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She smiled, relieved to be discussing something other than the tragedies that had brought them together. “What about you? What are your dreams?”
Leaning back in his chair, he propped his feet up on the seat beside him. “Man, I haven’t thought about that in a long time. My dreams all died with Laurie and Riley.”
“I never met your wife, but something tells me she wouldn’t want that.”
The pinched expression on his face told her what she said was true. “I don’t even know how to dream anymore—how to look toward the future and know better things lay ahead.”
“Maybe it’s time to try.”
His heated gaze latched on her. “You might be right.”
She shifted in her chair, unsure of what to say. Days before, she wouldn’t have imagined her body would tremble with desire from just a simple look from Chet—that she’d long to hear him tell her that maybe he could have a future with her.
But was that what she really wanted? She’d been burned so recently that steam still flowed from the scars, and Chet had so much baggage that he hadn’t even begun to process. Could she be the person to help him with that when her own wounds were so fresh?
“Are you not hungry?” Chet nodded toward her food, a glint of amusement shining from his eyes, as if he could read all the questions running on a hamster wheel in her mind.
She shrugged. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Such as?”
Not wanting to expose all her thoughts, she opted for the most pressing issue. “Just wondering about tonight. I’m still scared to be alone, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“You can stay again.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded then slipped a bite of potatoes between his lips.
The tingling sensation in her core shot her to her feet. If she was going to stay another night on his couch, she needed to get a grip. “I need more stuff. I’m going to run over to my place and grab a few things.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
Shaking her head, she hurried toward the door. “I’m fine. You’re just a stone’s throw away. Finish your meal. I’ll be right back.”
The fresh air outside slammed against her. She wished she could take a few minutes to let it cool her, but standing on her porch alone while the purple sky quickly turned black exposed her in a way she’d never realized before. Fishing out her keys, she let herself into her apartment. She flipped on every light in the place as she made her way to her bedroom. Her toiletries were already in Chet’s bathroom. She just needed fresh pajamas and clothes to change into in the morning. Rifling through her drawers, she found clothes that were flattering but comfortable. An elbow-length tee that dipped down just a little at the neck and tight jeans.
A knock on her front door brought a smile to her lips. Leave it to Chet to insist to be by her side even when she’d sworn she’d be okay. She tossed her things in a tote bag she’d found in the closet, flipped the lights off in her room and hall as she stepped back into the living room.
The knock came again. More urgent this time. More demanding.
She rolled her eyes. Patience was not one of Chet’s strong suits. “I was gone for two minutes,” she teased, flinging open the door.
Aaron stood in the dim glow of the porch light. “Hi, honey. We need to talk.”
14
Amixture of fear and anger swirled through Mia like a tornado. She tightened her grip on the door handle but straightened her spine. No way she’d let Aaron see the reaction he caused. “How did you find me?”
He huffed out a laugh, a placating look drawing his dark brows together. “What? Were you hiding?”
The smugness in his voice pushed aside her fear and made the anger burn brighter. “No, that was you, remember? After you stole everything from me.”
He tilted his head to the side and pinched his full lips together. “I made a mistake, okay? Can I come in. We should talk.”
She stood her ground, not letting his piercing blue eyes or the casual way he hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans fool her. He had an agenda. A big, whooping agenda if he showed up at her door and admitted to making a mistake. “We have nothing to discuss.”
“Mia,” he said, drawing out her name like he was speaking to a child. “Please. We were good together. We made plans—had a future waiting for us. Don’t you want to see if we can get back what we had?”
