Chapter 36

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Rose

“ROSE RENEE PERKINS, WHERE have you been?” my aunt called as I tried to slip in unnoticed, late in the afternoon.

I took a deep breath, prepping myself for a lecture I was sure was about to come. “Oh, hey!” I greeted as I walked into the dining room.

“Oh, hey? Really? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Umm…four o’clock?”

“Rose, where have you been?” she demanded.

“I told you when I texted you last night, I crashed at my friend Lucy’s place.”

She glared at me, obviously seeing through my façade.

“What?” I continued to play along.

“Rose, really, where were you?”

“Geez, Aunt Kate, I’m twenty-four years old!”

“Exactly, you’re twenty-four, soon to be twenty-five, so let’s stop with the lies. Where did you really spend last night and most of today?”

I ran my hands through my hair and looked away. I was able to talk to Aunt Kate about anything, so why did I feel so uncomfortable with telling her the truth now? “I…umm…spent the night with a guy.”

“Rose! You mean to tell me you just jumped into bed with some strange guy you met at a bar? You’re lucky you weren’t raped or murdered.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh my God, Aunt Kate! I didn’t spend the night with some random guy! But I’m so glad to know you have such a lovely opinion of me!”

“Rose, I’m sorry. I was just worried about you.”

“Well, don’t be. I’m a grown woman and despite what you think, I do make logical decisions.”

She nodded, still seemed a little unconvinced of that fact.

“If you must know, I spent the night at Alex’s.”

She placed her hand on her heart, overdramatizing her shock by my admission. “Alex Andrews…the asshole nephew, as you so lovingly referred to him on many, many occasions?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“And I take it by spending the night…you mean the two of you…”

I rolled my eyes. Was she writing a book or something? “Did the two of us have sex?” I didn’t wait for her to reply before I continued. “Yes, we did it quite a few times last night, then some more today. Last night wasn’t the first time either. We did it last weekend when we shared a hotel room on our way back from Georgia. And just so you know…he’s really, really good in bed. Anything else you wanna know?”

She blushed and tried her hardest to stifle her laughter.

“Well, you asked!”

“Rose, I just wish you could’ve told me that last night instead of lying.”

“Well, what did you want me to do? Oh, hold up a minute, Alex, let me give my aunt a play-by-play of what we’re doing.”

“That’s not what I meant, wise guy. I just want you to know you can be honest with me.”

“Fine. I’ll tell you the truth from now on.”

“Good.” She smiled. “Just don’t fall too hard too quick. Take your time with it.”

“Umm…we slept together, we’re not getting married!”

“Oh, so what are you saying? You’re not feeling anything for him other than great sex?”

“No, I didn’t say that.” I knew it was useless to try and hide anything from her. She could read me like a book. So, I pulled out a dining room chair, took a seat next to her, and spilled my guts about exactly how I was feeling.

A caring smile spread across her face. “Guess it turns out he wasn’t so bad after all?”

“I-I honestly don’t know what happened. It was like we really connected while we were down in Georgia. I met his mom and dad and it was just all so weird. No guy has ever introduced me to their parents, not that I ever wanted to meet any of their parents anyway. But it just all seemed so natural with him.” I threw my head back on the chair and stared up at the ceiling. She was right, I was falling for him, and no matter how hard I tried to deny it to her or anyone else, I knew deep down inside, it was true.

“Rose, it’s perfectly okay to feel the way you’re feeling. It was only a matter of time.”

“A matter of time before what?” I furrowed my brows.

“Before you started having strong feelings for a guy. You’ll be twenty-five in less than a month and you’ve never had a serious relationship in your life. I was getting a little worried.”

“Why were you worried?”

“Because I don’t want you to miss out on the experience of falling in love.”

I held up my hand to stop her. “Wait…I’m not in love with Alex.”

She laughed over my heightened state of panic. “No…not yet, but the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re well on your way to being there, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Falling in love is a wonderful thing, but just take it slow.”

“And having your heart broken can be an awful thing…hence why I’ll never fall in love.” I kept up my façade.

“Oh, Rose.” She shook her head and smiled. “What am I going to do with you?”

“How about get some dinner with me after I shower? I’m starving!”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll be ready really quick.” I got up and headed out of the dining room, turning around just as I reached the doorway. “Aunt Kate?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you ever in love…I mean, before you fell in love with Uncle Patrick?”

She reluctantly nodded.

“And did it end in heartbreak?” I already knew the answer to that question just by the long pause and solemn look on her face.

“Just get in the shower, you!” She snapped out of it, avoiding a question she didn’t want to answer by putting on a forced smile that was hiding so much underneath.

