Time After Time (Sweetbriar Cove #14) - Melody Grace Page 0,80
her date book that had fallen in the gutter: well-worn and crammed full of loose slips of paper and Post-its. He brushed off the damp leaves, and called after her. “Stella?”
She whirled around. “Aidan.” Her eyes went wide. She froze. “I… um… hi.”
“Hi.” He nodded abruptly. Dear Lord, but it was even worse up-close. He could see the freckles dusting across her nose, and smell the scent wafting from her hair, sweet like cinnamon sugar. “Have you been to the bakery?” he asked without thinking.
She blinked. “Yes, why?”
“Nothing,” he said, already feeling foolish. “You smell like pastries, that’s all.”
“Oh. Yes, I was just picking up some snacks, for Alice’s birthday thing.” Stella swallowed hard. “Not that she’ll need them, after a Kinsella family breakfast.”
“Right.” Aidan nodded slowly.
“That was a joke.” Stella looked at him with an awkward smile. “I got cinnamon rolls.”
At the mention, Aidan’s brain scattered. For a moment, he was back in his shower with her that morning after Halloween: their bodies slick, laughing together; his voice hoarse in her ear, whispering decadent promises, driving her wild.
Then the sound of kids passing nearby snapped him out of it, and Aidan found himself back on the rainy street again, a lifetime away from that sun-dappled morning.
Get a grip!
He looked away. “You dropped this,” he said quickly, remembering that he was holding her date book.
“Thank you!” Stella blurted. “I didn’t even realize… I would be lost without it. My whole life is in here.” She hugged it to her chest, still looking awkward, like she’d rather be anywhere but there. But maybe he was a glutton for punishment, because Aidan didn’t want the moment to end.
“How’s Matty?” he asked.
She gave a rueful smile. “Grounded. Doing all his chores, and the dishes every night, too.”
“Is he… Feeling better about things?”
Stella’s smile slipped. “He will be. Just, teen angst, that’s all.”
Aidan nodded slowly. He wanted to ask more, but she’d made it clear, it was none of his business.
Nothing about their lives was his business anymore.
The reminder stung deep. “I should get going,” he said, backing away.
“Look…” Stella said, stopping him. “What I said before… about consequences. I didn’t mean about what happened with your job. I wouldn’t say that—”
“It’s fine.” Aidan cut her off, tensing at the mention. “Really. Water under the bridge.”
“Oh.” She paused again. “OK.”
“Besides, everything worked out for the best,” he found himself saying. “That offer came through, from the company in New York.” He paused. “I think I’m going to take it.”
“You are?”
Aidan nodded. He hadn’t made his mind up until that very moment, but suddenly, his decision seemed clear. Because this? This was impossible. Running into her around every corner, or spending his days hoping to, always searching for a glimpse. Making small talk, and polite conversation, pretending like it wasn’t tearing him up inside to be so close, and a million miles away.
It was over. There was nothing for him here anymore.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “I’m moving back. I think it’s for the best,” he added, and Stella looked away.
“If it’s what you want… But, take care of yourself, OK?” she met his eyes again, and gave him a faint smile that just about broke his heart.
“You too,” he muttered, like they were distant friends. He watched as she got into her truck, and drove away without a backwards glance, leaving him standing there in the middle of the square in the rain.
God, he wanted her.
“No hard feelings, huh?” Luke joined him. “You look like she just ran you over with that truck.”
Aidan didn’t have it in him to come up with a witty response. “C’mon,” he said, forcing himself to turn away as she disappeared around the bend. “We’re missing the party.”
“We don’t have to go back,” Luke offered. “We could take a walk, or go work on that boat. They’d understand.”
But Aidan shook his head, determined. “It’s supposed to be a celebration. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to say goodbye to everyone.”
“Huh.” Luke gave him a knowing look. “So that’s how it is.”
Aidan shifted, uncomfortable. “That’s how it was always going to be.”
He’d said it from the start, hadn’t he? He wasn’t there to get involved. He’d come to town to regroup, and get his life back on track, and that’s exactly what he’d wound up doing in the end. Stella had been a wild card, an unexpected detour that had almost taken him off course – but she’d saved them both the trouble, just in time.