Her outburst made Aaron flinch. He drew his hand back and ran it over his hair. “Denise, don’t think like that. I’m sure this guy is great and things will be wonderful.”
“Don’t tell me what everyone else is telling me. I know a part of this is cold feet, but another part is thinking about how I was so sure we were really falling in love and then you walked out.”
“I didn’t walk out. I choked,” he blurted.
Denise sat up and tilted her head to the side. “You what?”
“I choked. It was real, Denise. I felt everything you felt. I started thinking about marriage and kids and maybe growing old with someone.”
“Then what happened? You broke things off as if it was no big deal.”
“I wanted to be with you, but I wanted to be single more. I knew that no matter what I felt for you, I wasn’t really ready to just tie myself to one person. I’m not a cheater, or a liar, so I broke things off before I ended up doing ether one of those.”
“Did you love me?”
“Yeah, I think I did. I just didn’t love you enough.”
A line formed between her brow and she looked away. Aaron turned back to the television.
“Why did you agree to come see me, Aaron?”
“For the same reason you needed to see me. There’s someone new…and I’m feeling some of the same things I felt with you.”
“Wow. What’s her name?”
“Kacey. Her family owns this restaurant in Tennessee, and she’s in graduate school getting her MBA so that she can open a second restaurant and hopefully start a franchise. She works hard, too hard actually, but she can let loose sometimes. She’s fun.”
“You love her?”
In that second Aaron, sitting there talking to a woman he didn’t really want to be with, knew he loved Kacey. He’d probably loved her when he’d made the declaration to Reggie, but he had used the excuse of the business to ignore the emotion.
“Yeah, I do.”
“It sounds like things are going well for you two.”
“Not really. We broke up last week.”
Denise scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Are you determined to end up alone? Or did someone break your heart before and now you’re afraid of commitment?”
“I’m not determined to be alone and no one broke my heart. I’m just not going to settle down before I’m ready.”
“When will you be ready, Aaron?”
“In the future.”
“The future isn’t promised to us. Anything can happen to anyone on any day of the week. You let me slip away—are you really ready to do that with someone else you love?”
He frowned at her disgusted tone. “Why are you so angry?”
“Because there’s another woman out there going through the same pain you put me through for no reason. There’s no telling how many others fell in love with you and you left. Let me guess, you’ve still got ‘friends’ all over the country that you call and text. There are still women who drop by your apartment just to see how things are going. You’re nothing but a selfish little boy.” She jumped up from the stool. “I hope you stay alone!”
She turned and marched out of the restaurant. Aaron pulled out his wallet and tossed some money on the bar before hurrying after her. The bright sunlight temporarily blinded him after the dim interior of the restaurant. He glanced left then right, where Denise continued her angry retreat.
“Denise, hey, wait up.” He jogged and caught up with her.
She spun to face him. “What?”
“I’m sorry.” She scoffed and tried to turn. Aaron placed a hand on her arm to stop her. “No, I’m really sorry. I know the words don’t mean much, and there really is no way for me to make things up to you. We were great together, and we would have been happy, but we both know it wouldn’t have been for long. I wasn’t ready—you know I wasn’t.”
Her stiff shoulders relaxed. “I know. I get that, believe me, I do. But to hear that you’re still the same, that after all these years you haven’t changed… It’s kind of sad, Aaron.”
“Marriage isn’t for everyone.”
“No, it’s not. But love is rare and hard to come by. I wasn’t sure if it would happen for me again after we broke up, but it did. And honestly, it’s actually so much better than before. I don’t want to run the risk of losing that because there may be someone out there that I still might want to sleep with one day. So ask yourself, is losing Kacey worth that?”
He took a step back. No, it wasn’t. Keeping in contact with his ex-girlfriends wasn’t worth never talking to Kacey again. Sleeping with Liz or any other woman who crossed his path wasn’t worth never holding Kacey in his arms again. Having the freedom to visit any place he wanted, or take up any offer to spend a weekend at a friend’s beachside condo, wasn’t worth never again being allowed through the front door of Kacey’s home.
Denise smiled and squeezed his arm. “I didn’t think so.” She lifted on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You take care of yourself, Aaron.”
He nodded. “You, too. And congratulations. Anthony is a lucky man.”
“Thank you.” She turned and walked away.
Aaron pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. His hands trembled slightly, and he shook them out. He took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart. What in the world could he possibly say, over the phone no less, that would make her take him back? Nothing. He’d have to show up. Have to prove that he was really ready for this.
Are you really ready?
There it was—the voice that made him bolt after a few weeks with one woman. He ignored it, and thought about what Kacey had said. You’re never ready, you just make the step.
He dialed her number. “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he chanted during the ring. He was about to give up hope when she finally answered.
“What?”
Okay, that wasn’t promising, but at least she had picked up. “I love you.”
“Seriously? You’re calling me with this? Save it, Aaron. I didn’t tell Reggie anything and you don’t have to worry about him trying to break the contract.”
“I don’t care about the deal. I don’t care about the contract. I just want us to try to work things out.”
