From One Night to Forever (28 page)

Monique looked to Jamelah, who was talking to one of the cooks. “Hey, Jamelah, watch the bar for me for a second.”

Jamelah nodded. “Sure.”

Kacey rolled her eyes and went into the office, Monique fast on her heels. “What did he really do?”

“Nothing. I told you, once I went to South Carolina and met his family, I realized I’d rushed into things with him. That’s all.”

“No, that’s what you told Reggie so he wouldn’t go down there and break Aaron’s arms and legs before withdrawing on a legally binding contract.” Monique sat on the edge of the desk. “Tell me what he really did.”

Kacey sighed and leaned back in the chair. She had kept this pain to herself too long. Monique might have her secrets, but Kacey could no longer keep her thoughts a secret. “Being with me was about saving the deal.”

“He lied.”

“He claims he meant what he said, but saving the deal was also a part of it. But that’s not the worst.” She told Monique about what happened with Liz, the texts, and the phone calls.

“That dog!”

“Should I really be surprised? I mean, we both know when he came in that night that he was looking for a hookup. We heard the stories from Reggie. I knew what I was walking into, and still I fell…” Her words trailed off. She turned away from Monique, and the pain of what she couldn’t admit pressed inside her chest.

She had fallen in love. That was why this hurt so much. Why his admission and the jealousy over the women he kept in contact with made her so crazy. She was no smarter than she’d been at seventeen—still falling for a smooth man’s lies.

“Kacey, I’m sorry. Aaron is a dick and you’re better off without him. I have half a mind to go tell Reggie so that he
can
go break his legs.”

“No, we are not telling Reggie. This isn’t all Aaron’s fault. I saw the warning signs and I chose to ignore them. Besides, despite his personal flaws, he’s a good businessman. He and Reggie working together will help them both.”

“Yeah, but you’ll still have to see him every once in a while. And how will you do that without wanting to kill him?”

“Because he’s not worth it. My focus is back on Momma’s Kitchen, finishing my degree, and opening the second restaurant. To hell with Aaron Henderson. The best revenge is to do better and move on.”

“I still think slashing his tires is pretty good revenge.”

“But not worth it.” Kacey stood. “I’m pissed, but I’ll get over him. Let’s just move on and worry about the lunch shift.”

Monique sighed and stood. “Wait, I need to tell you something. And after hearing what happened with Aaron, I kind of hate to.”

Kacey slowly sat back down. “Why?”

“Because I’m happy about the news, but you may not be.” Monique twisted her hands before her.

Oh, God, please don’t let this be about Julio.
“Just tell me.”

Monique took a deep breath, then pulled a sheet of paper out of her apron and handed it to Kacey. “I’m going to culinary school.”

If Kacey hadn’t been sitting down, she would have fallen over. She scanned the paper, which welcomed Monique to the culinary program at Maryland’s School of the Arts, then looked back at her sister.

“Culinary school? In Maryland?”

Monique grinned. “I know, can you believe it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you applied?”

“You know. What if I didn’t get in? I didn’t want you all to think I was a fool for trying.”

“Monique, I’d never think you were a fool.”

“Well, you’re learning the business side to make the second restaurant a success. I figured I’d learn more about the culinary side to make the Chattanooga restaurant stand apart. I’m good in the kitchen, but I can be a lot better.”

“Does Momma know?”

Monique shook her head so hard her long hair swung from side to side. “Not yet. I wanted to tell you first.”

“Is this in any way related to those secret phone calls?”

Monique took a deep breath and shook her head. “Yes and no. I was talking to Julio, but only because I remembered him mentioning a cousin in culinary school. He gave me his cousin’s number and we’ve been talking.”

Kacey didn’t like that Monique had gone to Julio instead of her, but she wasn’t in any position to give advice. “Why Maryland?”

“I need to get out of Resilient.” Monique held up her hand. “Not forever, mind you, but just for a while. I can go to Maryland, visit D.C. while I’m there. It’ll be good. But I hate leaving knowing you’re heartbroken.”

