by Lynn Stevens
“We have to stop,” he said breathlessly.
“Why?” I asked. The last thing I wanted to do was stop.
“We have to work.” He kissed my nose and gently pushed me off of him. “I’ll pick you up at seven, okay?”
I nodded and swallowed hard. “Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we not talk about Texas?” It shot out of my mouth, and I wanted to shove it back into my brain. “I’m… it’s … we have all summer. Can we just be together?”
Aiden’s face fell, but he nodded. “I won’t bring it up again. If you want to talk about it, then you tell me, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I’m sorry. It’s just a lot so fast.” It was like he’d sucked the filter out of me. “It’s a little scary.”
He pulled me against his chest, one hand on my hip and the other caressing my jawline. “I’m not scared of this, Miranda. If you are, that’s okay, but just know that I’m not.” He kissed me gently then stepped back. With a grin, he pointed at me. “Seven.”
I watched as he ran back to the other two guys he worked with. Aiden was not what I expected. He was a nice guy to begin with, and I never got involved with nice guys. Eddie was the exact opposite of Aiden in so many ways. I shook that thought out of my head. Eddie Blake was out of my life. I needed to remind myself of that. I needed to keep it that way too, despite what happened at the restaurant.
The morning went by fast as I cleaned rooms on the fourth floor. I texted the housekeeping manager and Dad to remind them I needed to get to the theater by noon. They both responded that it was covered and to finish four. Disappointment settled in my chest. I looked forward to the vastness of the theater. It was quiet there, peaceful. I could work and get it done without running into people.
A tap on my shoulder made me jump. I spun around, ready to punch whoever scared me. Eddie smiled with his hands up to defend himself.
“What’re you doing here?” I hissed.
Eddie nodded toward the room I was about to go into. The couple had checked out an hour ago, and it needed to be cleaned before the next guest checked in. I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind us.
“What?” I stepped farther into the room. Only one bed had been slept in, but I still needed to pull the sheets from both beds. “You’re leaving. Why are you here?”
His hands settled on my shoulders and began to massage the tension from them. “I’m not leaving yet. I may not leave at all.”
I turned to face him, and his hands returned to my shoulders. “What are you talking about? You’re going to Georgia at the end of the month and starting school there in August. Right?”
“Maybe.” His fingers worked my shoulders, and his thumbs circled lazily on my neck. “Maybe I’ll stay. Would you like it if I stayed?”
Yes, I thought instantly. “Why would you stay?”
“For you,” he said, pulling me closer. “To prove to you that I’m your guy.”
My head spun, and I sat down on the still made bed. Eddie knelt in front of me, pushing his way between my legs. He stared up at me with something in his eyes I’d never seen before. Love? No, that couldn’t be it. I wanted that to be it so badly. Eddie’s hands settled on the outside of my thighs. He kissed my kneecaps, then up my legs until he pressed me back on the bed and found my lips. His mouth moved slowly, caressing me gently.
Then I jerked up, pushing him off me and onto the floor. “No.” I stood and started stripping the sheets, tossing them into a pile on the floor. “I can’t do this, Eddie. You don’t …” love me.
“You’re right,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “This isn’t how I wanted to … Let’s go out. On a date. Wherever you want. I’ll keep my hands to myself and we can talk about us, our future, everything we’ve never said to one another. I promise I’ll be good.”
“I can’t,” I said, my voice barely a breath. I moved to the other bed and stripped it to the mattress. “I’m dating someone.”
“That loser?” Eddie scoffed, and it pissed me off. “He doesn’t deserve you, Miranda.” Eddie put his hands on my shoulders again. “He doesn’t know you like I do. What you like. What makes you happy. I can give you everything if you’ll just let me.”
I wanted to turn around and kiss him. Or slap him. I wasn’t sure which. He said all the right things. He’d done that before though. He’d said all the right things and I slept with him repeatedly. Then he’d date someone else and only use me as a booty call. But I wanted him to want me for more than just sex. We could be great together. He’d just never given us the chance. Why did he wait until now to say that he wanted there to be an us? Why did he keep doing that to me?
