Chapter Eight
Thursday night rolled around, and Jill realized how much trouble she was in when she couldn’t get Aaron off her mind. When she wasn’t working—okay, and during some strategically timed bathroom breaks during work—she texted him, each message sending a new wave of butterflies through her. Currently, she was sprawled out on the couch in her fuzzy slippers, sweatpants, and one of Aaron’s shirts she’d snagged. She’d resorted to pulling the neck of the garment over her nose and keeping it there, just so she could inhale his scent. Yes, she was sick and pathetic, and she loved every minute of it.
Aaron: Can I see you tonight?
Jill: Can’t. Emily’s already asleep.
Aaron: You up for a kiss good night?
Jill: Aren’t you across town? That’s a long way just for a kiss.
Aaron: In your neck of the woods.
Jill tapped her thumb on her phone, debating. He’d never visited while Emily was home—which was one of her cardinal rules. But what would it hurt if she saw him for a few minutes? Emily had been sound asleep for over an hour.
Jill: Fine. One kiss.
Before she even had time to go to her bedroom to change, a light knock came from the front door.
She looked down at her ratty attire and frowned…and then sighed. Whatever, he could take it or leave it, but this was Jill, in all her fuzzy glory. Lord knew he’d seen her in worse. Heck, he saw her when she had zits and didn’t know how to properly apply foundation. Way before the age of YouTube and kids half her age already experts in contouring.
As soon as the door swung open, she planted her hands on her hips. “I thought you said you were in the neighborhood.”
“That might have been a bit generous. I was in your driveway.” He shrugged.
She looked up at those impossibly dark blue eyes, and her knees nearly buckled. “Do I even want to know why you were there?”
“This.” He prowled toward her, gaze raking over her like she was a pastry on display. He backed her up against the brick exterior of her porch, his hands caging her in as he leaned down and swept her mouth in a deep kiss. His hands fisted her hair as the weight of him, every hard muscle, pressed into her. He deepened the kiss, his tongue playfully prodding the seam of her lips. How did she go all day without this? She could stay out here all night, sharing his breath, feeling him harden against her. She bit back a gasp as warm hands snaked up her shirt.
“I needed this,” she said. God, she sounded like a drug addict, but every single cell in her body ached to be around him. She pulled away. “Wait. Before I forget, can you sign this marriage application? I mean, if your offer still stands.” She swallowed hard. This made it seem way more official than it sounded in her head when she agreed to a fake marriage in a dive-bar. Her name would be next to his on an official document proclaiming them as husband and wife. Cue the inner freak-out.
“I haven’t changed my mind.”
She nodded and slipped into the house, coming out moments later with the documents. He glanced at the papers in her hand, took the pen, and signed without saying anything. After placing them on the ground, he took her face in his hands, lightly stroking across her cheek with his thumb. “Now where was I?”
She tapped her finger to her lips. “Well, you said you came over for a good-night kiss, which you promptly delivered. I don’t know what comes next.”
His eyes searched hers, desperate, ravenous, raking over her body. “I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s driving me insane.” He leaned in for another kiss, and she put her finger to his lips, stopping him.
“I thought the deal was one kiss. Singular.” She fought to hide her smile.
“This is the same kiss. It’s just part of a series.” He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. “I call this ‘Kiss Part Two.’” And with that, his lips were on hers again, demanding.
She pulled away again. “I really should get back inside.” Given the chance, she’d do this all night. Just camp out on the porch swing, legs tangled, lips connected.
His grip slipped down to her ass. “Yeah. You should.” His molten gaze turned her insides to ashes. Poof. Gone.
As if sensing her previous thoughts, he guided her to the porch swing, pulling her over to straddle his lap. His mouth moved to her ear, catching the sensitive flesh between his teeth. “Why can’t I get enough of you?”
Good question. She wondered why she couldn’t get enough of him, either. This whole fake relationship thing was confusing the hell out of her because a flicker of something deep inside was saying: what you’re feeling is real. “Because of my impeccable charm and wit.” She ground over his cock, the rough fabric of his jeans rubbing through her thin pants and deliciously against her clit.
He pressed against her, his eyes squeezing shut as he let out a frustrated growl. “You’re making it really hard for me, Jill.”
“I can see that.” Her lips twitched.
Another long moment passed, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. The other hand still curved around the small of her back, tethering her to his lap. Not that she wanted to get up from this position. She could stay here all damn night. “I should let you go. This is already going too far.”
