Page 9

The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, and the produce section gleamed with stacks of local apples and pears. She grabbed a couple of both. They would last without a refrigerator, and right now, she was all about ease.

She pushed her cart slowly down the aisle, still distracted after her conversation with Braeden. She knew her sister was just looking out for her. Braeden always joked that being six minutes older meant she was the protector out of the two of them. It had certainly been true as they grew up. Where Janae had been quieter and more prone to sitting by herself and coloring, Braeden had been trying to round up troops to start a child empire. If she had decided to go into business, Janae would have feared for anyone who got in her way. Even now, she knew a couple of the interns at the law firm walked a little faster when they heard her sister coming. It wasn’t that Braeden was mean. She just didn’t see the point in beating around the bush. Janae had tried to be like that a couple times, but she always ended up feeling bad when someone reacted poorly.

“Janae?”

She stopped abruptly and looked up to see Aiden standing in the same aisle. She blinked slowly, her eyes drifting down over his uncovered arms and the tight T-shirt hugging what was clearly a defined chest. She was used to seeing him in his loose mechanic’s uniform that was more like a sack than a real outfit. Now, he looked like a model for bad decisions, one who would have her clenching her legs and trying not to get caught.

“Aiden . . . you have a tattoo?”

He blinked back at her owlishly before looking down at his arms as if he were surprised by them too. How was it that he managed to look so damn cute while being six feet of stacked man? He had seemingly forgotten the box of oatmeal in his hand and tossed it in his cart before looking back up at her.

“Uh, yeah. I have a few. Some I got when I was probably too young to be sitting in the chair, and a few others since then. Vini says the anime ones are cool even if they do mark me as unbearably geek-ish.” He said that last part with a toothy smile. Janae wondered if it were possible for her heart to thump its way out of her chest.

His smile warmed her more than the new space heater she had sitting in her car ever could. She had bought the damn thing yesterday to use in the house, but then the fire department had released the findings that a faulty space heater had caused the apartment fire in the first place. She definitely wasn’t going to take any chances now.

“It’s good to see you again,” Aiden said, drawing her attention away from the ink swirling on his skin. “Are you doing alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said quickly, internally wincing at the sharp reply. “I moved into my house so . . . it’s going fine.”

Thankfully, Aiden’s smile didn’t wane. “That’s great. I’m glad you had somewhere to go. How are you liking it? Have you settled in okay?”

She shrugged. “As much as anyone can settle into a half-built igloo.” She tried for humor, and it landed as she’d intended. He chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest as it washed over her.

For a moment, it was easy to stand there talking about the drafty windows and how the contractors had paused work. It was easy to ignore how the fire had destroyed most of her belongings and art supplies, including some half-done pieces she wasn’t sure she could replicate. But then, Aiden’s smile tilted just a little, and Janae’s heart did a stutter beat that was wholly unnecessary. She noticed the way Aiden’s deep brown eyes crinkled at the edges, and how the bridge of his nose seemed to be dusted with barely-there freckles. She took in the way his hair curled just so over his forehead—and how had she missed the dimples in his cheeks every other time they’d talked?

That was when panic bloomed. She wasn’t ready to think about another man’s smile, how it was too damn perfect to not have been made without braces. Or how his laugh made her stomach clench in a way that had nothing to do with anxiety.

She forced her expression to remain airy as she figured out how to make her escape. “Anyway, I should . . . get going. I still have a long list of things to tackle today and I’m sure you want to get back to where you’re staying.”

Aiden’s expression faltered for just a moment, and she wondered if maybe she hadn’t kept her voice light enough to not seem rude. But before she could ask, he fixed a smile back on his face.

“Of course. You probably have a lot more work to do on your place. Let me know if you need another set of hands. I’d be happy to help out.” He tried to sound casual, but Janae could have sworn she heard a thread of hurt in his tone. She couldn’t get caught up. Not when she was still stinging from having been so utterly wrong about someone before.

“Thanks. See you around, Aiden,” she murmured before pushing her cart forward. She didn’t look back, but she could feel his gaze following her anyway.

Blessedly, she didn’t see him again as she grabbed the last few items on her list and made her way to the checkout counter. As she left the store, regret sat bitter on the back of her tongue, but she knew it was for the best. She had to stay focused on showing that she could build a life for herself on her own. Even if it meant ignoring the way that dimpled smile made her own lips curl up in a pleased grin.

A girls’ night was just what Janae needed to get back a little sense of normalcy. When Grace had suggested it, she’d jumped at the chance to have a meal that didn’t taste faintly of sawdust and sadness.

The smell of roasted garlic and butter hung heavy in Grace and Ava’s kitchen, curling around the edges of their conversation. Grace moved easily around the space, barefoot and wearing an oversized sweater as she hummed along to an old R&B song. Ava sat at the dining table beside Janae, sipping sweet tea and eyeing Grace with a fond smile on her face.

Janae couldn’t help but grin as she observed the two of them. They were adorable, especially when they thought no one else was watching. Grace often talked about how lucky she was to have Ava back in her life, but secretly Janae thought that Ava felt that way even more so. The way she looked at Grace like she hung the moon and created the stars was envy-inducing.

“You know,” Ava said as she turned her smile to Janae, “you are more than welcome to crash here if you need to. The extra bedroom is occupied, but the couch in the living room is surprisingly comfortable.”

Janae laughed, but the sound came out thinner than she meant it to. “I appreciate it, but I’ve already unpacked what little I managed to salvage from the old place. Besides, I don’t want to intrude on your lives when you already have an extra guest.”

Grace turned from the stove, a wooden spoon in her hand that she aimed at Janae. “You are not an intrusion, ma’am. Plus, our guest is a nurse who works nights. She’s usually gone when we’re home, as is.”

“Thank you for the offer,” Janae said as she wiped away the condensation on her glass. “But I can make it work. Besides, I’m lucky that I had a house to go to, and even though it’s partially covered in plastic, most of it is still livable. I’ll be fine.”

Ava’s laugh was gentle. “So, two bedrooms and a bathroom?”

“And don’t forget the hallway,” Janae joked, grinning to lighten the mood. “If I don’t mind hopping over paint cans, I mean. And the back porch is usable. If I put a hammock out there, it could be a third bedroom.”

The three of them laughed, and for a moment the warmth of it eased the knot that had been camping out in Janae’s stomach for the past week and a half since the fire. The tightness reminded her that the scent of smoke still clung to some of her clothes and that most of her favorite sketchbooks were gone, burned away to nothing but ash.

Grace set the spoon down and leaned against the counter. “Are the contractors still giving you the runaround?”