Aiden decided not to change out of his uniform before walking to the diner. The entire trek, although it wasn’t even a block away from the precinct, felt like a million miles.
He was a jackass. A jerk. Hell, call him a loser.
What kind of man sleeps with a woman and doesn’t call her the next day? Well, he figured quite a few might do that. But him? Unforgivable. Especially the magic they created together.
When he woke up to see her sleeping, so peaceful, so delicate and beautiful, it scared the living daylights out of him. He scrambled out of the bed so fast he was afraid he woke her up. When he realized his jerky movements did nothing but make her shift a little in her sleep, he hightailed it out of her house so fast, he didn’t stop to think about what he was doing. When he reached his house, he knew he reacted wrong. His nerves overshadowed his strength to go back there. Or to even call her.
The terror to approach her as he stood outside the diner door was still swamping his veins. He had no idea what to say. Should he just blurt out he loved her? Apologize? Ask her to go out to dinner with him? Perhaps all three would be best. If he even managed to get a simple hello out of his mouth, he’d call it a success.
He knew he didn’t deserve her forgiveness. Keeping his distance from her, without calling or visiting her in the diner, was the wrong move. It was insensitive and unworthy of forgiveness, regardless of his reasons.
He yanked the door open and stepped inside. His eyes glided to her immediately at the opposite end of the diner helping a couple who were most likely passing through town since he didn’t recognize them. As a cop, he could identify the residents of Mulberry easily, but it was a small town. Almost everyone knew each other.
As he took a seat at the counter to wait for her, not taking his eyes off her, he hated the fact the town was so damn small. That everyone knew everyone. People loved to get in each other’s business. He couldn’t deny that had been one of the reasons he took so long to break the engagement. He knew the high standard most of the town held him in. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone. In the town’s eyes, him and Cynthia were the perfect couple. He didn’t want to break that illusion and have people look at him with disgust for breaking that perfection.
Now, they just looked at him with pity. Poor Aiden who lost his fiancé so tragically.
If they only knew why she was driving in the pouring rain that night. Because of him. Because of what he did. Because of what he said.
His words had been hurtful, but truthful. He let all his pain and suffering out that night. The way he disliked her dictating every aspect of their life. Even him on his daily functions, like taking a damn piss. She didn’t find that funny when he said those exact words. But it was true. That’s how he felt. That she even controlled him in such a simple manner.
It was as if she heard nothing he said. She tried to twist the conversation about her. How the town would look at her. How her father had plans for her and he just needed to follow along. He hadn’t realized until that very moment how truly self-absorbed she could be. How selfish.
But he wouldn’t say he never loved her. Because he did. He fell in love with the fun-loving, go-getting teenager in high school. All through college, he thought his life was going perfectly and heading for great things with a great woman by his side. As soon as he hurt his knee, it all started to fall apart. Cynthia started to grow a mean streak. She started controlling every little aspect of his life.
The one thing she could never control about him was his job. He loved being a cop. She always tried to get him to work for her father, who worked for the city council. Politics and him. No, thanks.
They should’ve been married long before her accident. He stretched their engagement out as long as he could, and while she would argue with him, she could never get him to budge. He always found some excuse to prolong picking a wedding date. She should’ve known from that he didn’t want to commit to her. Hell, he should’ve known to end it sooner than he did.
A large cup slapped to the counter, sloshing a bit of coffee over the rim and almost on his hand. He looked up to see Theresa’s glowing green eyes shimmering with anger and what he could only interpret as pain. So much. All because of him and his jackass behavior.
“Thank you. I—”
“If that’s all, I’m really busy today.”
He tossed his head both ways, noting how empty the diner was besides the couple she had been helping when he walked in. “Doesn’t look too bad.”
“What do you want? Food? An order to-go?”
“I want to talk.”
Her eyes started to sparkle with what he could only assume as tears starting to form. Shit. He didn’t want to see her cry. He stood up. She backed away from the counter, hitting the other counter behind her.
“Please leave. I have nothing to say to you.”
“Theresa, I—”
“I’m not a conquest. I’m not a play toy. I’m not a woman that enjoys mind games. Maybe I was asking too much for a simple phone call…but you didn’t even come in for your normal cup of coffee. That told me enough. I would like you to leave. I have nothing more to say to you.”
He pressed his lips into a hard line, wanting to shout out he loved her. That he was sorry. That he was a world-class jackass. He wouldn’t dispute that. But by the tears gathering in strength in the corner of her eyes, he also knew he was a world-class coward. Witnessing her tears would break him.
Grabbing his wallet, he tossed money on the counter, not even glancing how much, and snatched the coffee cup. He turned and started to walk away as he took a sip of coffee. He couldn’t hide the wince, although she couldn’t see his face, at the horrible taste.
What the hell? Chief Duncan said she made a delicious pot of coffee today. For the first time ever.
You’re an idiot. That was his strange way to force him to see Theresa. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist to see how great the coffee tasted. If anything, this had to be the worst pot of coffee she ever made. Because of him, no doubt.
He pushed open the door and paused, turning toward her. She still stood in the same spot watching him.