“I think we’ve already been there and done that twice. There isn’t much farther to go.”
His hand slid from her skin, and he placed it flat on the bench, like he didn’t trust himself to not touch her. “I’m leaving, Jill. Maybe not tomorrow or a month from now, but my life is in D.C. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. You deserve better than what I can offer you.”
“Did anyone ever tell you your bluntness really adds to the ambiance of the moment?” Sarcasm was all she had, the only weapon in her arsenal when he’d done everything to lower her shields. She swung her leg over his and sat next to him on the porch swing, her toes barely brushing the ground as they swung in a slow, steady rhythm. He was right. She couldn’t be getting attached to him, not when this whole situation was a business transaction. Once the time limit was up, he was out of here. He’d made that abundantly clear.
“Thanks for the good-night kiss.” She patted his knee and even managed a smile. Those past customer service jobs really did pay off. Only fifteen steps stood between her and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s to nurse her wounded pride.
“Sorry—I just don’t want to see anyone hurt. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”
She swiveled back to him. He sat there, lips pressed together in a thin line. Back when she was younger, more naive about men and dating, she would have tried to console him. She’d done it before—even, at one time, been the type of girl she promised herself she’d never be, the kind to comfort a man when he was the one in the wrong. Cheaters, liars…Aaron was neither of these, but if she didn’t guard her heart now, she’d wind up with the same end product as the rest of her relationships. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Nope, she was going to let it go. All they had to do was get married, get her inheritance, and then life could go back to normal. She bent to grab the documents, and allowed herself one last glance before she opened the door. “Good night.”
…
The next morning, Jill could barely keep her eyes open long enough to make sure her coffee was going from the pot to her mug. It was a weird feeling, wanting someone to the point where her clothes felt like they might literally melt off in his presence, and trying to not want him at the same time. Five cups of coffee in, and it still wasn’t cutting it. She highly doubted that the sixth would be the magical pick-me-up she desperately needed, but it was worth a shot, anyway.
Two sips into her drink, Emily bounded down the stairs, her curls bouncing along her shoulders. Even though it was only halfway through the school year, her uniform was already starting to show signs of wear. Two months, baby. Then I’ll buy you a uniform for every day of the week. Then she wouldn’t feel like such a failure for not being able to provide for her daughter all the time.
Emily looked around the living room and then rushed into the kitchen. “Mom, where are my field trip forms?”
Jill took another sip of coffee. Okay, even if she was severely under-caffeinated, it was time to officially handle whatever the day threw at her. And then her gaze hit the clock on the oven. Shit.
Just like that, the zen chi whatever that Aaron had created last night vanished as she realized she had ten minutes to feed her daughter, get out of her ratty pink bathrobe, and pack up for work.
Jill sprinted down the hall, yelling over her shoulder, “They’re up on the counter by my purse. Go and grab them and brush your teeth. We’re leaving in five.”
She was back in the kitchen, dressed, and ready to go with two minutes to spare. That, in itself, could be considered a mom-win for this morning.
The toast popped up, and she buttered it in record speed, put it in a Ziploc bag, and grabbed a to-go orange juice out of the fridge.
“Ready!” Emily shouted from the entryway, tugging on her Mary Janes.
“Here’s breakfast,” she said, tossing her daughter the toast and an apple. She grabbed a pack of crackers for herself, and before heading out the door, she scooped up the paperwork that she and Aaron had signed last night and stuffed it in her purse.
By some miracle, she arrived in the carpool lane ten minutes before school started. “Remember, Mimi is picking you up today. Be good for her, and I’ll see you after work.” She kissed her daughter good-bye, watching her tiny figure bounce across the walkway and into the school. Jill breathed a sigh of relief and rested her head on the steering wheel. Another successful morning in the books.
She took two seconds to collect her thoughts, to let the frazzled feeling of the morning fade before she headed to work. Even though Aaron had completely shut her down last night, her mind was still doing an instant replay of his hands and his lips, and how her body melted like one of those clocks in a Salvador Dali painting whenever he looked at her that way.
He has a real job and a real life to get back to. Get over it.
This shouldn’t have been a big deal. She hadn’t even thought twice about him before he came back to town. But try telling that to her freaking hormones. She’d been in vagina exile for so long, apparently she was letting herself get swept up too quickly. She wouldn’t be making that mistake again.
The car behind her honked, totally ruining the images of Aaron’s hands on her, and Jill fought the urge to flip off the Brighton parent as she threw her car into drive. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going.”
