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I know, I know. You're going to think I'm stupid again, but...
Aidan's just so damn good at dropping bombshells and making me panic, okay?
So when I heard him say those words, my brain went haywire, and I was out of my apartment in a flash. I know a mature person would've stayed and talked things out, but I just wasn't ready last night, and the next thing I knew I was already taking advantage of the fact that he still has his pants down and running away like a pack of hellhounds was after me.
By the time I got into a cab, my phone had started ringing, and I...well...
I panicked again, okay?
So I switched my phone off, checked in at a nearby hotel, and...well...
It's morning now, and everything I did was clearly a complete waste since I've woken up with my heart back in my throat, and I'm more terrified than ever.
I think I'm falling in love with you, Serafina Edison.
Aidan's words come out of nowhere, and hearing them play back in my mind makes me curl my body into a ball with a groan.
This is so not good, Raffi.
I flip to my back and stare up sightlessly at the ceiling.
I think I'm falling in love with you, Serafina Edison.
I just can't believe he's said that. Doesn't he realize how insane that sounds? And is he actually expecting me to say them back? He's only known me for days. Days, dammit. He can't possibly think I believe he means them.
Right?
My brain tells me things are too good to be true while my heart...well...maybe it has something to say, too, but it's in too much of a mess right now to be coherent.
I just don't know anything anymore, and I'm not even sure I want to know.
All I'm sure of at this point is there's another man I definitely do not love, and it's time I made that clear.
****
JACK ARRIVES AT OUR meeting place thirty minutes late. I wish I can say I'm surprised, but I'm not. He's one of those people who still believes it's unfashionable to be prompt, and there's nothing he loves more than being the center of attention...like now.
The other girls in the cafe are clearly into him, and the way this makes Jack practically preen and strut like a peacock makes me want to smack myself on the head. Two years I've dated this guy. Two years! I must've been so lost and low in self-esteem to have thought that being with someone like Jack was the sensible thing to do, and well...
Better late than never, Raffi.
Aidan or no Aidan, I know I'll never get back together with this S.O.B., but because I'd also rather we end things amicably, I quickly rise to my feet as he reaches my table and paste a smile on my face. "Hello, Jack."
"Hello, darling." He moves forward to kiss me on the cheek, and I force myself to stay still and take it.
We take our seats, and Jack asks if I've ordered already.
I clear my throat, knowing that this might be my only chance to keep things from getting ugly. "Actually..."
Jack shakes his head. "If you're going to apologize—-"
My brows shoot up.
"It isn't necessary. I admit to being angry and offended, but I'm willing to forgive you—-"
I place the engagement ring he's given me on the table, and Jack shuts up.
"I'm sorry," I say awkwardly. "I just don't think—-"
"You bitch."
The words make me start, but it's more out of shock than fear or anger, and...
"You fucking bitch."
He apparently isn't done.
Jack spews out expletives in the next ten minutes, and I simply sit there and stare at him. The more insults he hurls my way, the clearer everything is, and oh God, I can't believe how stupid I've been.
Aidan was right all along.
Jack is a horrible mistake at best, but he isn't and hasn't ever been the main issue between Aidan and me. He's never been the reason I've withheld my feelings from Aidan, and he certainly isn't the reason I ran out on Aidan when he said—-
I think I'm falling in love with you, Serafina Edison.
—-that.
If anything, I've only been using my so-called relationship with Jack to keep me from making a decision, and—-
SPLASH!
I sputter in shock, my thoughts crashing mid-halt as Jack ends his tirade by shooting to his feet and dumping his glass of water straight down my head.
Click! Click! Click!
And now everyone around us is taking a photo of me, and the nasty smile on Jack's face things are going exactly as he planned. "You're fucking through in this city," he sneers under his breath, "and don't even think of begging me to take you back once you've come into your senses."
Jack makes a show of holding his head high as he storms off, and oh my God, it's all I can do not to laugh. That's a yaas-queen-exit right there, but whether it's what he's hoped to achieve, well...whatever. I don't even feel an ounce of hurt at the thought of Jack and me being through, but when I reach for a dinner napkin to wipe my face, it's at that moment I see my fingers shaking.
Riiiight.
The sight reminds me that things are far from completely fine, and I bite my lip hard. It's great that the issue about Jack is resolved now, never mind if the price I have to pay is becoming a viral meme of my ex-boyfriend dumping a glass of water on my head. Things like that used to matter, but now...
I gulp and feel my throat convulse as I reach for my phone.
Now or never.
I switch my phone on, and Aidan answers my call on the first ring.
"Are you okay?" he asks right away.
"Hello to you, too," I say lamely.
"Are you okay?"