“You’re still helping me decorate tomorrow, right?” His heart pounded like mad as he waited for her answer.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. Goodbye, Officer Crowl.”
She effectively just erected the highest, most impenetrable wall she could between them. He hated hearing her call him that.
How did he fix this?
He didn’t want to lose her.
❄
Theresa forced herself to walk away from the fridge. Grabbing the half-empty wine box wouldn’t help her. In any way. It didn’t take long for her to see her brother standing before her. Or her father. If she took that wine box out, she’d start to turn into them and she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t take the ache in her heart and drown it with alcohol. No. That would just make things worse, not better.
She walked into her dark living room, except for the brightly lit Christmas tree, and slumped down onto the couch.
Seeing his handsome face again today had been torture. Four days. It took him four days to finally come see her.
She didn’t know what he wanted to say. An apology, most likely. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want anything from him anymore.
She had no idea it was possible to fall in love so quickly. If anyone would’ve asked her a week ago if it were possible, she would’ve laughed in their faces and said no way. Now, she would say yes.
It was possible.
It happened to her.
And just as quickly, he broke her heart.
Her eyes turned to her tree, trying to soak up some of its happiness into her soul.
Was she overreacting? Was she being too harsh? Maybe his behavior was normal. Did he have to call the next day? Did he have to seek her out? What did she know? She didn’t date that often.
But that night…
She couldn’t even describe it properly. It had been magical and special and he ruined that feeling so easily. A simple visit to the diner to grab his usual cup of coffee would’ve helped to ease her worries. When he didn’t show up that Monday, as he should’ve, she knew. That night didn’t mean anything to him. Not like it did to her.
He had the audacity to ask if she would still help decorate tomorrow. After the way he treated her, not going to happen.
The silence that filled the room started to grate on her nerves, but she was too lazy to get up and find her phone. She couldn’t even recall where she left it. The kitchen, perhaps. Maybe her bedroom. It didn’t matter. No one would be calling her. No one rarely did.
So she continued to sit in the dark, staring at the Christmas tree, almost dreading the holiday now. She had been looking forward to Christmas day and spending it with Aiden. And now…
Now it’d be a lonely Christmas.
She glanced at her empty coffee table.
Just this morning she put all of her jewelry supplies away. She completed all of her orders. In record time, too. She hated thinking about Aiden, so to avoid that she had immersed herself in all the orders she received since Lynn first asked her to make three necklaces.
She made fifteen necklaces. Fifteen!
She still couldn’t believe how many people wanted her to make them one. Her idea from the other night didn’t seem so farfetched anymore. When she ran it by Bonzo, he agreed. She would now start to display a few pieces of jewelry in the café. People could buy a piece right on the spot, or place an order where they could pick it up at a later date. It was crazy and exhilarating and terrifying all at once. The pleasure of feeling wanted like that, well, she couldn’t describe how much it made her want to cry with tears of happiness.
Now if only she could be wanted in an entirely different way.
She stood up. Maybe she’d take a nice, hot relaxing bath. She needed to stop thinking about Aiden.
She grabbed a romance novel she’d been meaning to read for a long time, filled the tub up, and caved in to one glass of wine.
Sliding into the hot tub with her book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, she sighed.
Was Aiden thinking about her as much as she kept thinking about him?
Probably not.
Well, he did ask her if she was still going to help him with the decorations tomorrow. Like a coward, she said no. Honestly, she didn’t want to help to begin with. She was never invited to the dumb party.
But it would’ve been enjoyable to do because she would’ve been with Aiden. Not anymore. Not after the way he treated her.
She couldn’t risk him breaking her heart even more.
So, no. She wouldn’t be helping him tomorrow with the decorations.
❄
Aiden raised the bottle to his lips and took a small sip.
A hand slapped his back hard. “Dude, how long have you been here?”
He shrugged as Bentley took a seat next to him at the bar. “An hour or two.”
“And how many have you had?”
“Just this one.”
Bentley raised a brow as he glanced at the beer bottle in his hand. “You’ve been here almost two hours and you’re still on your first beer? Seriously?” His voice dropped low. “What’s going on? You’ve been weird these last few days.”
He fiddled with the label on the bottle trying to find the right words to explain what the hell was going through his head. Hell, he’d been sitting here for the last two hours trying to sift through the shit going on his head and he still didn’t have a clear picture of what to do.
He felt like he officially lost Theresa. The sad part was he didn’t even have her for that long. A day. That’s the most he could claim. It made him want to cry. And he didn’t even cry when Cynthia died. He was positive some people thought that was odd, especially at the funeral when no tears touched his eyes. He figured most people thought he was in shock. The truth was, shock didn’t even begin to cover what he felt that day, or the days after.
“Aiden? Are you okay?”
He caught Bentley’s concerned look and glanced away. “I feel like my life is falling apart and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Does this have anything to do with Cynthia…or Theresa?”
He lifted the bottle to his lips again and took another small sip, the warm, almost nasty taste of the beer slid down his throat. “Both, I guess. More so Theresa.” He pushed the bottle that he couldn’t quite finish away from him. “I screwed up, Bentley. I screwed up big time with her.”
“I’m sure you can fix it. Most things with women can be fixed.”