As she pulled into the radiology center to go to job number one, she allowed herself a moment to daydream. Soon she’d have enough money to take care of her and Emily. Heck, maybe she’d splurge and have a house-cleaner come once a week—although, she was way too embarrassed by the state of her house to have someone come in even to clean.
She checked her phone before heading in the building and saw she had a new text from Aaron. Her stupid pulse pounded in her ears as she opened the message.
Aaron: You file the papers today?
Jill: Going there as soon as I get off work.
Aaron: I’ll set up the appointment with the JOP. Should be able to squeeze us in as soon as we have the license.
Everything seemed to be okay, even if they’d left on awkward terms last night.
Within a week or two, she would be married.
Married.
A pang of guilt sliced through her at the thought of not telling her mother, but really, what was she supposed to say? Her mother would come completely unhinged about it, and honestly, Jill didn’t have any brain power to spare, between chauffeuring to dance practice, choir rehearsal, and actually remembering to do things like eat and sleep. She was running at maximum capacity. Any more and she’d have a system malfunction.
Aaron: Busy morning?
Jill: There is not enough coffee in the world right now.
She scooped up her purse and opened the car door, ready to dive into a full day of paperwork and scheduling. When Aaron didn’t text back, she shrugged it off and chalked it up to him being busy helping his dad.
By nine, she was ready to start a coffee transfusion. She was busy typing notes from a phone call when someone walked up to the reception desk. She glanced up and had to do a double take.
Aaron. In her place of work.
“What are you doing here?”
“You said you were caffeine deficient. I figured that was a state of national emergency.” He slid a large coffee cup across the counter.
“Bless you.” She gripped the drink in her hands and took a long pull. “What is this?”
“A dirty chai. My cousin swears by them.”
“Tell your cousin she has good taste, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to apologize for last night.” Aaron quickly glanced around the empty waiting room and continued. “I wasn’t being entirely truthful.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t do commitment. It scares the shit out of me.”
“Yeah, you made that loud and clear.”
“Let me finish.” His voice was soft, but held a ferocity in it that made every nerve in her body stand at attention.
Jill waved him to continue.
“What I didn’t say was that when I’m with you, it feels different. You make me feel…” He looked around the room, and she thought he might stop there, just turn tail and walk out. “Starved. I have never felt a need for someone like this before, and if I didn’t turn you off to the idea completely, I’d really like to spend time with you. To get to know you. Again.”
Dammit. He wasn’t supposed to go and say sweet things like that.
“Keep bringing me these dirty chai things, and I think we have a deal.”
A grin edged on his lips. “I think I can handle that. What are you doing tonight?”
“Dinner with my mother. She’ll be picking Emily up from school.”
She tapped her foot against her chair and debated. Being around Aaron had made her feel better than she had in years. Would it really hurt to have him around? She could ask him to dinner at her mother’s house one more time. At least there they’d be on neutral ground when it came to Emily. It’d be a good gauge for if she wanted to take things a bit further and, sometime in the future, invite him over to her house. “Do you want to join us for dinner? If you haven’t already been tortured over there enough.”
Aaron took a long sip from his coffee cup, expressionless. Maybe she’d overstepped. Not many people would voluntarily spend time with Deborah Michaels. Just as Jill was about to say, “ha ha, JK,” Aaron said, “Sure. I am pretty fond of the foyer.”
She was, too. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her lips. Aaron was stable. He was so sure of himself. Competent. She liked that about him. Even with his recent career switch, he had his shit together—whereas she felt the exact opposite, that her life was like a wheel of fortune and the glittering pieces were filled with options that didn’t get her any closer to feeling like she had a handle on life.
Work whizzed by in a blur. She spent most of the day calling patients and filing. People bustled in and out of the office, but her mind was somewhere else, on someone across town.
As soon as her shift ended, she drove over to the courthouse to file the marriage license paperwork that had been burning a hole in her purse all day. She took a deep breath and charged up the marble steps, swinging open the door with much more courage than she felt inside. Fake it till you make it, right?
She stared at the long line and let out a sigh. Guess everyone else had the same idea as she did, coming after work. Good thing her mother picked up Emily today. She took a number and sat down on the wooden bench then pulled out her phone and waited.
And waited.
Twenty minutes passed, and she still had ten numbers to go. She nervously tapped her shoe on the tile floor. She’d already scrolled through her Facebook and Twitter feeds three times and leveled up twice on her game.