Kacey jumped up and hugged her sister. “Go and do a great job.” She pulled back. “My heart will heal, and this opportunity is more important.”

Monique grinned, revealing her deep dimples. “I’m so excited. Thank you for understanding.”

Kacey and Monique talked about the school and her ideas for the menu at Momma’s Kitchen. She’d never asked Monique for many of her thoughts about running the place. She’d underestimated her sister, something she wouldn’t do again.

Aaron had been in Tyler, Texas, a few times since he’d broken up with Denise, but he’d never visited any of the places they’d frequented. As he waited at the bar in the Mexican restaurant they used to go to, he wasn’t sure why he’d avoided those places. He felt no sense of loss or remorse being there.

“Aaron?” Denise’s voice came from behind.

Aaron put down the beer he’d been nursing and spun on the bar stool. She hadn’t changed much. Average height, clear light brown skin, and bright whiskey-colored eyes. Her hair was shorter, framing her face in a small bob instead of the shoulder-length style she’d worn before, and her curvaceous build was even more pronounced by the dark pink jumpsuit.

“Hey, Denise.” He stood to greet her. He held out his hand and her face twisted with confusion, so he opened his arms and gave her a hug, which she quickly backed out of.

They stood staring at each other for a second, an awkward silence building despite the mariachi music and conversations going on in the background.

“I saved you a seat.” Aaron pointed to the stool next to his.

“Thanks,” she said.

He stood back while she slipped into her seat. Her perfume was the same; he used to love lying beside her and breathing in the apple-scented body spray she favored. For the longest time after they split, the smell of apples would get him aroused in a second. Now his body didn’t react.

He sat on his stool and gave her his easygoing smile. “Want a beer?”

She nodded and glanced around the place. “Sure.”

He motioned to the bartender and ordered a beer for her. There was another long silence while Aaron glanced at the televisions behind the bar. What the hell was he doing here?

“Getting married, huh?” Aaron asked after he couldn’t take the silence much longer.

Denise nodded and grabbed the beer the bartender set before her. She lifted it to her mouth and took a sip.

Aaron raised a brow and slowly shook his head. “Are you excited?”

“I am. Anthony is a great guy. I haven’t felt this way about anyone since…” She sipped her beer and took a deep breath. “I haven’t felt this way about anyone since you.”

And that was why he was here. He and Denise were both going through the same thing. “What’s different this time?”

“Nothing’s different. He’s funny, he’s smart and successful. We get along well together. I love him. Just like I loved you.”

“Then why did you want to see me?”

“Because, Aaron, it’s
just
like it was when we were together, but then we just ended abruptly. One day we were happy. The next day you were giving me some excuse about needing space right before you left town.”

Aaron turned on the stool to look Denise in the eye. “Did you ask me here for revenge?”

She shook her head. “No, I asked you here because I had to see you. I don’t know how to explain it, but the closer I get to my wedding day, the more I think about you. And I wonder…”

She frowned and lowered her eyes. Aaron hesitated before placing his hand on hers. “If it was real or just your imagination.”

She lifted her eyes and nodded. “If I imagined everything that happened between us, how will I know if I’m imagining the same thing now? Am I supposed to marry Anthony, or is this just a big delusion and one day I’ll wake up and he’ll be ready to walk out the door?”

Her outburst made Aaron flinch. He drew his hand back and ran it over his hair. “Denise, don’t think like that. I’m sure this guy is great and things will be wonderful.”

“Don’t tell me what everyone else is telling me. I know a part of this is cold feet, but another part is thinking about how I was so sure we were really falling in love and then you walked out.”

“I didn’t walk out. I choked,” he blurted.

Denise sat up and tilted her head to the side. “You what?”

“I choked. It was real, Denise. I felt everything you felt. I started thinking about marriage and kids and maybe growing old with someone.”

“Then what happened? You broke things off as if it was no big deal.”

“I wanted to be with you, but I wanted to be single more. I knew that no matter what I felt for you, I wasn’t really ready to just tie myself to one person. I’m not a cheater, or a liar, so I broke things off before I ended up doing ether one of those.”

“Did you love me?”