“Yeah, you really think so? How’d the problem with you and Daphne turn out?” He looked him in the eye. “Oh, yeah, she’s dating another guy.”
“Low blow, dude. Very low blow.” Bentley sighed. “But so true. I missed my chance with her. So the question is why are you sitting on your ass, nursing a beer, and missing your chance with Theresa?”
“Because I tried to fix it today and she wouldn’t even talk to me.”
“Well, if you let her sit too long without doing something else, she probably never will.”
Aiden didn’t know what to say to that. He glanced down at Stu, the bartender, wondering why he hadn’t come to see what drink Bentley wanted. He saw him talking sternly to two people he didn’t want to see tonight.
James and Dusty.
“That doesn’t look good.”
He nodded, agreeing with Bentley’s mumbled words. Because it didn’t look good. Because the longer he watched Stu talking to them, the more it looked like they wanted to jump across the bar counter and beat Stu to death.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working, filling in a shift for O’Connor?”
“The chief told me not to come in until Monday for work. But it looks like I’m going on duty right now.”
Aiden stood up and scooted his stool away as Bentley stared at him strangely. Probably wondering why the hell Chief Duncan forced him to take the entire weekend off. He didn’t want to get into it. This distraction was perfect to avoid a conversation that he should’ve never even hinted at. He was hoping for an opportunity to hit Dusty, even James. Dusty for sure, for laying a finger on Theresa. For giving her a bruise.
He could feel Bentley one step behind him as he walked up to the commotion slowly brewing into a full-blown bar fight.
“Problem here, Stu?”
“Well, if ain’t Officer Crowl, crime fighting copper of the year.” Dusty sneered at him. “Piss off.”
“As a matter of fact, Aiden, I was just asking these two gentlemen to leave. They haven’t listened yet.”
“That’s because you have no damn reason to kick us out. We haven’t done anything,” James spat back.
“Just go somewhere else. Leave peacefully. Home would be the best option. Your sister wants you to stop drinking so much. Why don’t you do that for her?”
He knew he should’ve never said anything, especially mention Theresa. James shoved away from the counter and got right into his face.
“Don’t talk to me about my sister. You have no right. Stay the hell away from her.”
Aiden flinched at the warning. Did James know he slept with her? Did he know how much he hurt her by ignoring her after the most incredible night ever?
“And why should I do that?” Probably the dumbest thing he could ask, but he had to know.
James’ eyes narrowed. “Because I don’t like you. I never have. I never will. So do us both a favor and stay the hell away from her.”
“Well, do her a favor and stop drinking.”
James shoved Aiden hard, knocking him into Bentley. They staggered a bit, but Bentley managed to keep them both upright. He had just enough warning to see the fist coming at him. He jumped out of the way where James ran right into Bentley’s fist, going down to the ground without much effort.
Dusty didn’t stand back and watch. He charged at Aiden. They obviously drank too much before coming to the bar. It didn’t take a great deal of effort for Aiden to dodge both punches thrown by Dusty and take him to the ground. He pulled his arms behind his back and hollered to Stu, “Please tell me O’Connor is almost here. I need some handcuffs.”
“Don’t worry. I called the police. They should be here soon.”
“Get off me, you son of a bitch.”
Aiden shoved Dusty harder to the floor, holding his hands tightly together so he couldn’t wriggle free. They struggled, Dusty fighting him with everything he had. He wasn’t about to receive any help from Bentley. He could hear the grunts as he tussled with James on the floor near the bar.
“Stop fighting me, Dusty. You want more charges added to what’s already happening here.”
“I didn’t do a damn thing, you asshole.”
Aiden couldn’t stop the laugh. “Really? How about disorderly conduct for not leaving when Stu asked you to. Assault for trying to hit me.” He leaned down, getting close to his ear. “How about the assault the other day. I could tack on that charge, too. Stay the hell away from Theresa. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
Before Dusty could respond, Chief Duncan was by his side and putting handcuffs on him.
“Thanks, Chief.”
Chief Duncan stood up a struggling Dusty and grinned. “I thought I told you to take the day off.”
He shrugged and couldn’t help but grin back as the chief hauled Dusty out of the bar, O’Connor close behind him with James. Chief Duncan came back in a minute later, after putting Dusty in the back of a patrol car, to get the details of what happened. With Stu’s statement, added in with his and Bentley’s, it was pretty straight forward what occurred and what would happen to James. Another arrest, another opportunity to upset Theresa, and he was partly to blame for it.
Bentley picked up the stools that fell during the scuffle and then patted the counter. “Damn, I need a beer and a shot after that little fiasco.”
Taking a spot next to Bentley, he shook his head no as Stu pulled out three shot glasses.
“You sure? After dealing with those two, even I need a shot. There was no way in hell I was going to serve them when I knew they were already plastered.”
“Trust me, Stu, I’d love to, but I can’t now.”
Bentley sighed heavily. “You’re finally going to get some balls and talk to her.”
Stu started to pull one of the shot glasses away. He grabbed it from his hand before it disappeared beneath the bar. “Okay. Maybe one shot. Telling Theresa her brother was arrested again probably won’t go so well.”