“Whatever. Where are you? Please don’t tell me you’ve had a few drinks and your guilty conscience made you call.”
“This is not my guilty conscience, and I’m far from drunk. I’m in Texas. I just saw Denise.”
“And that’s supposed to make me believe you.”
“Yes. Seeing her made me realize I messed up a good thing.”
“Not helping, Aaron.”
He gripped his hair and paced along the street. “I don’t want to mess up again.”
“So, I’m your consolation prize because Denise is getting married and you need to avoid the same thing happening with me?”
“No…yes, in a way, but not in the way you’re twisting things.”
“Sure. ’Bye, Aaron.”
“Wait, Kacey, dammit! Girl, I’m crazy about you. I don’t want Denise or any other woman. I was way too immature to settle down with Denise, and we both know that. But I’m not that guy anymore. I’m the guy who knows that being with you is more important than being with any other woman out there.”
No angry comeback. There was a lot of noise in the background, but he couldn’t make out what it was.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I’m driving home from school.”
“What’s that noise?”
“It’s storming.”
“And you’re talking to me on the phone. Look, call me when you get home. Let’s talk. Better yet, I’ll come to you.”
“No, no, no, don’t. I’m not going to go there with you. I won’t let you lure me back in only for you to break my heart later. Or turn into another Brenda, staying with a man who’ll force me to put up with his mistakes.” Her voice raised with each word. “I’m not getting played by you aga
in.”
“I’m not going to play you. Kacey, I love you.”
“Stop it, Aaron. Just stop right now, okay? We’re over, and we both can just mo—”
Her words abruptly ended. The sickening sound of metal and glass crushing and shattering replaced her words. Aaron’s stomach dropped to his knees. His suddenly cold fingers gripped the phone.
“Kacey?” His voice trembled.
Nothing. Aaron’s entire body shook. He looked around frantically, refusing to accept what he had just heard.
“Kacey, baby, talk to me.” Silence. “Kacey, please, please, Kacey, tell me you’re okay.”
Silence.
Aaron ran down the street toward his truck. “Kacey!” People stopped and stared. Others got out of his way. The silence on the other end of the phone made Aaron’s stomach heave.
The future isn’t promised. Anything can happen to anyone on any day of the week.
Denise’s prophetic words rang in Aaron’s head, bringing panic to his already overwhelmed heart. This couldn’t happen. He couldn’t lose her. He gripped the phone; tears burned his eyes. “Kacey!”
Chapter 30
The door to the hospital room opened, but Kacey kept her eyes closed. Nurses had been coming in checking her vitals almost every hour since they had admitted her the night before. Thank you, concussion. The attending physician did say that she would probably go home today. But the sun had barely come up, and Kacey was pretty sure she wouldn’t get out of this place until well after noon.
“My vitals haven’t changed in an hour. My arm is still broken, and my body still aches but not enough for me to take more pain medicine,” Kacey said, even though she knew hoping the nurse would leave without taking her temperature again was a waste of a good wish.
The footsteps didn’t come closer. “Thank God, you’re alive.” Aaron’s voice, tired and hopeful, came from the direction of the door.
Kacey’s heart raced, and she jerked her eyes open. No, the concussion was not making her hallucinate. He was definitely standing at the door. His blue cotton T-shirt and jeans were wrinkled. Red rimmed his normally carefree eyes, and the curls on his head were askew.
“How did you get here?”
“I drove all night.” He rushed across the room to the bed. With a shaky hand he reached for her, then pulled back. “Kacey, I thought… When I heard the sounds through the phone, I thought you’d…” His voice cracked and his eyes turned glossy.
He drove all night? Was he seriously about to cry, over her? Her heart thumped behind her bruised ribs. Warmth spread through her body, something that hadn’t happened since she’d been admitted, no matter how many blankets she requested from the nurse. “I’m fine. Thank you for calling Reggie.”
When her family was at the hospital the night before, Reggie told her Aaron had called, frantic and half-crazy, to say he’d overheard the accident. The ambulance was already on the scene when Reggie and Camila traced Kacey’s route from the house to the school, but they were still worried. Kacey had to pretend the drugs had knocked her out in order to get her family to leave after she was admitted.
“Was it your tires?” Aaron asked. “I bet it was the tires. I told you to change them.”
“You’re seriously going to lecture me right now?”
“I’m sorry, I just—” He ran a hand through his hair, messing his curly fro up even more. “Everything ran through my head on the way here. Every mile I cursed myself for not changing those tires my damn self.”
“It wasn’t the tires. Someone ran the red light and hit my passenger side.”
His body relaxed. “Thank goodness.”
“You’re happy someone hit me?”
“I’m happy it wasn’t the tires. Shit, Kacey, I’m happy you’re alive.” He sounded so overjoyed, she nearly melted. She was forgiving him again.
Kacey lowered her eyes to the thin white blanket on the hospital bed. “Thank you for coming, but you’ve seen I’m okay, and now you can go.”
