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“Okay.”
Chapter 13
Aura
He wants to take me out to a business dinner? Holy crap. I decide to call Exie because I have no one else I can talk to about this. I feel excited, guilty, all at the same time.
“Yes, sis.”
“I have a problem.”
“What is it, and who do I need to get rid of?”
I laugh. “Nothing like that. I have enough trouble with your parents.”
“I’m sorry, Aura. My brother didn’t think things through. They have calmed down since you put everything he left in a trust but I know it has been hard and I don’t agree with them and if you need anything, you can always ask me. I will send you whatever you need.”
“I know you are stuck in a bad place. I appreciate the offer to help me, but it’s all good.”
“How is the Kalum situation going? Is he still hiding you away in the Hamptons?”
“I’m still here. I got a job,” I say.
“Fuck. Why?”
“Independence.”
“My brother would kill me if he knew I allowed this shit. Come on, Aura. You know he would be upset about you getting a job while taking care of Lane.”
“I like it, Exie, but that is not why I’m calling. Kalum asked me to go with him to dinner with some of his associates, and I agreed, but have no idea what to wear. He is sending his assistant to come and get me.”
She snorts. “It took him long enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Aura. You know how Kalum has felt about you since you left.”
I frown. “That was a long time ago, Exie. He is doing this for Lane for whatever reason.”
“Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that, but be careful, Aura. I don’t want you getting hurt or confused. Sometimes I think my brother is crazy in asking Kalum for his help, but I get it.”
“Get what?”
I don’t know what she means. I’m confused about the whole situation regarding Kalum and Lane. This whole crazy notion about Kalum watching out for me.
“It was his way of making sure you were taken care of by the man that would do anything to make sure nothing would ever happen to you or to my nephew. That would be Kalum. It is no secret Kalum was heartbroken when you left. He was not himself after that. He was closed off, and if anyone mentioned your name, he would lose his shit.”
“Why? He hated the fact that his parents brought me to his home and to his school.”
She lets out a puff of air through her mouth, making me pull the phone slightly away from my ear. “Do you remember when you were a little girl in school and you saw a little kid in elementary school that picked on a certain girl all the time? Pulled their hair, tripped them, and stuck gum in her hair when her back was turned so everyone would laugh at her? What would our mothers tell us when we would ask why?”
“Because he secretly liked the girl he was tormenting.”
“Exactly. Kalum liked you since the first day he laid eyes on you. I kind of think he fell for you.”
“That is not possible. He would have said something. He always told me he didn’t want a relationship and that he was a no-strings type of guy. That I wasn’t his type.”
“Look, I know it has been only a year since Lane died, but I want you to have an open mind here. You deserve to be happy and you need to find out what you want out of life and not be stuck behind someone else’s dreams. You stood by Lane and supported him with everything.”
