Chapter Ten
“Jill!”
Jill bolted upright in bed and bit back the scream forming in her throat when she spotted her mother sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of her room.
“Mom.” She pulled the covers over herself. “What the hell are you doing in my room?” She glanced at the clock. “At six-forty in the morning.”
“Honestly, Jill, it’s a wonder Aaron wants to marry you with that mouth of yours. And the snoring. You really should get that checked out. They do say it’s the root of over half of divorces nationwide.”
Jill wrinkled her nose. She did not snore. Did she? “Mama. Again, what are you doing in my room?”
“I’m ready to go flower shopping with you. You agreed to it yesterday.” She gave Jill a knowing look. Of course Jill hadn’t bothered to ask what time they were going, because normal people didn’t wake up and look fully put-together before the clock hit seven. “We have less than a week, and all you’ve picked out is a cake. It was lucky that Reverend Morgan had time to marry you the day before your birthday. He’s booked solid, but I had him bump someone else’s wedding to later that evening.”
“Mom!”
“I can’t help it if I’m very persuasive.”
More like scary as hell. But she kept that comment to herself. “None of the florists are open this early.”
“They will be by the time we pick up Aaron. Gage is flying into town tonight, too, so I want to make sure everything is squared away before I make him a few treats.”
“You said Aaron is coming with us?”
“Of course. I took the liberty of calling him. We’re family now. I wish you would have told us sooner that you two were dating.”
The poor guy. Seriously, he’d had no idea what he was getting into when he proposed this crazy idea. “Mama.” She grabbed her phone and shook it at her mother. “There is a six preceding all other numbers on my alarm clock.”
Her mother strode over to the bed and pulled the covers off Jill. “Which means we only have a few more minutes until we need to pick up Aaron. Emily is already up and ready to be dropped off at Kate’s house.”
“Wait—” How was she supposed to think this early? Before her coffee? Words barely made sense at this point.
Her mother patted the end of the bed. “See you outside.”
She knocked her head back into her pillow. Dammit, her mother was good.
Jill’s head spun as she sat on the wooden bench in the flower shop. Too many flowers. Which wasn’t surprising since, well, it was a flower shop.
“What do you think, Jill?” Aaron gave a tight smile. She didn’t know how he did it—managed to be a saint while doing possibly the most boring thing in the world. When she was little, she, Mia, and Kate would dress up in Kate’s mother’s dresses and pretend they were queens from far-away lands, or pop star divas, or really anything that required a dress and a badass hairdo. But one thing Jill never fantasized about was the white dress, fairytale wedding. There was no brave knight that saved her from a high tower. Jill wanted to find her own key to unlock the tower of gloom and doom. She was her own savior.
And yet, here she was, staring at the one man who time and time again had been there for her. The one to pick her back up when she was at her worst. Fooling her entire family in order to attain a large sum of money probably qualified as rock bottom, and yet he was still here, holding her hand. When she wasn’t strong enough to save herself, he was there to pick up the pieces. And now she’d just subjected him into the fourth circle of hell by coming with her mother to pick out flowers. God, she was a horrible friend. Lover. Whatever this was.
“I like the calla lilies,” she told her mother.
“You can’t have those. Those are funeral flowers.”
“It’s fitting.” Death of my independence. The thought slammed into her so hard that it nearly stole her breath. She’d spent all these years raising her daughter, and she was forced into the one thing she didn’t believe in because of money. How pathetic.
She couldn’t even look her mother in the face. She’d lied to her, made her believe this whole charade. She’d be crushed when she found out.
“Will you excuse me for a minute?” She pushed back from the table, trying to be as polite as possible to the florist, who patiently flipped through pages with her mother.
She made her way out to the parking lot. Jill didn’t smoke, but the events of this week could definitely cause her to start. She knocked her head back against the red brick exterior of the shop and sucked in a lungful of cool, humid air. March fifteenth. Six days from now.
“Getting cold feet on me?” Aaron joined her, leaning his shoulders against the brick.
“Our families know. This was not how it was supposed to happen.” One slip up and this whole charade was a disaster. And now she was picking out flowers she didn’t even want.
“Yep.” He took her hand in his and lightly massaged her palm with his thumb.
“What am I supposed to tell my daughter? She’s going to be so confused.” Lying to her mother on the phone was one thing, but what happened when Emily asked questions? And with that child, the questions would come in droves. Ones Jill didn’t know how to answer. “I’m pretty sure the PTA will be up my ass about this, too.”
“Why?”
“They’re up my ass about everything. I’m that mom.”
He chuckled. “If you want, I can fend them off.”
“Even a superhero like you are no match for PTA moms.”
“I think there’s some shark repellant in my Batmobile.”
A smile ticked at her lips. “Noted. You might need more than one canister.”
He squeezed her hand. “If you don’t want to go through with it, you don’t have to. This is your rodeo, Jill.”
“More like my circus, and my monkeys are out of control.”
