“I don’t understand why she wasn’t.” Aurora lifted her head to look at him. “Why wouldn’t you support your partner’s passion? You were actually doing something about our environmental crisis. And that is something we should all be working toward. Even if it wasn’t her passion, if you love someone, you support them as long as they’re not doing something illegal or harmful. Jeff was an artist. I have all sorts of hobbies, like sewing. Jeff and I never understood partners who got angry at each other for spending money on those kinds of things. If it’s something that makes them happy, why wouldn’t you support that?”
“I don’t know.” His eyes were thoughtful. “That’s a good point. But I think the problem was she’d never lived outside of her little bubble and didn’t want to move.”
“I get that. But she should have told you it was a deal-breaker.” Aurora had brought her knees down and had placed the computer on her lap. “At least then you would have gone into this venture with all the information. So, I don’t think it’s fair to call yourself a rotten husband without calling her a rotten wife. But I might be biased.”
“Why are you biased?” Duncan’s voice was a whisper.
“Because I remember …” She paused and rested her chin in her hand. “I remember a scared twelve-year-old that had his world turned upside down. I remember a teenager that laughed at my jokes and jumped in front of a barn for me. I don’t know this ‘rotten husband’ Duncan you’re describing. He doesn’t seem plausible.”
Duncan’s face went through various emotions on the screen. “You forgot lousy father,” he choked out. Tears were forming in his eyes.
“You can’t change the beginning, but you can change the ending.” She reminded him gently.
“I’ll try.”
“That’s all anyone can ask.”
“Roar, are you biased because … you love me?”
At his question, pain seized Aurora’s chest, and she pressed her hand against her heart as she bit back a sob.
“Are you okay?!”
“Sorry, I just … I don’t know why, but trying to say the word hurts.” She turned to the camera, her cheeks red. “Showing you was … easier.”
Realization dawned on his face as she wrung her hands.
“Duncan, I can’t have sex with someone I don’t have feelings for. I just can’t. So maybe knowing that can suffice until the word comes a little easier?” And a session or two with her therapist wouldn’t hurt, either.
“Yeah, I can work with that.” His voice was gentle as he reached for the laptop, then stopped himself. “God, it’s killing me not to be able to touch you right now.”
“Same here. You woke things up in me that I thought died with Jeff.” She gave him a tight smile. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything you want. I’m an open book.”
“How soon did you date after Mariah left?”
Duncan sat back and had to think. “The divorce was final about two years after I got here. I got my first apartment here about a year in. It was somewhere between getting the first apartment and the divorce being finalized. I was lonely, the business was going slower than I wanted, and I needed to let off some steam, so I ended up on that swiping app and had a few encounters. Then business picked up, and I didn’t have time for much. I tried relationships later but didn’t hit it off with anyone.”
Aurora nodded. “Do you have any sexual partners at all?” She gulped.
“No. Before this weekend, I had not had any action in quite some time.” He smiled when she relaxed. “Can I ask you something?”
“You may.”
“Would you consider moving to California?”
Aurora’s brows knit together, and her eyes shut tight for a moment. “I … I don’t know. I have a job here that needs me and a kid to think about. What kind of example would it set for her if I uprooted her before graduation just because I had one night of mind-blowing sex? Not to mention leaving my friends and my family here.” She bit back tears of frustration. “I have a lot of things to tie me to Riverton, Duncan. As much as I want to be with you, it’s not going to be that simple.”
Duncan paused. “‘Mind-blowing’, huh?”
Aurora snorted. “Yes, you heard that right. Did you hear anything else I said?”
“Yes, I did.” He chuckled. “What if you waited until she was in college?”
“She may need somewhere to live. Room and board are expensive. I don’t want her bogged down with student loans like I am if I can help it.”
“What if you found a job here? Or you could stay home.”
