Page 161 of Aria

Thomas grinned as he ran his fingers through jet black hair. “All right, love. Tonight, then. Dinner at Mackenzie’s at eight o’clock? Unless you’d rather get pissed and snog instead.”

My eyebrows wrinkled into a frown of confusion. His laughter swirled around me. “I’m not sure what that means, but I like food. Dinner sounds good.”

Thomas reached out and took my hand with a delicate grip. He kissed my knuckles, and his warm breath made my insides flutter. The sensation felt foreign.

“Looking forward to it, love,” he whispered.

His touch lingered for a moment before he dropped my hand and turned away, whistling to himself as he ambled down the long hall. My eyes burned into his retreating back, my mind buzzing with both uncertainty and titillation.

“Well, would you look at that.” Elsa approached beside me with her arms folded across her chest. A knowing smile pulled at her lips as she addressed me with a cocked eyebrow. “That only took over half a decade.”

I couldn’t help my eyeroll. “Any commentary or “I told you so” remarks will not be permitted. Thank you and good day.” I glanced at my friend and mentor, and we shared a laugh.

Elsa reached down, giving my hand a tender squeeze. “You did the right thing. You need this,” she assured me.

I appreciated the sentiment, but I still felt gravely unsure. “I hope you’re right. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Nobody does,” Elsa said, shooing away my concerns with a flick of her wrist. “No one has any clue. I’ve been married three times and I still haven’t figured it out.”

I studied the woman on my right. Her strawberry blonde hair looked more golden under the fluorescent lights. She had aged a bit over the last six years; the lines and sunspots on her skin told thousands of stories. Her crow’s feet became more pronounced when she smiled, sipping on a mug of iced tea in her hand. The ice cubes made a clinking sound as they danced against the glass.

Elsa was in her early forties. She was more of a sister to me than a friend, really.

She was there for me at the start of my new journey in south Florida. She was there when Devon died and I came back from New York a grieving, emotional mess.

I had stayed at Elsa’s house that first night back, and she’d held my hair back as I ugly cried into a throw pillow and a pint of butter pecan ice cream. I’d had one dark and frightening moment in which I’d regretted everything—I’d regretted my sacrifice.

I’d regretted abandoning Noah and Sam. I’d regretted how things ended with Devon. I’d regretted giving up the one thing I had ever really wanted…reallove.

I’d regretted falling in love in the first place.

“What if I made a mistake?” I had sobbed. My tears had mixed with the frozen dessert melting in my lap. “What if I just ran because I was scared? What have I done, Elsa?”

Elsa had combed back my damp hair with soothing fingers. “We both know you didn’t run. You did a hard thing for the greater good of your well-being. Don’t you dare second-guess yourself. That will only take you back to where you started… then it would alltrulybe for nothing.”

I had sniffled against Elsa’s shoulder. “Maybe I handled it all wrong. Maybe I was selfish.”

Elsa had grabbed me by the shoulders and stared deep into my wounded eyes. “There is no part of you that is selfish. You’re the least selfish person I know.”

Oh, Elsa.Her words were always wise and astute. She knew exactly what to say.

And so, the dark cloud passed, and I remembered that everything was exactly the way it should be. Elsa reminded me of my accomplishments and bravery. She reminded me of how my decision had opened new doors and paved the way to the ultimate self-discovery. She reminded me of all the lives I’d changed through my sanctuary.

I was happy. Noah was happy. Sam was happy.

Life wasgood.

There was no room for regret.

I stood in the middle of the lobby, my gaze settling back on Thomas. He was chatting with a patient, his hands telling an elaborate tale. I was looking forward to the tales he would tell me on our dinner date.

“You’ll have fun tonight,” Elsa said, as if reading my mind. “Thomas is a good man. He’s waited a long time to ask you out.”

I sighed. “I’m sure he was petrified of me. The only two men I ever actually dated are dead. And the third man, who I almost dated, almost died at the hands of one of my dead exes.” I paused, blinking. “I think I just wrote myself into a reality show.”

Elsa chugged the rest of her tea. “This tea does not contain nearly enough alcohol to help me process all of that.”

Anne was listening in on our conversation. She waved her hands into the air with dramatic animation. “I can see it now: Chelsie Combs—the black widow with a heart of gold. Loves cats andCitizen Kane.”

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