Page 160 of Fated

I take a quick glance at his features as we stride into the lobby.

The space was built to impress. It’s six stories tall, with marble and glass and a giant, ten-foot-tall timepiece on the wall. The front windows rise high above us and capture all the light the winter sun affords.

We pause at the front entrance, the glass doors holding the chill at bay. Aaron’s in his wool coat, his bag slung over his shoulder. But me, I’m in a short-sleeve satin dress, my jacket still slung over the back of my office chair.

“I’ll walk you out,” I say.

He shakes his head. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

I lead him out then, and when I push open the doors the freezing chill hits my bare arms and legs. The wind tugs at my hair. The auburn strands blow around my shoulders and face and I sweep it back.

The stairs and sidewalk have been shoveled and de-iced and the parking lot is clear. Mounds of white snow line the edges of the lot, and the trees surrounding us are weighed down with heavy white powder. The air is brisk, snow-filled, and winter scented.

I shiver at the cold wind dragging across me.

“Here,” Aaron says, holding his coat out.

I shrug it on gratefully and then, when the warmth of him seeps into me, I breathe in his soft, sea-like smell.

“It must have been a shock to see a watch with your name,” I tell him as we walk across the parking lot.

He glances down at me, the sun playing over his skin. “It wasn’t, actually.”

And when I give him a startled glance he says, “It looks just like the island I was born on. It reminded me of home. I thought maybe you’d been there.”

I shake my head, and he nods as if he expected that answer.

Then he stops in front of his car, an SUV, perfect for winter in the mountains.

I begin to pull off his coat and the chill brushes over me. He shakes his head. “No. It’s all right. Keep it. You can give it back to me next time.”

Next time?

I nod and pull the coat tighter around me.

“Goodbye then,” I say, the cold wind tugging at me. “Nice meeting you.”

“Goodbye,” he says, searching my face. I wait for him to say something more, but he doesn’t.

So I nod and then turn. The wintry sun shines over my face. The cold light hits my eyes and they burn with tears from the cold and the wind. I wait for a moment longer, and when Aaron doesn’t say anything I begin to walk into the wind and the quick gust of blowing snow.

The cold bites my cheeks and I blink against the wintry air. I duck my head, waiting to hear the sound of Aaron’s car pulling away.

Then there’s the fast beat of his footsteps. He’s running.

I stop. Turn.

My heart pounds when I see him there, standing in front of me.

He draws in a deep breath, his dark eyes intent, and my hand shakes from the near irresistible urge to reach up and set my hand on his face.

He looks down at me as if he can’t decide whether or not he should kiss me. There’s a yearning, an ache, that mirrors the sound in my heart.

“I forgot,” he says.

A warmth pulses between us, chasing away the icy cold.

---