She’d decided to open up her kindle app when someone finally called, “Number four-twenty-three.”
Jill shoved her phone in her purse and rushed toward the desk. At the rate she was going, she’d make it five minutes late to dinner. Normally, that would be no biggie, but she didn’t want Aaron to have to be over there all alone with her mother. She’d only wish that fate upon, like, two people, and one of them was the guy at the post office who charged her extra because she let it slip that she’d included a magnet with a book she sent her cousin.
“Oh, thanks. You guys are busy today. Is it always like this?” She was rambling. Did it possibly have to do with the fact that her name was about to be printed on a marriage certificate for a union that was a total sham? Possibly.
The woman ignored her babbling and stared down at her with a bored expression. “Paperwork?”
“Yes, hold on.” She grabbed the folded papers and slid them to the lady. Phew. No biggie. Just filing for her name and Aaron’s to be connected in one of the most intimate ways—at least on paper. “Nothing beats the day you apply for marriage, am I right?”
Seriously, she needed to shut up. There was nothing to be nervous about. This would be over within a couple short months. Like it never happened. She didn’t like how that last thought made her stomach dip, or how a good thing with a good man was being screwed up from the start because of a shitty situation.
The lady unfolded the papers and frowned, staring her down with narrowed eyes. “Is this some type of joke?”
“Uh, not last time I checked.” A lie maybe, but nope, her marriage with Aaron would be no joke. Was that even okay for a government worker to say?
“First, you’ll need your future spouse to come with you. Second, we don’t handle field trips to D.C.”
Dammit. Why did she think she could do this alone? Of course she needed Aaron to come with her. And as for her second comment… “What do you mean?” She snatched the papers, and tingles erupted down her spine. Shit. Emily’s field trip papers. Jill dug in her purse again and came up empty. No papers.
Crap.
She must have forgotten them at home. And her daughter would probably be sent home with another politely passive aggressive note asking to have the papers signed. Awesome. So much for rocking the parenting thing today.
“Have a nice day. Number four-twenty-four.”
Jill muttered under her breath. She’d have to come tomorrow—and wait another forty minutes.
Ten steps away from her car, she veered off path and wandered down the sidewalk and into the coffee shop across the street. Did they have a coffee-drinking hall of fame? If so, she was pretty sure her consumption today would earn her an honorary cup there, right next to Lorelei Gilmore. After grabbing her to-go cup, she made her way to her mother’s house. Hopefully she’d gotten Emily to start her homework, then they could enjoy the rest of the night together. It felt unfair to ask so much of a second grader, but Emily seemed to be enjoying it, so who was she to argue?
As soon as she walked in the house, Jill knew something was wrong. The air—it reeked of hostility and scheming. More so than normal. “Mama, I’m here. Emily?”
“In here,” her little girl’s voice squeaked from somewhere down the hall. In a flash, Aaron whipped by with Emily on his shoulders, her daughter giggling and tugging on his hair like he was a thoroughbred horse.
Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the two interact. He flopped her down on the couch in the sitting room, and Jill didn’t bother to tell him that her mother never let anyone sit on those couches. Let him mess up her throw pillows. It’d be worth it to see the vein throb in her forehead.
“I bet I can beat you to the kitchen, Aaron!” her daughter yelled, twenty decibels too loud for inside the house.
With that, she took off in a full sprint while Aaron pushed himself off the floor. Jill grabbed his hand as he passed her and pulled him in for a quick kiss.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said as she dropped her purse on the coat rack and removed her sweater.
“No problem. Emily and I have been keeping busy.”
An unexpected lump formed in her throat. “You’re very good with her.” And for a moment, she let herself believe that he was sticking around long enough to make this work. Everything just fit so well together.
“Where’s my Mama?”
Aaron cleared his throat and blinked. “You’ve missed a lot. She’s currently entertaining.”
“Oh?” Jeez. She looked at the time on her cell. Only ten minutes past when she was supposed to be here. What could have possibly happened? Then again, her mother had done plenty of damage in less time than that. “Who?”
“See for yourself.”
As she made her way to the living room, Emily bolted through the hallway and grabbed Aaron’s hand. “C’mon, Aaron. I want to show you the cookies I made with Mimi.”
“Sure thing, kid.” He gave Jill a quick nod and then disappeared into the kitchen while she continued her way to the living room.