“Still, you say the word and it’s off. My offer still stands if you’d rather do a loan. We’ll handle it together. “
Together. That word tantalized her. Aaron made her feel like she could conquer anything with him, any obstacle, without the added bonus of wanting to curl up in a fetal position and rock in a corner. She had to admit, she did like the idea of having him around, having someone else to depend on.
“You’re too nice to me.”
“I can be even nicer if we sneak off to my truck real quick.”
Such an enticing offer. She’d give anything to get lost in his touch for a few minutes. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I could get you off before they even notice you’re gone too long.” A warm hand slid up the back of her shirt, thick callouses grazing roughly against her skin. His other hand cupped her ass, and she let out a groan. God, she wanted this so bad. And she was going to hell because her mother was waiting in there to pick out flowers for her fake wedding.
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a horrible listener?”
“I’m listening to the fact that you’re using me as your own personal climbing wall. The heat is pouring off of you, especially here.” His hand slid down her waist, his thumb slowly gliding over her clit. “Wouldn’t even have to take your clothes off. Just slip my hands underneath your panties…” His index finger traced over the button of her jeans and dipped inside. “Let me take care of you. Come to the truck.”
Yes. Make like the Nike slogan and Just Do It.
Her conscience kicked in full force, reminding her that she was no longer her hormone-crazed teen self. She was better than this. She could think straight for two seconds. Maybe. “Aaron. We need to get back inside. My mother.” She pulled away, even though her body screamed, Get in the truck, girl!
“You’re right. Sorry. Got carried away.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, his wild gaze not helping the ache between her thighs. Was she ever going to get enough of him?
The answer was simple.
No.
...
“How you holding up, son?”
Aaron stopped sanding the headboard he’d been working on and immediately regretted that decision. “Managing.” Stressed out of his goddamn mind. Between the twelve-hour shift he pulled to make sure the renovations got done at the Wilkin’s house, and the flower shop fiasco this morning, he was ready to pass out while standing up.
“I want to thank you for helping out the past couple of months.”
“No problem.” He’d do anything for his dad, and had enough money stacked up that he at least had the luxury of being able to help.
“I got an offer on the business.”
His head shot up. “Yeah?” That was news to him. He hadn’t even known his father was actively seeking a buyer.
“You’ve made it clear you have no interest in the company. Right?” His father’s watchful gaze considered Aaron.
Where he usually felt guilt, he only felt a deep breath of relief knowing someone was going to take this business off his father’s hands. “No.” Even after two months of it, this type of work wasn’t for him.
“Then there’s no use in keeping it in the family. I’ve had a couple offers, and I’ll close it out in the next week or so.”
“Good.” A weight lifted off his chest. One less thing on his plate. Not that he’d ever admit it to his dad, but he was worried the business was going to be forced on him once his dad’s arthritis took a turn for the worse.
“So, this thing with Jill…” He set a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
“Dad, I don’t have time to explain everything.” He didn’t even know how to explain it if he tried. “It’s all moving fast.”
“Do you love her?”
He thumbed a screw between his fingers and nodded. “I do.” He’d like to say the words came as a revelation, but he’d be kidding himself. Jill had always been different. He’d never felt the way he did around her with anyone else. It might have taken her needing his help to finally realize it, but the foundation of loving her had been laid a long time ago. From the first day he met her, he’d been under her spell. In high school, he might have shaken it off as just liking her more than his other friends, but this was the real deal, and a fucking problem. He had a job waiting for him in D.C., and here he was, falling harder than a tank down a cliff.
“That’s good. It’ll make up for the hell her mother’s going to give you for the rest of your life.”
“Yeah.” He knew for damn sure Jill’s mother was going to decapitate him once she found out this was all fake. He’d take another tour in Iraq over this.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out to find a text from Jill.
Jill: Dinner tonight? I want to make up for what a disaster today was.
Aaron: Sounds good.
Jill: Hope you like enchiladas! Oh, and Emily says to tell you that she got a new Shopkin yesterday and she can’t wait to show you.
One hell of a sappy grin spread across his face.
Later that night, Aaron had just finished playing his third round of tea party with Emily when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He went to press the ignore button, but saw it was Sam.
“I’ll be right back, kiddo.”
Aaron motioned for Jill to give him a minute and went into the back bedroom to take the call in privacy.
“Hey, man. How’s it going down there?”
“It’s going.” He knew what a dick move it was to keep postponing starting at the new job. With his dad’s company sold, that left him free and clear to board the next plane to D.C. and move on with his life. And yet, that was the last thing he wanted to do. How could a month derail his plans entirely?
“Hey, things are crazy over here. We’re short-handed since one of our guys quit without notice. Any chance you’re able to swing over to D.C. anytime soon?”
“Soon. It’s been a shit-show, but everything’s settling down, and I think it’s a good time to move forward.”
“You still want the job, right?”
Emily’s voice squeaked from somewhere in the living room, and Aaron’s chest tightened. He liked the kid. A lot. He liked her mother even more. It’d been nice these past couple of weeks, spending time with the both of them. It should scare him how easily he could imagine being a part of their life. But it didn’t.
He shook off that thought.
“When do you need me back there?”
