CHAPTER TWENTY

Three weeks later…

Aimee

I opened the door to what would be—in under an hour—Aimee’s Decadent Desserts. The bell over the door rang delightfully, bringing the ghost of a smile to my face. I wasn’t sure I’d smiled at all since I’d sent Corbin away, but today deserved a good mood. With one stroke of a pen, I’d be the proud owner of a bake shop and an apartment upstairs. This was it. Everything I’d worked so hard to gain. Finally, after years of sacrifice and working weekends and extra shifts and falling exhausted into bed, I was about to have my dream.

The longing to have Corbin by my side as I signed the mortgage papers surged through me with intensity, enough to leave me gasping for air. “Enough,” I murmured. The promise I made myself every morning was to not think of Corbin. I hadn’t had much luck.

I walked around the old diner, flipping on light switches, and admiring the renovations. Uncle Daniel had helped out, as had Remy and Elaine, each providing their own abilities in helping me turn the faded and dusty Reba’s Diner into a bright and clean space. Uncle Daniel had moved the old bar stools away from the countertop and had built basic tables and stools for people to sit at if they wanted a cup of coffee or tea with their goodies. Elaine had found a bolt of light grey and white checked gingham and sewed tablecloths and window treatments to go with the soft dove grey I’d painted the walls. She also found a sweet spring green and poppy-colored print and had made covers for all the stools and throw pillows for the window seat. Remy’d provided an extensive set of white china and matching glassware—and told me not to ask where he’d found it.

The upstairs apartment was just as tidy and clean, and also bearing a fresh coat of paint. Once my mom got out of the hospital, she stayed at Miss Cecily’s, but we had plans for her to move into the apartment upstairs. With a little work by Uncle Daniel, we’d made the two-bedroom apartment into two separate studios, one for Mom, and one for me. A part of my heart twanged each time I remembered fantasizing about Corbin living there with me. What a joke, considering he was rich, flew all over the world, and was used to every luxury. I reminded myself of that constantly, as if doing so would make the loss of him hurt less, but it never worked. So I did the best I could. Distracting myself by throwing myself into work.

I’d spent every waking hour scrubbing the entire place clean and making improvements in the kitchen. I needed an additional oven, but based off my projections, I’d be able to make that purchase in under a year. Everything was set and ready to go.

The bell tinkled behind me and I pivoted to see Elmer Lamell enter. He held a large manila folder stuffed to the brim with papers under his arm. My loan and the mortgage to this place. This time, my smile was genuine and wide. I gestured to the best table in the house—the one facing Main Street. A basket of flowers hung off the streetlight just outside.

Elmer cleared his throat as he sat. “Aimee. You’ve done a great job in here. It looks good.”

Sitting across from him, I shook his hand, then smoothed my hands on my skirt, hoping they weren’t too sweaty. To say I was nervous was an understatement. After what had happened with Brad (who’d thankfully stayed away from me since that run-in with Corbin), I’d truly feared that even after I came up with the money, Elmer would find a way to back out of our deal. “Thank you, Mr. Lamell.” I reached into my purse and pulled out an envelope with the check I owed him. Fifteen thousand dollars. The entirety of my bank account. My life savings. And my food budget for the last month. Thankfully Uncle Daniel had allowed me to eat my meals at Evangeline’s on the house.

“It’s all there,” I said, confidently.

“Oh. I didn’t doubt it would be. I am surprised it’s your name on the check though, and not Corbin Ross’s.”

I frowned. What the hell? “Excuse me? What does that mean?”

Elmer held up his hands. “I didn’t mean any offense. But since he paid off the one loan, I figured he’d front you money for your business as well.” He shrugged. “I guess I misjudged the fellow. It was a nice thing he gone and done for Miss Cecily.”

“What did he do for Miss Cecily?”

Clearly puzzled, Elmer scratched his head. “You mean you don’t know?” When I shook my head dumbly he said, “Miss Cecily was behind on her taxes for the plantation house and all the land. She was gonna lose everything. He made all the back payments for her, and set up a trust so she can live there the rest of her life.”

“What?” Shocked, I barely could think, much less make sense of what Elmer was saying. Corbin had paid off Miss Cecily’s debts? And set up a trust for her?

“And that’s not all. He done went and set up with the internet company to put in a cell tower on the back of her property. Pontmaison will finally have good internet. Good thing, too. Brad and his girl? They’re talking again. And well, I—I didn’t give that a chance, their relationship, because I wanted my son here with me, but…” He shrugged, looking at me a little more intently. “A man has to live his own life. Choose the woman he’s meant to be with. And heck, if he moves to New York, now I can do that video chat thing people keep talkin’ about.”

Right. Now he could. Because the town finally had good internet.

I shook my head in disbelief. Why would Corbin do such a thing?

Why do you think? a voice inside my head whispered.

He said he loved you. Was this his way of showing you that?

No, I realized.

This was his way of showing he cared about Miss Cecily. About the whole town. That even after he left Pontmaison—even after we were through—that hadn’t changed. The fact that Corbin loved me? He’d proved that time and again in how he’d treated me. Supported me. Talked to me and made love to me and pleaded with me to give us a chance.

I hadn’t believed it could be enough. That he’d stay loyal to me. That I’d be enough for him, a rock star.

Now I understood I’d underestimated us both. His capacity for love. My ability to be strong and fight for what I wanted. Who I wanted.

Now, the only question is: what am I going to do about it?

* * *

Corbin

“Okay, wait. Earth to Corbin, come in Corbin!” Tucker shouted, waving his drum sticks in the air. I blinked and stared blankly at the drummer for Point Break and one of my best friends.