My phone rang in my pocket, and I yanked it free to answer it without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?” I answered out of breath.
“Miranda? Are you okay?” Carly asked. “You sound like you ran a marathon.”
I shook my head and put distance between me and Eddie. “No, just yanking some sheets off a bed. What’s up, Dad?”
“What time are you getting off work today? I need to get away from Mom for a bit. She’s driving me insane.” She paused. “Wait, what? It’s not—”
I laughed, faking it mostly, and walked toward the door. After opening it, I peeked out to see if the coast was clear. Thankfully, nobody was in the hall. I motioned for Eddie to leave. “Yeah, room 412.”
“What are you talking—?”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” Then I hung up on my sister. I pushed Eddie into the hall. “Get out of here. Dad’s on his way up.”
He leaned in for a kiss, but I blocked him by pulling the housekeeping cart in between us.
“I’ll come over later,” he said as he backed toward the stairwell.
“No,” I said, but he just smiled and opened the door and disappeared.
My phone rang again, and this time I looked at the caller ID.
“Thank you,” I told my sister by way of greeting.
“I don’t know what for, but you’re welcome?”
“It’s a long story.” I sighed and leaned against the door frame.
“Then you can share it when you get off work. We can go gorge ourselves on ice cream at that fifties cafe on the edge of town.”
“I’ll be off by two. I’ll swing by and pick you up. Aiden’s picking me up at seven.”
“Sounds good.” She paused. “Meerkat, are you okay?”
Not by a long shot. “Yeah,” I lied. “I’m fine.”
So much for telling the truth.
Chapter Sixteen
I would have preferred a nap and shower after work, but I had missed Carly more than I realized. We had a love hate relationship. Right now, it was more toward the love side. We hadn’t seen each other since Memorial Day last year. Carly and Gracin had both worked during the holidays, and he’d gone on tour last summer. The best we’d gotten was video chats and text messages.
Carly stood outside the cabin waiting for me. Her long hair was in two braids, and she had on her usual black boots, denim shorts, and a white t-shirt with Marilyn Monroe and her flying dress from Seven Year Itch. It blew my mind how similar we dressed sometimes. Carly lived in black like I did, but she owned it in a way I never did. Gracin stepped out behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck. Carly’s face flushed.
I didn’t need to see their lovey dovey bullshit. Speeding up, I honked rapidly and drew both of their stares my way. Carly kissed Gracin goodbye in an X-rated way then laughed on her way to the car.
“You trying to piss off the neighbors?” she asked once she was in the passenger seat.
“You trying to make me throw up in my mouth with all the PDA?”
“Is it really public if we’re on the privacy of our own cabin porch?” She tapped the dashboard and pointed her French manicure finger out the window. “Onward, Meerkat. I need ice cream and a break of all things wedding.”
“Mom’s going to flip if you don’t fit in your dress,”
I said as I turned onto the main drag.
“Oh, she already has. It’s too big.” Carly shrugged. Her eyes still had dark rings and her cheekbones stuck out more than usual.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She glanced at me and smiled. “I should’ve eloped. It would’ve been easier, less stressful, and more fun. And work wore me down the last few weeks. There was so much to do, plus Gracin was gone a lot. It’s just been… life, you know?”
“Life. Yeah.” That was one way of explaining everything. It was just life.
We rode in silence, the only sound an alt rock station. “Second Chance” by Shinedown came on. I turned it up. The lyrics reverberated through me. Carly and I sang along, and we practically screamed the words as I pulled into the parking lot.
“We sounded horrible,” she said with a smile.
“Oh yeah, but I’m a rockstar in my car.” I turned down the radio. “I love that song.”
“Yeah, me too. I didn’t know you were into this stuff.” She pointed at the radio as an ad for Bella Roma’s took over.
