Page 8 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“Yes.” I rose from my seat. “Yes, of course. I—would love that.”
“I’ll be in the bedroom.” William pressed his lips into a tight smile and nodded. “Take your time, älskling.”
I nodded back and saw William disappearing into the small room at the rear.
“Do you want to sit here, or …?” I began to offer.
“Thank you.” Aaron took a seat on the couch, and I joined him. He rubbed his thighs with his palms a few times as if wondering how to get this conversation going.
“I’m sorry, Aaron,” I said as an opening statement. “I really am. I know I’m putting you in a very tough position with my father by having done what I did. But I’ll talk to him. I’ll make it better.”
“It’s been a while since I last saw your father that furious,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be losing my job once we get back. But I’m ready. I failed him. And I failed you.”
“Aaron, you did no such thing.” I shook my head in disagreement.
“We’ll see …”
We stared at each other briefly, but it wasn’t awkward. We’d gone through enough together, Aaron and I, and more often than not, words became expendable. We knew each other well enough to be able to fill in the gaps in our conversation by observation. He was disappointed in himself for having allowed this to happen on his watch, and I felt terrible because of it.
But we both knew what was waiting for us back home.
“You’re my responsibility,” he finally said, breaking the silence.
“And I’m an adult, Aaron. I’ve only ever fantasized about stepping a toe out of line. I’ve never been hard to look after.” I took a deep breath and sighed. “And I’m sorry I dragged you and David into this mess. I’m sorry to have put both of your jobs on the line because of this, but I read Caleb’s letter, and it’s safe to say I might not be needing security in the near future. Not anymore.” Amena wasn’t on duty that day, so she was technically the only one who was “safe” from retaliation.
Aaron’s eyes went wide with panic, but he quickly reeled in his reaction, and his features went back to being stoic.
“What …exactlydid that letter say?” His words were gentle, like a soft breeze, as if dreading to know the answer.
“Everything,” I said quickly, my voice firm. “I know my mother’s death was a mistake. I know about the NDAs he made everyone sign. And … Caleb’s feelings for me.”
“That’s it?”
“Why? Is there anything else I need to know?” I scoffed. “Anything Caleb left out? Any more lies or secrets?”
“No, I—”
“Aaron, what else is my father hiding from me?” I had him cornered, and that wasn’t a usual occurrence.
“I just wanted to know how—thorough—Caleb had been in his letter,” he countered. “You know, Caleb almost didn’t make it to New York.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, your father fired him. He didn’t offer Caleb a job in New York.”
“What?” I almost shouted my response. How was I only now finding out about this?
“Since he’s dead, I suppose there’s no reason to keep up withthe secrecy regarding such a matter. But for practical and legal reasons, let’s keep this between us.”
My head shook with disbelief.
“Why wasn’t Caleb offered a job in New York?” I now understood why Caleb had acted so weird in Paris those last few days before we left. He kept giving me theselooks.
No wonder.
I wish I would’ve known then.
Aaron looked away, and I wasn’t sure if he was second-guessing himself about telling me these things, but I needed answers. He couldn’t leave me in the dark. Not when it was something Caleb-related.
