his cologne, I’d given Mom the name, and they’d bought him some more of that too.
I’d balked when I’d seen Armani stamped over the glass bottle, but Mom quickly said thank you and hung up before I could protest further.
I piled my stationery, body lotions, perfume, and paperbacks with Aiden’s presents in my room, returning to find the living room empty.
“He’s been abducted.”
“Shit.” I joined Mom by the window to peek into the backyard.
Dad was gesturing to the half-built gazebo, his eyes bright, while Aiden tilted his head, appearing invested in what he was being shown.
Perhaps he was, though I’d never seen him show a lot of interest in woodwork or any kind of construction. I made a mental note to ask him about it when we had a quiet moment.
“You look happy,” Mom said a while later, peeling carrots and potatoes by the sink for lunch.
“I am,” I admitted, and the buoyance, the ease in which I’d admitted those words reaffirmed it. “He’s incredible.”
“He adores you,” Mom said, eyes on her task.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and seated myself at the dining table, my finger drifting over the familiar, time-worn grooves and scratches in the wood. “I love him,” I said quietly, then laughed. “I never thought I’d be able to…” I trailed off.
Mom smiled over at me. “All it takes is the right person, and it can happen again and again and again.”
I nodded, contemplating whether to admit something to her. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Do you think you can fall for two different men, I mean really fall for them, and love them both at the same time?”
Silence lingered for a minute. “So you haven’t stopped.”
Not a question, and my eyes began to burn. It was a betrayal, but one I couldn’t stop. One I was trying to ignore and move past. It had been easy for a while, as long as I didn’t pick at the wound. “No.” I tried to clear the gathering thickness in my throat. “I think it’s unlikely I ever will.”
Mom let that sit there for a minute before responding. “That doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself to someone else. And who knows,” she said, her voice low. “Maybe, with time, it’ll fade. One love becomes louder than the other.”
“Louder than the other,” I repeated. After a few moments of digesting that, I felt the need to reassure her. “I’m okay. I’m not devastated over him anymore. I just… it’s still there, and being home makes its presence known.”
Mom nodded, tossing the scraps after dumping the vegetables onto a tray to go into the oven. “Time, Stevie. All things take time.” She paused, hands on the counter as she locked me in place with one of her assessing looks. “It’s good to see you move on, though. As much as we love Everett, he just isn’t capable of looking at you the way Aiden does. And you deserve to not only be looked at in that way, but also to be treated as if nothing is more important than you.” She straightened. “You deserve to be someone’s entire world. Their first and only choice.”
I swiped at a traitorous tear. “I know.” And I did know, but when the heart was desperate, it was capable of ignoring whatever it needed to.
When lunch was ready, Aiden and Dad came back inside. Aiden cracked open a beer and while offering one to Dad, informed him he was twenty-one, which made me smother a laugh. Mom cranked the carols up and sang along, her hips swaying as she delivered all the food to the table.
Dad waved Aiden off, taking the beer with a nod of thanks, then his seat next to Mom.
“Have you seen what he’s built out there?” Aiden asked, drizzling gravy over my ham and vegetables before doing the same to his plate. “It’s going to be good enough to sleep under.”
“You know where you’ll be staying next time, then,” Dad said, chuckling when Aiden shook his head.
“Make sure it’s finished, and you might just have yourself a deal.” Aiden took a swig of beer, then glanced at me. “We can drag some sleeping bags out there. Maybe a blow-up mattress…” Lost in the excitement that glazed his eyes, shining in the dizzying wonder of his smile, I was about to nod when the front door opened with a bang.
“Well, that’s why there was no welcoming committee,” Hendrix yelled over the music. He turned the stereo down on the