When I’d taken off from Louisiana three weeks back, I’d returned to L.A. to find the guys had returned as well. They’d taken one look at me and known something major had happened, and after a lot of denials on my part, they’d extracted the story about Aimee from me. They’d sat in stunned silence, then Tucker had said, “Work. It’s the best thing you can do right now. The music will get your head on straight, then you can decide what to do about your girl.”

I hadn’t bothered arguing with him. Instead, I’d been operating on auto pilot, and it was clear three weeks later that I was still doing so.

Tucker sighed. “Seriously, bro, you just started playing the bass line again during my solo. You’re the one who arranged this piece, don’t you remember?”

I wanted to groan and hide in my corner of the recording studio, not that there was a lot of place to hide in these kind of things. It was close quarters, filled with a ton of wires and recording equipment. Still, I’d zoned out yet again thinking about Aimee. It was going into week four and I still couldn’t fucking concentrate. I kept seeing those amazing eyes, that olive skin, and the way her laughter made me feel enveloped in satin.

I wanted her back, and badly.

But she’d given up on us. Hadn’t been willing to fight for what we had. She’d been just as bad as Kara; not because she’d been weak and needed me too much, but because she’d been weak and hadn’t believed that she was special enough to be all I’d ever need in a woman.

I loved Aimee, and she’d sent me away.

And now every part of me burned.

“I’m serious man, you okay?” Tucker asked, his brow furrowed in concern. “Hey, guys can we take a few?”

Liam, our lead singer, and Wes both nodded. They left, but not before Liam patted my shoulder and Wes said, “We’re here for you, Corbin. We always will be.”

“Thanks, man,” I mumbled. When they were gone, I looked up at Tucker. “I’m good,” I said.

“No, you’re not. And you’re not getting any better. The music should have cleared your head by now. Hell, I expected you to get your shit together and go after your woman weeks ago, Corbin. Since you’re not, we clearly need to hash some shit out.”

I wasn’t sure what Tucker thought he could do to help me. I’d tried everything: booze, exercise, even some stupid self-help books I was hiding deep under my bed. None of it was making me get over Aimee. I just didn’t see how a few pep talk words could do better, but I was desperate and I needed anything I could get.

I wasn’t expecting him to lead with, “You’re drinking way too much, man.”

What the hell. Tucker “The Fucker” Benning, party animal and reformed man-whore, was telling me I’d been drinking too much?

“You just think that because you watch Nikki and make sure she stays on the wagon. Now you think you see addiction and little pink elephants everywhere.”

It was a low blow and I knew it. Tucker was actually trying to give a shit about my depression, and I was trying to throw his girlfriend’s former issues back in his face.

Tucker stiffened but he didn’t fully rise to the bait. “That’s low, man. I know you’re hurting because of Aimee, and I know exactly how you feel. I came back from Paris after Nikki really spiraled, and I felt like my heart had been cut out with a rusty knife.”

I closed my eyes. Fuck, that’s exactly how I felt. “I thought it would get better, but it hurts to breathe, bro. I don’t sleep.” I opened my eyes and stared at my best friend. “When I do, I have dreams of her and sometimes they’re great but then I wake up and she’s not with me anymore. It’s worse than the nightmares because that just replays what happened that last night. It’s like the ultimate tease to have her in my arms and then wake up to nothing.”

“See and all that bullshit about distance makes the heart grow fonder is just that. It’s the same thing about time heals all wounds and all that other crap. Some things are so big that it only gets worse.”

“Like missing Aimee.”

“Exactly. And how I ached for Nikki until we figured it out, and you know without Abby that Liam’s completely lost.”

Laughing, I nodded again. “They’re cute together. Never tell him I said that, but they’ve channeled that couple vibe where they finish each other’s sentences. I thought I could have that with Aimee, but I can’t. I can’t, Tucker. She doesn’t believe she’s enough for me, and if she doesn’t believe it…” I shook my head. “It’s a fucking lost cause. Eventually, I’ll make her miserable. And she’ll make me miserable.”

Tucker shook his head. “She’s not Kara, Corbin.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? I talked to Jason. He said he’d never seen you happier than when you came out to help in Chicago. He told me that you even talking about Aimee lit up your whole damn face. You have to know that that’s the good thing, man. Hell, that’s the one thing. Did you ever have that with Kara?”

I hadn’t. Not even when things were the best between us. Aimee had made me happier than anyone I’d ever been with. Tucker was right. That was the one thing. But even assuming I could convince Aimee to give us another chance, were the cards stacked too high against us?

“She lives in Louisiana. I wouldn’t ever ask her to leave. And with us on the road all the time, a relationship wouldn’t work.”

Tucker blew out a breath. “Look, we’re all in the same boat. Well, not Wes yet, but who knows with that dude. What I mean is that we’ve found more to life than just the wild partying and indulging in the fame. I don’t have all the answers right now, but I know Point Break can make changes. Do fewer cities on our tours. Not waste time during recording sessions and whip our albums out instead of spending days fucking women and getting shit-faced. If you truly love her, man, you’ll find a way. You just have to prove to her what you’re willing to do to have her. You have to prove it to yourself.”

I stared at Tucker, emboldened by his words. And suddenly, a vision of myself, jumping into the bayou filled with alligators to save a woman I didn’t even know, ran through my head. And I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’d do the same for Aimee. Without hesitation (when believe me, I’d hesitated before jumping into the water to save that other woman).

I’d die for Aimee. Yet here I was, using the excuse that Aimee hadn’t been willing to fight for me to justify me not fighting for her.

And that was just not how things were going to go down.

If we were over, we’d be over despite the fact I’d done everything I could to convince Aimee otherwise.

“So,” Tucker said, “You want me to call Liam and Wes back in here?”

“Nope,” I said. “I want you to tell them I’ll be back in few days. And hopefully, I’ll be bringing Aimee with me to meet them.”