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“No, but you are human. Do you really believe you get a say over such things? You can lie to me, and to yourself, all you want. But the proof is written all over your face. You, my dear girl, are in love.”
“Yiya...” I blow out a slow breath, not sure why I’m putting up such a fight.
I mean... Is she wrong?
“It’s just you and me here. You can tell me how you’re feeling, Kaia. No judgment. I know I’m not your mom, and that this is the kind of thing you wish you could still talk to her about, but look at me...” She gestures to her face. “I’m the next best thing.” She smiles past the sadness that swims in her eyes.
“It feels too fast,” I admit, settling back in my chair. “This whole thing. It just feels...”
“Too fast.” She nods. “I know it can seem like that when it hits you so unexpectedly that you feel like you can’t catch your breath. But that’s the beautiful thing about falling in love. It comes out of nowhere and turns your entire world upside down.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I say in lieu of responding to how accurately she seems to have just described how I’m feeling.
“Anything.”
“Was it hard for you, knowing that Nick and my mom were so close?”
“Maybe at first, but the way that man felt for me was never a question. It didn’t bother me that they were friends, but rather that he actually had feelings for your mom first.”
“He did?” I gape, having never heard this little tidbit of information before.
She nods slowly.
“When they first became friends, he was actually interested in being more, but your mother wasn’t interested in him that way and told him as such when he admitted to having feelings for her.”
“Wait, what?” I feel like I’ve just entered an alternate universe.
“Oh yeah, he pined after her for quite some time. But eventually, he accepted that they would never be more than friends, and that was that. We knew of each other, of course, but I didn’t exactlyknowhim. Your mother and I, while always very close, had different groups of friends growing up. Your mother was the popular one. The one everyone loved. Whereas I was more reserved, quieter, and tended to spend most days with my face in a book rather than socializing.”
“So what changed?”
“Well, your mom dragged me to a party at one of her friend’s houses one night. Nick was there. We got to talking. Hit it off almost instantly, and well, the rest is history.”
“But did you ever feel like you were second choice? Like he chose you because he couldn’t have her?” I ask apologetically.
“That was one of my fears in the beginning, but the more time we spent together, the more I realized it wasn’t my sister he wanted—that ship had long since sailed—it was me. Trust me when I say, your uncle practically kissed the ground I walked on. That man was so good to me. You could never argue with how much he loved me.”
“Oh, I remember.” I grin, thinking back on memories I haven’t thought of in years.
“Is there a reason you’re asking me about this?”
“I just recently found out that Remi used to have feelings for Aspen, his best friend, but she chose his brother instead.”
“And you’re worried that maybe he still loves her?”
“Yes. No... Honestly, I don’t know.” I let out a humorless laugh. “I just don’t want to be anyone’s second choice.”
“Kaia, people fall in and out of love every day. Just because he loved someone once, doesn’t automatically make you second choice. You know that, right?”
I think on her words for a long moment.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I lift my coffee cup to my lips, taking a tentative sip before lowering it back to the table.
“Has he given you any reason to believe that he still loves her?”
“No,” I answer honestly because, in truth, he hasn’t. Nothing about the way he treats Aspen makes me think he’s in love with her. It’s clear that he does love her, sure, but his affection feels more familial than anything.
“Then why do you seem so worried?”