“Next week. Friday at the latest, if possible. We could really use your help, man.”
“Next Friday…” He trailed off. The day of the wedding.
“Does that not work? Just let me know, and we’ll work something out.”
He couldn’t bail on Jill, that much was certain. Maybe he could fly out right after the ceremony. It’d be short, and it was in the morning.
“I’ll have to check my schedule, and I’ll get back to you.” He hated how wishy-washy he sounded, but he wasn’t one to break promises. And he’d made promises to two people now and was determined to keep both of them.
How could he leave her now that he finally got her? Everything about her called to him on a level he never knew existed before.
“’Kay, man. See you soon.”
As he hung up, Aaron’s stomach dipped. That phone call didn’t feel right at all. This new job didn’t feel right, either. As soon as he cracked the door back open, Jill was walking down the hall, a frown fixed to her face.
“Everything all right?” he asked. She’d been fine before he took the call.
“Just a headache,” she said quietly. Too quietly. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that something was wrong, but he didn’t want to push her on it. “If it’s all right with you, I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“Do you need anything? Can I get you some aspirin?”
She waved off his suggestion, and he hated that he couldn’t help her in some way. “I’m good, thanks.”
He may have been blind to a lot of things, but he knew when he wasn’t wanted or needed. “Sure, no problem. I’ll get out of your hair.”
He made his way out of the den where Emily was sitting on the floor with her tea set.
She looked up at him with those big eyes, and his heart squeezed. “Want to finish playing tea party with me, Aaron?”
“I’d love to kiddo, but I need to go. Your mom’s not feeling well, so make sure to be extra nice to her, okay?” He ruffled those blonde curls and bit back the sudden sadness that he wouldn’t get to see Jill’s awesome kid anymore if he moved to D.C.
She frowned. “But you just got here.”
Another person he was letting down. He was on a roll tonight. “I know. Sorry. We’ll play tea party another time, okay?” She gave a gap-toothed smile that sucker punched him in the gut.
He managed to drag himself into his truck and rested his head on the steering wheel.
Jill slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to get herself to think straight for a moment. Aaron had been looking forward to starting his new job for months. When she walked past her bedroom door, she hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. His new job was supposed to start next week. This should have been a no-brainer, a slam dunk. A husband on paper, who she didn’t have to see, and in return got her inheritance? It sounded good in theory. Except for one little snafu. The guy was perfect—for her. And dammit, she wanted him here with her. With them. As a family.
She couldn’t marry him—not when she loved him. That was the most backward way of thinking ever. But he’d be leaving, and this would shatter her to the point where she didn’t think she could recover. She hadn’t felt this helpless in years, not since she saw the pink stripe on the pregnancy test and realized she’d be doing this all alone. But that was how she worked. She’d always been the independent one, the one who wouldn’t be held back by anything. But she’d held herself back from the start with Aaron because what they had wasn’t real. And she desperately wished it could be, in some alternate reality. Tears rolled down her face as she cursed Aaron under her breath. Dammit, why did he have to be so amazing?
Soft footsteps plodded along the carpet outside her room. “Mommy, are you okay?” Emily sat down next to Jill and put her head in her lap.
Jill stroked her daughter’s hair. “Yeah, sweetie, just sitting a minute.” She’d pick herself back up. It’s what she did best.
“On the floor?”
Yeah, that one was a bit tougher to explain.
Emily turned to look at Jill and asked, “Did you get in a fight with Aaron?”
Her hand stilled in Emily’s hair. “Why would you say that?”
“Because he looked real sad when he left, and you look sad, too.”
Her throat tightened, and she scrunched her nose, trying to will away the tears threatening to spill loose from her eyes. Later. She’d allow herself a few minutes to cry later. “No, honey. I don’t know why he was sad, but I just have a headache.”
“Oh.” She dragged her toe on the carpet, making a diamond shape. “I like him. He’s real nice. And he plays tea party with me.”
“I know, sweetie. But I don’t think he’ll be coming around much anymore.”
Her expression fell, and Jill had the distinct feeling she was going to throw up. “Oh.”
This was exactly why she didn’t bring men around. Emily had gotten attached, and now Aaron was going to be gone. He’d move to D.C., and they’d be here, and this just couldn’t possibly work. It wasn’t fair to either of them to go through with this charade. She knew what she needed to do, and she’d get it over with, rip it off like a Band-Aid.
“But we made him brownies.”
“We’ll eat them. And you can bring the rest to school. I’m sure your friends will love them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Mom. You know they don’t allow processed food.”
Well, hell. When did Emily become so smart? Every time she felt like she finally had a handle on her, something pulled her back under the water and she felt like she was drowning again.
“Yes, right. Well, I guess we’ll just have to do a movie marathon and not let them go to waste.” She winked at her daughter.
Emily squealed and dashed for the kitchen. “Can we watch Beauty and the Beast again?”
“Yep. I’ll be right in there. You get the movie started.” Jill wrapped her arms around her sides and gave herself a moment to let the tears spill. She’d do this. For the both of them.