“Yeah, I think I did. I just didn’t love you enough.”

A line formed between her brow and she looked away. Aaron turned back to the television.

“Why did you agree to come see me, Aaron?”

“For the same reason you needed to see me. There’s someone new…and I’m feeling some of the same things I felt with you.”

“Wow. What’s her name?”

“Kacey. Her family owns this restaurant in Tennessee, and she’s in graduate school getting her MBA so that she can open a second restaurant and hopefully start a franchise. She works hard, too hard actually, but she can let loose sometimes. She’s fun.”

“You love her?”

In that second Aaron, sitting there talking to a woman he didn’t really want to be with, knew he loved Kacey. He’d probably loved her when he’d made the declaration to Reggie, but he had used the excuse of the business to ignore the emotion.

“Yeah, I do.”

“It sounds like things are going well for you two.”

“Not really. We broke up last week.”

Denise scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Are you determined to end up alone? Or did someone break your heart before and now you’re afraid of commitment?”

“I’m not determined to be alone and no one broke my heart. I’m just not going to settle down before I’m ready.”

“When will you be ready, Aaron?”

“In the future.”

“The future isn’t promised to us. Anything can happen to anyone on any day of the week. You let me slip away—are you really ready to do that with someone else you love?”

He frowned at her disgusted tone. “Why are you so angry?”

“Because there’s another woman out there going through the same pain you put me through for no reason. There’s no telling how many others fell in love with you and you left. Let me guess, you’ve still got ‘friends’ all over the country that you call and text. There are still women who drop by your apartment just to see how things are going. You’re nothing but a selfish little boy.” She jumped up from the stool. “I hope you stay alone!”

She turned and marched out of the restaurant. Aaron pulled out his wallet and tossed some money on the bar before hurrying after her. The bright sunlight temporarily blinded him after the dim interior of the restaurant. He glanced left then right, where Denise continued her angry retreat.

“Denise, hey, wait up.” He jogged and caught up with her.

She spun to face him. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” She scoffed and tried to turn. Aaron placed a hand on her arm to stop her. “No, I’m really sorry. I know the words don’t mean much, and there really is no way for me to make things up to you. We were great together, and we would have been happy, but we both know it wouldn’t have been for long. I wasn’t ready—you know I wasn’t.”

Her stiff shoulders relaxed. “I know. I get that, believe me, I do. But to hear that you’re still the same, that after all these years you haven’t changed… It’s kind of sad, Aaron.”

“Marriage isn’t for everyone.”

“No, it’s not. But love is rare and hard to come by. I wasn’t sure if it would happen for me again after we broke up, but it did. And honestly, it’s actually so much better than before. I don’t want to run the risk of losing that because there
may
be someone out there that I still might want to sleep with one day. So ask yourself, is losing Kacey worth that?”

He took a step back. No, it wasn’t. Keeping in contact with his ex-girlfriends wasn’t worth never talking to Kacey again. Sleeping with Liz or any other woman who crossed his path wasn’t worth never holding Kacey in his arms again. Having the freedom to visit any place he wanted, or take up any offer to spend a weekend at a friend’s beachside condo, wasn’t worth never again being allowed through the front door of Kacey’s home.

Denise smiled and squeezed his arm. “I didn’t think so.” She lifted on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You take care of yourself, Aaron.”

He nodded. “You, too. And congratulations. Anthony is a lucky man.”

“Thank you.” She turned and walked away.

Aaron pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. His hands trembled slightly, and he shook them out. He took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart. What in the world could he possibly say, over the phone no less, that would make her take him back? Nothing. He’d have to show up. Have to prove that he was really ready for this.

Are you really ready?

There it was—the voice that made him bolt after a few weeks with one woman. He ignored it, and thought about what Kacey had said. You’re never ready, you just make the step.

He dialed her number. “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he chanted during the ring. He was about to give up hope when she finally answered.

“What?”

Okay, that wasn’t promising, but at least she had picked up. “I love you.”

“Seriously? You’re calling me with this? Save it, Aaron. I didn’t tell Reggie anything and you don’t have to worry about him trying to break the contract.”