“Oh, no. Hell, no. I’m not leaving.”
“Aaron, you’re emotional after seeing Denise and overhearing the rather dramatic accident while we were talking.”
“Yes, I am emotional, and who wouldn’t be? I love you, Kacey Randal. I realized that before your accident, and the second you left my parents’ place I knew I’d messed up a chance for a meaningful relationship. I’m not letting you go.”
“What if I want you to? I don’t want to be the stupid girlfriend always looking over her man’s shoulder.”
“If you did look, you wouldn’t see anything. I won’t make you another Brenda. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—do something like that to you. But no matter how messed up that situation is, I can’t be mad at your dad, or your mom, because their indiscretion made you. The woman I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life.”
Why did he have to say things like that? It made hating him so damn hard. “Aaron, I’m not sure. I don’t know…”
“I know, but I don’t give up easily. I love you, Kacey. And even though you haven’t said it, I know you love me too.”
“Oh, really?” She scoffed to try and hide how right he was.
“Really. You love me, so don’t be pigheaded.” His carefree smile came back, and damn if she didn’t like seeing it.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Hell, yes, I’m serious. We are going to make this work. What happened yesterday proved we can’t take anything for granted. Our relationship might have started out as a one-night stand, but, damn it, I want forever. Forever to show you that I love you.”
She wanted to smile, wanted to laugh, but forgiving him seemed too easy. He made everything seem so easy. There was so much to overcome. His female “friends” who lived in different states. Though she’d never say the words out loud, she had serious trust issues with him.
“Aaron—”
“Stop, don’t turn me down yet. If you love me, you’ll tell me to go get you some Laffy Taffy, we’ll giggle at the bad jokes, and take things one day at a time. If you don’t, then I’ll walk out of that door, hurt, but accepting of your decision.”
Kacey stared into his handsome face, then down at her arm in the cast. She wanted him to stay, so badly, but she wasn’t sure whether she could. She searched her heart, and listened to the voice of reason in her brain, then met Aaron’s eyes and said what she had to say.
“Go away.”
Chapter 31
“Hey, One Arm,” Monique called to Kacey behind the bar at Momma’s Kitchen. “You’ve got another customer.”
Kacey continued loading dirty glasses into the basin behind the bar. “I’m not taking customers, Monique.”
“I’d love to agree that you shouldn’t work with a broken arm, but I’m pretty sure this guy is here for you.”
Kacey stopped what she was doing and turned to Monique, who nodded her head toward the end of the bar. Aaron pulled up a stool and lifted his hand in an easy wave. Every day in the six weeks since the accident, with the exception of the one week he’d gone home to South Carolina, he had checked in on her. He’d made himself quite at home in Resilient during her recovery. So much so that Kacey was beginning to wonder if he planned to stay. Well, hope actually.
He’d lied—when she told him to leave her alone that day in the hospital, he’d gotten angry and stormed out, but he hadn’t let that be the end. He’d returned an hour later with flowers, Laffy Taffy, and a wrestling magazine. They did laugh at the jokes and argued about the greatness of King Rhames, but she didn’t say she loved him. She’d tentatively agreed to see if they could make a relationship work.
“I’ll deal with him.” She pulled the towel off her shoulder and made her way toward Aaron.
Monique took ahold of her arm in the cast, which was thankfully coming off tomorrow morning. Just in time for Kacey to present her thesis project.
“I know this is going to sound crazy coming from me, but I think he may really mean what he’s saying.”
“We don’t know that. He could just be trying to stay on Reggie’s good side.”
“He told Reggie the truth and took a punch for using you like that. Then he stuck around. Face it, this guy is really crazy about you. Don’t mess things up.”
Kacey frowned. “I’ll mess things up?”
Monique shrugged and grinned. “You have a tendency to ignore the obvious. Besides, I need to know you’re happy before I leave.”
Kacey pulled out of her sister’s grip, but gently pressed her side into Monique’s. “I’m talking to him, aren’t I?”
“Talking is one thing; you need to get laid.”
Kacey rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You’ll never change.” She walked down to the end of the bar. Aaron’s smile grew the closer she got to him. Memories of the first night she’d met him, when he’d given her that same smile and dared her to do something a little wild, filled her mind. Even now that smile tempted her to meet him outside and follow him to the nearest hotel room.
“How are you feeling?” Aaron asked when she reached him.
“I’m fine.”
“I really wish you would have waited until after the cast came off before working again.”
“We went over this already. I can handle office work with one arm.” She held up her good arm. “And doing a little behind the bar isn’t hard. Stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. You know that.”
When he’d first come to see her in the hospital, she hadn’t let herself believe him. Now he was wearing down her defenses.
“I’m about to take off, anyway. I need to practice the presentation for my project.”
“Do you want me to take you tomorrow?”
Her car had been a total loss after the accident. It still gave her chills to think she’d gotten out of all that twisted metal with only a broken arm and a concussion.
“I can find a ride.”
“Let me rephrase that. I’d like to take you tomorrow.”
From One Night to Forever Page 23