Page 78 of Fostering Chemistry
I bit my lip as I read and reread his text. Okay, he wanted to make sure I got back to the house safely. He was a kind-hearted, responsible man, and I wouldn’t have expected anything else from him. But the ache in my stomach made me wonder if anything was ever going to be the same between us.
The little dots under his text indicated that he was typing again, and I stared at the screen, willing him to send a message that would make this all better.
But after a long moment—far too long for a two-word response—his message appeared.
I’m sorry.
That was all it said.
21
MIA
"Doyou want to talk about last night?” Aaron asked, steering the car smoothly around a curve. It was the second time he’d asked in the twenty minutes since we’d left for Chattanooga.
“No. Little kids just aren’t really my thing, so I decided to go home.”
It was a lie, and Aaron likely knew it.
Fortunately, the windy mountain roads took up most of his focus, so he didn’t press. Much.
“Are you sure? Because?—“
“I just want to focus on tonight. I’ve been looking forward to this for a week.”
“Me too. I can’t wait for my family to meet you.”
That part made me very nervous, but I didn’t want to show it. Instead, I focused on the part of the evening I was the most excited about, except for Aaron himself. “I can’t wait to put on that beautiful dress Tori lent me.”
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t let me see it.”
“It looks better on me than the hanger.” After the words came out, I realized they sounded boastful, but what the hell… they were kind of true.
“I’d bet a million bucks that it does.”
He drove on, his eyes on the road, but I could tell he wanted to say something else. “Would it sound corny if I said that I’d be glad you were there by my side even if you were wearing jeans and a hoodie?”
My cheeks heated as I flushed. “A little bit corny… but also nice.” I placed my hand over the back of his, and he immediately turned his around, squeezing mine. We drove like that for a few minutes before his hand returned to the wheel.
Then I laughed.
“What?”
“If you want a partner wearing jeans and a hoodie, next time invite Cody.”
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The drive northwest was unfamiliar, but I couldn’t focus on the scenery. I just kept thinking about Diego, and the look in his eyes. How upset he’d been.
Aaron tried a few more times to engage me in conversation, and I realized I was being a bad date. Time to change that.
“So, your grandparents have been married fifty years, right?”
“Fifty years and four days, I think?”
He glanced over, one arm lazily resting on the wheel. He had on a tight white t-shirt and khakis. His suit and my dress were both in garment bags in the back.
“But they’re the ones who adopted you, right?”
