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Chapter 34
Remy
There had been a shift in Mikel since the night she’d left their daughter at Bently’s for her date with Aaron. She had spent most of the time distracted.
Being out with Aaron was always fun. He was a great guy and he could make her laugh. But she found herself wishing he was Mikel more than once and that wasn’t fair to Aaron.
She’d tried for a month, juggling a weekly date with Aaron and meeting up with Mikel for playdates with their daughter. Watching him with Lyra was always bittersweet. With so many moments missed, it made her cherish those they shared even more now.
Her whole body reacted like a furnace when he was around. Memories of intimate touches resurfaced with his presence. His gaze always lingered longer than necessary, and she tried to ignore the ache that throbbed in proximity to him. A drawer full of vibrators, courtesy of Jasmine, couldn’t give her the release she craved so much.
She wiped one of the tables clean in the empty café. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. An awareness prickled across her body, gooseflesh rising on her arms. Was she being watched? She glanced out at the busy street beyond the large window. She gasped. Gone were the cold blue eyes she’d seen only for a second. She searched desperately for confirmation that this was just her imagination and not the nightmare that had haunted her since the accident. Joe Canoby is in prison. You’re safe.
It was probably just someone that looked like him.After two minutes of scanning the street, she let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t him.
Remy flipped the sign to closed. The morning rush was done, and Aaron should be arriving soon. He was always on time. One thing she admired about him was his dependability.
The bells above the door rang as he walked in, all six feet of muscled perfection. He had been an athlete in college, and now, thanks to some government grants and his college earnings, he worked with underprivileged kids in the seedy part of the neighboring city as a philanthropist. He could easily be someone she imagined having a future with, or at least she used to think so. It was hard to see your future when your past was blocking your view. Especially when said past was wrapped in such a god-like package, with golden brown eyes and jet-black hair.
“Hey, beautiful. How’s your day going?” Aaron asked, holding his arms out to her, jarring her to the present.
“Hey, Aaron. Good.” She hugged him. “Yours?”
“Pretty good. I was assigned a new kid who just got kicked out of his house after coming out to his parents. So after this, I’m gonna go find him a room at the facility.”
She gestured towards the empty chair as she sat across from him and said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have the room?”
The building he had bought as a shelter for teens was always full—a symptom of the effect of drugs, broken homes, and closed-minded parents.
“Yeah, we just opened the new dorms.”
“Oh, Andre told me he almost had them finished.” She smiled, happy that more kids would get a safe place to stay. Mikel had been working with Andre on Aaron’s project. She’d expected Mikel’s jealousy to ruin everything, but that hadn’t happened. Maybe he was different. Or maybe he doesn’t care about you that way anymore.
Lies. His gaze lingered on her with more than friendly appreciation.
“You didn’t call me here to talk about the Hope Facility though,” Aaron said.
“I’m happy for you and those kids, but you’re right. I just don’t know where to start.” She sighed. A part of her was sad to end the relationship with Aaron. She really liked him, but it was more of a friendship than anything else.
“How about you just be blunt? Don’t bother to sugarcoat it. I think I have a pretty good idea what you’re gonna say anyways,” he said.
“You do?” she asked.
He nodded. “We’ve been seeing each other for three months and you have never tried to move beyond a casual, almost platonic relationship with me. At first I figured you just wanted to go slow, but then Andre’s business partner showed up and you pulled away. You stopped being present with me when we did spend time together.”
She bit her lip. “We have a history.”
“Dre told me he’s Lyra’s father,” he said.
“I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it. I swear I really wanted to try to make this work,” she said.
“I know. I guess we’re better as friends, as clichéd as that sounds.” He chuckled, clearly having expected this.
“I would like that.” She smiled.
He stood as the bells behind them signaling a customer. Aaron leaned and kissed her cheek before giving her a final nod. “I’ll see you around.”
He left as she slipped behind the counter to remind the patron they were closed. “What can I get for—?”