Jill made it to the doorway and then stopped and stared at the person sitting across from her mother on the couch. Aaron’s father. In all the years she’d lived next door to Aaron, his father had come over here only a handful of times. He and his wife were always busy with work or fundraising for Dr. Collins’s charity for shelter animals.
“Mr. Collins. What a pleasure to see you.” They were good people, and it made her guilt-meter tick up another notch to lie to them and hide a shotgun wedding.
He beamed at her, and something in the expression made her profoundly uncomfortable, like he knew something she didn’t. “Good to see you. My, you’re prettier than ever. No wonder Aaron has been spending more time with you lately.”
“Yeah…” All she’d told her mother about was the time he took her to dinner, and she’d only divulged slivers of detail to get her off her back. There was no way her mother knew about Jill and Aaron. Was there?
Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise her if she paid her neighbor to keep tabs on her. Or secretly set up a security camera. Although, that last one was a stretch with the whole techno-unsavvy thing.
Aaron appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, nodding and motioning for her to join him in there. “Excuse me, please.”
She bee-lined for the kitchen and found Aaron pacing around the island. “What’s going on? Why is your dad here?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. He said that your mom invited him.”
“Okay. No need to panic.” Yes, there was totally need to panic. Deborah Michaels majored in S and M in college—scheming and manipulation. She was up to something. “Maybe my mom was just trying to be nice. Do the neighborly thing, since you have been helping out here.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t look convinced. Jill wasn’t, either.
“Did you file the paperwork?”
“No. I accidentally left it at home.” Right? She could picture where it should be on the kitchen counter. “And apparently you need to be present.”
“Let’s go next week, then. We have a few weeks until your birthday, and I can’t schedule with the justice of the peace unless the paperwork is in the system.”
She nodded. This all seemed so final—clinical, like a medical chart with checkboxes to tick off.
“Dinner’s ready.” Her mama walked into the kitchen, breaking the moment. “Will you go make sure everyone has something to drink, Jill?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Her mother was up to something, and Jill was going to find out just what.
Five minutes later, everyone was seated, her mother at the head of the table, Emily to Jill’s right, and Aaron and his father across from them. Surprisingly, it hadn’t been too awkward so far. Aaron’s dad was talking about his mom’s latest mishap with a French poodle that nearly bit off her finger during an exam.
“So, how is the business going, Mr. Collins?” Jill asked.
To be honest, it scared Aaron shitless to have his dad be invited to dinner here. His mother was working a late shift at the vet clinic, so she wasn’t able to make it, but something felt off. Deborah smiled at him a little too sharply. It reminded him of those episodes on Shark Week, when a tiger shark was just about to go in for the kill. Somehow, he didn’t think he was the shark in this situation.
“With Aaron’s help, it’s been going great. Nice to have him around for a little longer.” Aaron’s father grinned over at him, and he felt the beginnings of an emotion he no longer wanted to associate with. The reason he hadn’t come back in the first place, when he could have gotten out of the service years ago. Guilt. He’d be sticking around a few more weeks, and that was it. Jill didn’t need him, just his signature on a piece of paper.
“Yeah.”
Emily swirled her pasta onto her fork and said, “My mommy says you’re really good at fixing things.”
His lips twitched. He knew that Jill wanted to keep her daughter out of the equation, but in the past week he’d felt a shift in whatever it was between them. Emily was a good kid. One that deserved a good man in her life. “Is that so?”
“Yep. She was telling Aunt Kate how you fixed her radiator.”
“What was wrong with your radiator?” Jill’s mother chimed in.
He caught Jill’s smile faltering a fraction. She shook her head and said, “Nothing, Mama. Aaron just wanted to make sure everything was working.” He was impressed at how the lie slipped off her tongue easier than butter on toast.
Deborah speared a piece of food on her plate, narrowing her eyes at her daughter. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.” But she let it go, most likely because Aaron’s dad was there.
“These collard greens are divine, Deborah,” Aaron’s dad said, breaking the silence.
“Thank you, Edward.”
“Yes, they’re fantastic, ma’am,” Aaron said.
“This is just so nice, sitting down as a family.”
Say what? Was he imagining what he just heard? By the drop of Jill’s jaw, he wasn’t. “Yes. Very nice.” Aaron’s father gave Deborah a large smile.
What the hell was going on? Why was his father looking at her like…shit. Did he find out? There was no way Jill would have let anything slip.
“I’m done. Can I be excused?” Emily said, after taking two bites of her food.
