hot in her belly again.
“Don’t, because you’re not.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not in my place right now.” Despite the warmth in his gray eyes, she didn’t want comfort. Misery raged inside, pushing at her chest, and stuck in her throat until she thought she would choke on it.
Will lifted her hand in his and held it, his thumb stroking gently.
Reluctantly, Lori allowed him the contact and concentrated on the soothing touch, letting it sink into her skin. A long moment passed. Her heartbeat slowed from a rapid hammer to a steadier rhythm.
“I guess I can’t hide here all day. Won’t solve anything.” She drew in a breath and slowly released it to disperse the tension that had her heart in a stranglehold. “Gotta face all the people out there. It’s going to be horrible.”
Will squeezed her hand and bumped her shoulder with his. “They love you and they’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”
She grimaced at his promise. “I don’t want them to feel sorry for me.”
Will pushed himself to his feet and held his hand out to her. She didn’t accept it for a long moment, but regarded him with interest, wondering why he’d been able to calm her. If one of her bridesmaids were here, no doubt she’d whip Lori into a frenzy. Instead, Will managed to steady her. She accepted his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet.
“First I’m going to change out of this thing.” She fingered the skirt of the gown she’d chosen for this day. Her dream gown. Her dream wedding and her dream man. What a damned joke. “Tell everyone out there to stay put.”
He nodded and leaned forward to kiss her gently on the cheek. Warmth filled her at the simple gesture. Leave it to Will to help her get through. She knew she could count on him. Silently, he left the room.
Read more of The Better Man when it’s available May 2013.
Do Overs Page 6