The jicama lodged itself in Ari’s throat, and she considered letting herself simply choke on it.
Fuck. Me.
Arielle Becker.
She hadn’t spotted him yet. She was twirling around with Liana and a little boy, whooping in delighted laughter, her long curls glowing the color of honey as they flew in the sunshine. She was wearing a long patchwork-print dress that floated gently around her ankles and a wrist full of those bracelets that made noise when they clinked together.
Devastatingly beautifulwere the words that came to mind.
He couldn’t believe it’d been over a month since they’d laid eyes on each other, or that she still had this effect on him. Things with Mira had been fine—perfectly nice dinner dates where they talked about work, her nieces and nephews, and lectures or exhibits they might want to attend. He met a couple of her friends in what he suspected was a staged run-in. She sent him memes she thoughtwere funny and left affectionate comments on social media posts about him. Occasionally, she asked him to play for her, and he said no as often as he could get away with, because playing for her made him think of strumming “Take Me Home, Country Roads” during a thunderstorm, his gaze on the candlelit outline of a different woman tangled up in his sheets.
And they’d kissed a few more times, but Judah always felt his stomach turn to lead. He may not have been able to articulate why kissing Arielle had felt so right, but hedidknow that kissing Mira didn’t. He’d hoped things would improve with time, that maybe he just needed Arielle to fully disappear from his brain, but it’d been five weeks and she hadn’t even begun to fade. And now he had a brand-new image to add to his mental album, a maternal scene doing something inexplicably achy to his chest. It was overwhelming, this attraction he had to her, its force like a biblical flood.
His first thought was to disappear—to leave the party, get in his car, and head back to the city. But that was a little trickier when you were the entertainment. Which meant he was going to have to face her at some point. He might as well do it when he was in control.
With any luck,she’dbe the one to leave early.
He waited until they were done spinning, took a deep breath, and walked over. “Hey,” he said, forcing a smile and pretending not to notice Ari’s double take in the background as he directed his greeting to Liana. “Who’s this guy?”
“Thishandsome gentleman is my nephew, Oliver. Ollie, this is my friend, Judah.”
Oliver hid behind Liana’s legs, adorably shy. Judah remembered being that kidverywell. Hell, he was still that kid a whole lot of the time.
“Oliver’s parents live a few blocks away, but my sister’s on bed rest, so we took him off her hands for a bit,” Liana explained. “And I know Brielle from work—she teaches in the classroom next to mine.”
They both glanced at Ari, who was looking at some far-off point in the distance, as if she could not be more bored by this conversation. Finally, she wrenched her gaze to his face and said, “We went to seminary together, but I’m mostly invited as Liana’s date. I came for the s’mores and to see Ollie.”
The little boy beamed, and Judah didn’t blame him.
“She’s also serving as my buddy for taking the train home,” Liana added, looping an arm around Ari’s and squeezing tight. “Gideon’s working late, and I hate traveling by myself at night.”
“I’m happy to give you a ride home,” he offered instinctively, wishing he could bite back the offer the second it came out of his mouth. The last thing he needed was a reminder of the car ride with Ari the night they first kissed. “If you don’t mind staying until the end.”Please mind staying until the end.
“Definitely not,” Liana said immediately, “as long as you don’t mind driving through the West Side.”
“Oh, well, I figured I’d drive to my place, and you guys could just walk across the park.”
Liana’s eyes widened, a solid reminder that Judah’s dry sense of humor was not for everyone. “He’s kidding,” Ari said wryly.
“Thank God.” Liana rested a hand over her heart, and then her gaze lifted over his head as she spotted someone she knew. “Oh, Ollie, there’s Jacob! He looks like he wants to play with you and give Auntie Leelee a break. Looking forward to hearing you sing!” she added over her shoulder as she walked Oliver over to his friend, leaving Ari alone with Judah.
“Hi,” he said quietly, the word stealing all of his breath.
“I should’ve guessed you’d be here.” She rolled her eyes. “Can’t have a party without Ein Klein Hotmusic.”
“Arielle—”
“How was Mexico?” she asked brightly, the fakest of smiles pasted on her face. “I don’t think we’ve spoken since then.”
Ah, so that was how she wanted to play it.Okay, then.“Yeah,glad to see you’ve recovered from your mysterious illness the Shabbos I came to Akiva’s.”
“Oh, the Shabbos your child bride stayed in my apartment?” Her eyebrows rose, perfect arches in her lightly tanned skin.
“Yes, that would be the Shabbos you apparently said something to her about kissing,” he shot back. “Thanks for that.”
“You’rewelcomefor that, considering I had to hear how well it worked out for you.”
That shut him up. Somehow, it hadn’t occurred to him that she’d heard them, even though in retrospect, of course she had. She’d been in her bedroom, and given that it was Shabbos, she wouldn’t have been watching TV or immersed in her phone. His stomach twisted with guilt.