I shut off the engine. “Love it. I’m not a huge country fan though. Future brother-in-law excluded.”
“Not everyone is. Let’s gorge on ice cream.” She climbed out.
We settled into a booth a few moments later and quickly ordered banana splits. My mouth watered at the mere thought of sweet ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrup, and a banana just to make you feel less bad about yourself for eating all the ice cream. Oh, and the whip cream. Yeah, I needed this indulgence.
“Okay, spill.” Carly scooted forward in the booth and rested her forearms on the white Formica table. The red vinyl crackled as she shifted in her seat. “Why did you pretend I was Dad on the phone?”
I sighed and stared at her. Closing my eyes, I warred with myself on whether this was a good idea or not. I was leaning toward not. Carly wasn’t exactly great at keeping secrets even if she managed to keep her affair with Gracin under wraps a few years back. It still came out. And I did not need this to get out.
“Okay, this is a safe table.” Carly tapped the table, and I opened my eyes. “Whatever you tell me, I will take to my grave.” Carly crossed her heart then her fingers. “Promise.”
“Even from Gracin?” I raised an eyebrow because I knew she couldn’t promise that.
“Well, no, but I won’t tell him anything until we get home. Good enough?” She matched my raised eyebrow and added a smirk.
“You’re still going to tell him?” I shook my head and stared out the window. “He already knows everything I’ve told you, doesn’t he?”
“Well, yeah,” Carly said softly. She put her hand over mine on the table. “We promised each other we wouldn’t keep secrets. It’s not easy being with someone, even someone you’d go to the ends of the world for. Gracin and I have to work hard at our relationship. Anything worth having is going to be hard work. So, yeah, he knows everything you’ve told me. You’re his sister, too, in a way. Soon to be a legal way.”
I turned my gaze back toward her and pulled my hand away. “Even the overdose? You told him everything about that?”
She just nodded.
I blinked back a tear. “It was an accident.”
“I know.” She tapped the table in a familiar rhythm. “He knows, too.”
“Eddie was with me.”
“That night?” she asked. We’d talked about my overdose before, but I hadn’t shared the details with anyone other than my shrink.
I nodded again, but I didn’t want to talk about that. “And today. He followed me into a room and closed the door.” I didn’t try to hide the tears now as they streamed down my face. “Why won’t he let me go?”
The distinct sound of heavy glass being place on the table pulled me back to the moment. I tried, and probably failed, to wipe my eyes discreetly.
Carly thanked the waitress and waited a beat. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I dug my spoon into the vanilla scoop. Chocolate syrup dripped in the melting cream. “He …” I took a breath to calm my nerves. Give her the facts. I stared at my sister. She waited patiently. “I was on the fourth floor cleaning rooms. He just showed up out of nowhere. I don’t even know how he found me. We went into a room, and he kissed me. I told him no because I’m dating someone, and he… Carly, he said he might stay. He wants to prove himself to me. He wants to be with me.” The desperation in my voice was embarrassing. It was like I needed to hear those things from Eddie to live. “He said we could finally be together.”
“Do you believe him?” There wasn’t any judgment or emotion in her voice. It was a question my shrink would’ve asked. And it was the right question.
I hesitated, but Carly cut me off when I finally opened my mouth.
“Don’t think about it. Just answer the question. Miranda, do you believe him?”
“No,” I said, surprising myself. It was the truth though. Deep down, I didn’t believe him. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. He’d strung me along for years. I’d been willing then. Now, not so much. “No, I don’t believe him. He’s going to Georgia for school.”
“And you’re going to Texas?” Carly raised her eyebrows then took a too large bite of ice cream.
“Maybe.” That wasn’t certain. If I got into a school, then yeah. But going to live with Lily and Aiden and their grandmother, no matter how cool she would be about it, wasn’t something I really wanted to do. “It depends.”
“What about Aiden?” she asked.
