Page 16 of Falling for You Again

“Fallon.” She offers her hand. Her name is as unusual as it is memorable, but not as a past client. Aaron spoke of her a few times over the week we spent together, referring to her as his ex-girlfriend, and I would have made the connection if I’d worked with her directly. She must have purchased some stock pieces we keep on hand. Mom would have handled her order. “I’m Aaron’s fiancée. Such a pleasure to meet you in person, Meli.”

“You too.” My eyes snap to Aaron. So much for marriage not being his thing. He doesn’t meet my gaze.

Fallon pokes his chest. “Your mom is looking for you. The auction’s starting. She wants you onstage.”

“All right if I call you Monday?” Aaron asks me.

“How about I find you later?” My tone is clipped as I chastise myself for secretly pining after him when, all this time, he’d gotten back together with Fallon. This is why I’ve sworn off relationships. They’re too distracting and only lead to disappointment. Once again, I have to remind myself of Uncle Bear’s advice.

Aaron’s mouth pulls up into a strained side smile, and he walks away with Fallon. I watch his retreating back, Fallon’s hand resting possessively between his shoulder blades.

Chapter 8

Burgers, Beer, and Bagpipes

I don’t get the chance to speak with Aaron again. Between the auction and an endless parade of guests competing for his attention, he remains otherwise occupied. The gala winds down and Emi convinces me to text him about meeting over coffee tomorrow morning. Surely he will be agreeable.

“I saw the way he was looking at you. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you two were close. He’s not going to pass up an opportunity to see you again.”

Guilt twists my stomach while we wait at the curb for our rides. I’ll have to be more careful around Aaron when she’s near or she’ll press for the truth.

Emi is meeting up with Shae and Tam for drinks at Beacon, a jazz and cocktail club, but I don’t want to stay out late if I’m going to get up early to meet Aaron, assuming he returns my text. He hasn’t yet.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Emi asks, her face pinched as she stares at her phone. “Unless I can’t get a ride. It’s still searching for a driver.”

We aren’t the only ones waiting for rides. People crowd the sidewalk. Everyone left the gala at once.

“I’m sure. I’m going to get some sleep.”

A cab pulls curbside right in front of us. “Kismet,” Emi exclaims. She opens the passenger door before anyone else claims the ride. “Text when you get home?”

“Have fun!”

She blows me a kiss through the window while I continue to wait for a driver to claim my ride, glancing from my phone to the street and back. People crowd me, doing the same. Cars pull up, passengers load, and cars drive off. Down the sidewalk, I notice Aaron assisting Fallon into a waiting black Escalade. My heart does a little jump upon seeing him. He doesn’t get into the SUV with her, and after the vehicle leaves, he turns around and sees me watching him. He strolls over with a lingering smile.

Aaron knows about the acquisition, and he never reached out to me. He swore he didn’t want to marry, and here he is engaged. We spent one night in Las Vegas and five in Maui. We kissed a few times—our wedding, on the flight to Hawaii, and at Logan when we said goodbye—but nothing more than that. Instead we talked, and the trip felt more like a retreat, a mental cleanse. A regroup and reevaluation of the decisions we’d made that got us to where we were then. For six days, we were each other’s confidants. I returned to Boston regretting that I’d hurt Paul and his family while at the same time, feeling more at peace with who I was and what I wanted from life. But do I really know Aaron? Can I trust him with my dilemma?

I don’t have answers, not yet. But that doesn’t stop me from returning his smile or the confession that slips out when he joins me on the sidewalk. “You were right, Aaron.”

The corner of his mouth quirks, deepening his laugh lines. “About what?”

“I never stopped thinking about you.”

Upon our return to Boston, Aaron and I stood outside baggage claim waiting for our rides. I felt sad I wouldn’t see him again, but I knew that for me, especially after what I’d just gone through with Paul, it was for the best.

My ride arrived first and I turned to him to say a final goodbye. But his hands clasped my face and he kissed me. This kiss was stripped of the nerves and wildness of our first kiss, and the boldness of our second kiss. This one was tender and sweet, so wistful and full of longing that I couldn’t discern whether he was projecting on me or if it was what I’d been feeling. He ended the kiss as suddenly as he’d started and pressed his forehead to mine.

I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. “That was unexpected.”

“Everything about you, Meli, has been unexpected. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For listening to me this week. For being a friend.” Aaron had mostly confided his frustrations toward his parents and how unsatisfied he was with his career. He planned to make some changes. We both agreed we’d reached a point in our lives where we only wanted to pursue what made us happy. We wanted to control our own destinies and not have them dictated by others.

I hugged him hard and stepped back. “Goodbye, Aaron.”

“Take care of yourself, Meli.”

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