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“I think my plan fell in place just perfectly! Don’t you?” I asked Alex as we took a seat by the fountain at Bryan Park.

He nodded. “Even though I was a little doubtful, yes, it did.”

I had to admit, even I was a little nervous about the outcome after I had met up with Audra. The closer we got to William’s place the more my nerves were getting the best of me. But it ended up being a sweet reunion, one that actually brought a tear to my eye. William was so surprised to see her and once the shock wore off, the happiness took over. Audra was sweet and caring, just how I was hoping she’d be to the man who never really got the chance to know her.

In the time spent going to William’s place, I got to know her a little better as well. She was forty-six years old, had been with her partner, Diane, for the past fifteen years, and together they had a six-year-old son. She was much friendlier and open than she was when I first met her. I was certain her standoffish personality that day was from the shock she was feeling over the whole situation. She had told me once she read each of William’s letters he had written to her, she knew she had to make the trip up. I admired her for welcoming this new change in her life. I couldn’t imagine, thinking the man who was your father your entire life turned out to be someone else. When I had asked her if she was angry at her mother for not revealing the truth to her until she was on her death bed, her response really hit home.

“Sometimes people do the most screwed-up things with the very best intentions.”

After having some time to ponder that, it kind of did make sense in its own weird way. Her mother just wanted what was best for Audra, even if it meant keeping such a huge secret from her. She clearly had a happy childhood and adored the man who raised her, so maybe her mother wasn’t so wrong in keeping William a secret. I’m not sure if I’d be able to get over such a thing, but given the circumstances, I could kind of understand why her mother made the choice she did. Of course, the fact Audra was a phycologist who prided herself in forgiving as a way of healing helped a lot too.

“Umm, you were more than a little doubtful,” I teased Alex as I pulled my sunglasses down from my head and stared up at the sky. The late afternoon sunshine warmed my face and blanketed me in calmness. The days would soon be getting shorter and the air a little crisper. Even though I loved autumn, especially on the East Coast, I still wanted to suck in the last few days of Indian summer while it lasted.

He shrugged his shoulders and stared straight ahead, taking me a little off guard when he reached for my hand. I dropped my gaze down to our intertwined fingers. Never had anything felt so odd, yet so right to me. Maybe my aunt did have cause for concern. I was going to be twenty-five years old and had never held hands with a guy before. I had no problem having sex with them, but the holding hands part was out of the question because it meant something so much more intimate. Something I was always afraid to explore until now with a person I’d least expected to venture there with.

“So, I asked my aunt if she was in love before she met my uncle, and it turns out she was.”

“Okay…that was random.”

He was right, it did just come out of left field, but this whole handholding deal stirred up memories of the conversation with my aunt the day prior.

“Well, no, not really. I think the person she was in love with was your uncle.”

“Where do you come up with these things?” He chuckled.

“Alex, come on. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how familiar the two of them are when they’re together.”

“Okay, so they knew each other in the past. It doesn’t mean they were in love.”

“I don’t know, I just have a feeling about the two of them.”

“Don’t be getting any ideas of trying to rekindle something you think may have happened between the two of them.”

“But the weird thing is, she said she had her heart broken. Actually, she didn’t come out and say it, but I could tell by the way she looked at me when I asked. I don’t know, the two of them seem to get along too well for that.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to say…mind your business where that’s concerned. If they had something in the past and it’s meant to be in the present, let it happen naturally.”

I let out a deep sigh, knowing it was going to be awfully hard for me not to meddle in this one. He stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. We started to walk, and my stomach danced every time I looked down at his big, strong hand wrapped around mine.

“Have you ever been in love?”

The smile on his face disappeared in an instant, and I was wishing I could take my words back.

“I, umm…thought we agreed to leave the past in the past.”

“That was just pertaining to you and me.”

“Oh, is that what it was?” He chuckled.

“Have you ever been in love?” Whenever he was uncomfortable with a question, he’d counter it with the same one for me.

“No,” I replied.

He gazed at me in disbelief.

“I haven’t. In fact, this”—I lifted our intertwined hands—“this is the first time I’ve ever held hands with a guy.”

“Get out of here!”

“I’m not lying.” We stopped walking, and I stared up at him. “So, I guess, you can consider yourself honored. Despite our rocky start, I think I really like you.”

I pulled in my bottom lip, fearing I had said too much, leaving him speechless as his eyes danced with emotion. I wanted him to say something—anything to break up the monotony of the moment—but instead, he did something better. Lowering his head to mine, his lips brushed mine, leaving me breathless and yearning for more. We were in a park surrounded by people, yet we were all alone—just him and me lost in the wonder of one tiny kiss that spoke a million words.