The harshness of his voice makes me sigh. "That fast, huh?" That he's asking so insistently tells me my photo or video or whatever form of laughingstock the Internet has turned me into has already made the rounds.
"Serafina."
Aidan turns my name into a growl of warning, and my heart aches. He's obviously worried, and that means...there's still hope for us, and he hasn't yet given up on me.
Right?
"I'm fine," I finally manage to say. "My ego doesn't even feel the slightest bit bruised for some reason, but..."
"But what?" Aidan demands.
"I'm not fine about last night," I admit in a small voice. "I'm sorry, Aidan. I'm just so sorry—-"
"Then come back," he says so simply that I'm no longer surprised when I feel a now-familiar urge to laugh and cry at the same time.
"It can't be that easy—-"
"Why not?"
"Because you're supposed to make things hard for me."
"Am I?"
I'm definitely hearing a smirk in his voice, and it's such a perfectly typical Aidan response that I'm not surprised when I feel a smile wobble to my lips...just as the tears finally start falling.
"Can it really be that easy?" I ask jerkily.
"Maybe not for others," Aidan acknowledges evenly, "but when it comes to the two of us? It's always been that easy, baby."
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears keep falling, and my heart...it's still a crazy mess, but it's definitely beating harder and faster, and it's all because of him.
Because...I love him.
The tears rush faster, but I'm also smiling so widely that when I hear it—-
Click! Click! Click!
I don't even care if the Internet thinks I've lost my mind. All I know is that I'm done. I'm truly done pretending. I'm truly done believing I don't deserve more just because I already have the moon and the stars. I want the fucking sun, too, and Aidan is that for me.
He's my sun, and...and...
Let's do this, Raffi.
I open my eyes, and it feels like the whole world's changed. It's just brighter and prettier now...or maybe I'm the one who's changed, and I've finally allowed myself to see that life can still stay beautiful even if I don't have all my ducks in a row.
"Gimme a minute," I hear myself say as I hurry out of the cafe, "and I'll call you back." I hang up before he can answer, book myself a ride, and I hit the Call button the moment I'm in the backseat of an Uber.
"That's been more than a minute, baby."
There's just the slightest bite in his voice, and the sound of it makes my heart skip a beat. "Are you missing me already?"
"What do you think?"
"I miss you, too," I say sweetly, and I can't help laughing when I hear him snort. "I'm on my way back—-"
"Coming from where?"
"Somewhere?"
There's a slight pause, and then he asks very calmly, "Do you remember what I said about not being understanding?"
He's obviously jealous, and my heart just can't take it. "I'm sure you've seen the photo of Jack and me—-"
"It's a video actually, and I have it saved in my phone."
"Sadist."
"I'll beat him for you if you want, but I'd rather not."
I pretend to be outraged, demanding, "Whyever not?"
"Because he's already lost you, and there's nothing worse than that."
I cover my mouth...and then I let myself squeal.
"I still heard that."
Shit.
I'm about to make up an excuse when I realize my Uber has already reached my apartment building, and I'm about to tell Aidan I need to hang up again when someone suddenly opens my door.
Oh!
Aidan helps me out of the cab and smirks at my shock.
It's my first time to see him dressed in a suit, and I really, really like it. I have no idea why he's dressed so fancily, but who cares? The pinstriped pattern makes him look so much taller and sexier, and I'm enamored by the way he carries the outfit like he's born to wear Armani.
I'm dazzled like usual, actually, and so when Aidan turns back to face me, all thoughts disappear, and I hear myself blurt out, "You're handsome."
Aidan pulls me close with a laugh, and I feel my toes curl when his lips touch my forehead.
"Have I told you I'm falling in love with you?"
I want to say no just so he can say it again, but I'm also dying to say yes because with my cheek pressed against his chest, I can feel his heart literally pounding, and I just know we're just one I-love-you-too away from having our happy-ever-after.
Because it's like he said, really.
Things have always been easy between us, and—-
"Mama, Raffi is hugging Uncle Aidan!"
The familiar voice has me jumping back self-consciously, and when I spin around I see Nala waving happily at Aidan...while Mairi looks torn between guilt and dismay.
Since I know for a fact that Damen Leventis would never allow his daughter to call just any man 'Uncle', it can only mean Aidan is one of two things, and...
"Please tell me you're Greek."
I feel Aidan's powerful body tense up, and another moment passes when he says tightly, "No."
So that means he's the other thing, and...it's still like he says.
I have no idea how this is even possible, but since Aidan's never given me grief for running away from him more than once, then I certainly won't make a big deal out of the fact that he happens to be a small-town-cop-slash-billionaire.
After all...
I lean back so I can smile up at him, and now that I know we're real, the words roll down my tongue just as easily.
"I think I'm falling in love with you, too."