Jill took her fork and scooted three more pieces of food closer to her daughter. “How about—”
“Let her go, Jillian.” Jill’s mom turned to Emily. “You can play in the den, sugar snap.”
“Thanks, Mimi.” And then Jill’s daughter was out in blur of blonde curls.
“Gage still coming this weekend?” Jill asked.
Aaron hadn’t seen Gage in years. They’d only been friends in passing in high school, but he was a nice enough guy.
“So he says. He’s out in California visiting that girlfriend of his. Said he’d be back late Saturday on the red-eye.”
“Great,” Jill muttered.
Her mother shot her a look, but Jill kept stuffing collard greens into her mouth. Aaron held back a chuckle. This was so fucking awkward.
Aaron’s dad started back in. “It’s just so nice to see the two of you together again. I knew you were meant for each other.”
Jill cut a glance to Aaron again. This was getting weird. Aaron was under the assumption that his dad had been invited to dinner as a thank-you and a neighborly thing. This felt more like an interrogation. Hell, he’d been in on interrogations, and they weren’t this tense.
“Mr. Collins, I’m sorry, but what are you talking about?” Jill asked. She mashed her lips together and lightly scraped the tines of her fork across a collard green. Aaron wanted to shove the plates to the floor and take her right there on the table when she did that with her mouth.
“Your mama called me with the good news. I just wish I’d heard it from Aaron first.”
“What news?” Aaron asked. His stomach dropped.
Comments about “family.” Good news. Yeah, he knew where this was headed, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
His father’s brows pulled together. “The wedding of course. See, you don’t stay with us while you’re home visiting, and now your mother and I are in the dark about your love life.”
Aaron choked on a piece of chicken. He reached for his water and was sure he hadn’t heard his dad right. No one knew about this except for him and Jill.
“I—what?” She shot a look at Aaron. He shrugged. Yeah, don’t look at me. Hell if he knew what was going on.
“When were you going to tell us?” Jill’s mom asked.
“About…”
“Don’t play coy with me. I saw the paperwork in Emily’s backpack. I mean, honestly, when were you going to tell us about the engagement? We would have thrown you a party. I didn’t even know you were seeing each other.”
Jill turned a shade of purple that Aaron was pretty sure meant she’d pass out in the next few seconds. He didn’t want her to take the heat for this. She had enough on her plate. He cleared his throat and took one for the team. “It was because of me. I wanted the timing to be right. I proposed to your daughter and wanted to find the perfect time to tell everyone.”
Deborah looked him up and down, and he could physically feel her calculating the pros and cons. “Are you embarrassed to be seeing my daughter?”
“If anything, it’s the other way around,” he joked, trying to keep the mood light.
“And you plan to treat her properly. And Emily.” There was a silent promise in there that if Aaron hurt either of them, the deepest pit of hell would seem like a tropical vacation compared to what she’d do to him.
He’d do it to himself if he ever hurt the two of them. “Always.” The conviction in his voice surprised him.
In fact, everyone at the table looked at him with wide eyes. He couldn’t even look at Jill because he was afraid that one word said too much. That he was starting to fall, and the endgame scared the shit out of him.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, then Deborah was the first one to break the silence. She clapped her hands together and said, “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’m just so happy you found someone, Jill. And you couldn’t have found a better man. Someone who’s taking over his daddy’s business. Good stability in this one.”
Aaron swallowed hard. He wouldn’t be taking over anything. The hope in his father’s eyes as Jill’s mother said that was another kick to the gut.
His mind spun as Jill’s mom rattled off people she was going to call, while his dad nodded along.
Aaron couldn’t stand one more damn minute sitting at that table. This had gone too far. “Please excuse me,” he said while moving around the table. A minute later, he was in the kitchen, and Jill had joined him.
He’d rounded the kitchen island for the twelfth time when he finally said, “What the fuck was that?”
Jill gripped the counter and shut her eyes, expelling a loud breath from her nose. “I don’t know. Emily must have grabbed the forms instead of her field trip slip today. I’m sorry.”
Shit. His mother would go ballistic. How was he going to explain to his dad this was all a sham? This was so much easier when everything was a damn secret.
“Do you want me to go back out there and tell them it’s a lie?”
“No.” He’d do right by her. Even if his parents would be disappointed that the marriage would be over before they even had time to celebrate anything. He’d make it up to them. Somehow.
For the first time since coming up with this plan, he felt like the bottom had been ripped out from underneath him. What the hell came next?