“We’re … I don’t know. He’s pretty intense, to be honest.” I stirred the creamy sweetness together as it melted. “I like him. A lot. But there’s … I don’t know. Pressure? Like I’m really only going out with him for Lily’s sake? Or because I actually want to? They want me to move to Houston, but I don’t… It’s too much, too soon.”
“That’s weird.” Carly reached over with her spoon and stole the maraschino cherry from my bowl. “How long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“Just a few weeks.” The ice cream had melted perfectly, not too solid and not too liquidy. I finally dug in. “It’s … going pretty fast.”
“Have you slept with him?” Carly cut her banana into chunks.
I took a bite, savoring the vanilla goodness. “God no. He … he wants to take it slow. We haven’t done anything other than make out.”
“Have you slept with Eddie since you started seeing Aiden?” I loved that my sister and I could talk about things like this. She never judged me. Sure, we had our issues, but Carly was always there for me when I needed her the most. And I needed her now.
“No.” I cut my banana and put half in her bowl. “And I want to wait. I don’t know why, but I like that we didn’t just jump into it. It’s nice.”
“He’s romancing you.” She ginned, but just as fast her smile flipped to a frown. “Enjoy it. They stop eventually.”
“Gracin doesn’t romance you?” I found that hard to believe. They were always so happy whenever I saw them together.
She set her spoon on the table with a clink. “This last year has been hard on us. He’s working more and touring more, which is great. School was crazy, work was insane, and we didn’t see each other very often. Don’t get me wrong, I love him and he loves me, it’s just not been picture perfect.” She turned her spoon over a few times before picking it back up only to set it down again. “Did I tell you how he proposed to me?”
I shook my head. “It was almost Christmas, and we hadn’t been in the same room for more than five minutes for a month. He had these mysterious calls, and … I thought I was pregnant. I was freaking out. We were missing each other. I thought…” She dropped her head into her hands. “I thought he was cheating on me.”
“Oh, god, why didn’t you tell me?” My spoon fell into the empty bowl, the sound echoing in the small diner.
Carly laughed without a hint of humor. “Because I was a paranoid idiot. I confronted him, and we got into a huge fight. He threw the ring box at me
. After I opened it, he started playing this song on his phone. He was sneaking around with Cami, recording a song for me to ask me to marry him. You’ve heard the song. It’s all over the radio.”
“Wow, did you tell him about the pregnancy part?”
“Yeah, we had a long talk that night. After we cleared the air, I said yes, but not until we had hashed out some of our problems.” She lifted her head; a hint of a smile graced her lips. “I love him more than myself, and that’s scary as fuck. The worst part? I was disappointed when I realized I wasn’t pregnant. So was he.”
“Seriously? I thought you were all career first, babies later.”
“So did I.” She grinned, picking up her spoon. “Guess I was wrong. Priorities change, Meerkat. Mine have, and I didn’t get it at first. I thought it was … falling apart. I had to talk it out with him to get my head straight. After we get married, we’re going to start working on a family. That’s what I want. That’s what he wants.” She took a huge bite of ice cream. “Ready to be an aunt?”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t help but smile with her. “You’re going to be great parents.”
“Maybe. Or we may screw our kids up worse than us, but they’ll be loved. Just like we are.” She took my hand and laughed. “Mom and Dad may drive us nuts, but they mean well.”
“True story,” I said.
Carly squeezed my fingers then let go. “Talk to Aiden. Just be honest with him about Eddie. Tell him about today. If he can’t handle the fact that Eddie’s obsessing over you, then he’s not someone you need. But I think Aiden can handle it.”
We fell into lighter conversation about the wedding. I was going to hate it when she left on her honeymoon and went back to Nashville. I’d always looked up to Carly. Her relationship with Gracin was something to strive for. It was kind of nice in a weird way to know they weren’t perfect all the time.
She was right though. I needed to be honest with Aiden and with myself about what I wanted.
I just wasn’t one hundred percent sure what that was.