Page 44 of Hold on Tight

“That’s cool, Jake. I didn’t even know—”

She broke off, and he saved her. “Yeah, it’s getting more common. Anyway, something I’m exploring. But—another reason for keeping things simple, right?”

“Right,” she said.

They were quiet for a bit. Then he asked, “Mira?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Who’s Aaron?”

She sighed. “Did Sam mention Aaron?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

“That Aaron was a friend of yours, and his. That he sometimes plays Forbidden Island with him, which I assumed was a board game.”

“I dated him when I was living in Florida.”

“Was it serious?”

She hesitated. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Something tilted and fell in his chest. Not that he was allowed to give a fuck, because they were—as they’d just established for the thousandth time—keeping things simple. But still. He’d kind of hoped she’d dismiss Aaron with a wave of her hand.

“We might have gotten married if I’d stayed in Florida. I thought I was in love with him. But it would have been a mistake for me. Sometimes I think I came here partly because my subconscious knew it wasn’t—enough.”

He found himself feeling sorry for the guy, whoever he was. And, yeah, there was jealousy, too. Because that guy had kissed her and held her and …

Again and again.

Whew, that was quite a parade of visuals his brain had mustered up for him. And substituted him in Aaron’s place. And hell, since this was a fantasy, he also had two good legs and the ability to hoist her up against the wall and go to town.

“Take a right up there. That’s a tough way to break up with someone. Tough on you, I mean. A three-thousand-plus-mile move.”

“I felt like I couldn’t grow up there. My parents were taking care of me and Sam in a way that made me feel like I’d never graduated from high school. And Aaron was priming himself to take over the role. We would have moved right in with him and become his pets, effectively.”

“I can’t imagine you as anyone’s pet. You’ve got too many opinions.”

“But that’s the thing. I didn’t, there. I’d never gotten in the habit of it. My dad and my stepmom were the ones with the opinions, and I just kind of—I was like a kid. And they thought Aaron was great. Aaron was someone my dad had met through woodworking. He introduced us, and he kept on bringing him around until—until I think it was inevitable that we were together.” She hesitated. “The reason I left—I found out my dad was giving Aaron money. For dates and things, and to buy me gifts.”

“Jesus,” he said.

“It was the last straw. When you and I were—after you left, I made a break. Figured out how to get myself to art school. But then—things got complicated with Sam, and then I needed my parents’ help. Pride wasn’t that important anymore, and before I knew it, there we were, living with them, and it wasn’t so bad, most days. But it was the last straw, finding out my dad had been orchestrating things. Like I couldn’t even run my own romantic life. I’d been seriously thinking about moving in with Aaron to get away from my father, and it felt like—it felt like there was nowhere to go, there. So I came out here. But I promised myself that I’d let some time pass before I got involved with anyone, to prove I could take care of Sam all on my own. So there you have it. That’s my ‘keep it simple.’ ”

“Last building on the right,” he said, and she pulled up to the curb.

He wanted to ask her up to his cruddy little apartment with its rails and other accommodations, but Sam was sleeping in the back and they’d given each other too many good reasons why this couldn’t happen.

She reached out her hand and touched his knee. The touch resonated, vibrations up his thigh, a tightening in his balls. An ache in the middle of his chest.

“I had such a good time today,” she said.

“Me, too.” He couldn’t have lied, couldn’t have held himself back, couldn’t have kept the emotion and truth out of his voice, if she’d paid him. He’d had more fun today than he’d had in years. She was possibly the easiest person to talk to that he’d ever met.

And God, he wanted her.

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