‘Then how—’
‘Because,’ Chase said simply, ‘life with her is worth any possible risk. But I’ll admit, it took me a while to realise that. And maybe,’ he added quietly, ‘it will be different this time with you. Knowing Luke, I’m pretty sure it will.’
She sniffed again. Nodded. Because she knew Luke, and he was nothing, nothing like Pete Myers. And she was nothing like the way she’d been with Pete. With Luke she was different, new, changed.
She had changed. Why hadn’t she believed it in the critical moment? Why had she blanked and backed away, defaulting to her old self?
She glanced sadly at Chase. ‘I think it might be too late.’
He shook his head. ‘I was just with Luke. Trust me, it’s not too late.’
* * *
Two days later Aurelie stood in front of the renovated warehouse that housed Luke’s new enterprise. Chase had told her that after resigning from Bryant’s Luke had formed his own charitable foundation. She’d been surprised, and also pleased for Luke. He had never seemed like he actually enjoyed working for Bryant’s.
And now she was here in lower Manhattan, terrified. Trying to change.
Taking a deep breath she opened the warehouse’s heavy steel door and stepped into the building. The space was basically just one cavernous room, with folding chairs and stepladders and sheets of plastic all over the place. A young, officious-looking woman bustled towards her.
‘May I help?’
‘I’m looking for Luke Bryant—’
The woman’s eyes widened in recognition. ‘Are you—’
‘Yes. Do you know where I can find Luke?’
Her eyes still wide, the woman nodded and gestured towards a door in a corner of the warehouse. Taking another deep breath Aurelie headed towards it.
Luke’s back was to her as she opened the door. He was scanning some blueprints. ‘Is that lunch?’ he asked without looking up.
‘Sorry, I don’t have any sandwiches.’
Luke glanced up, everything about him stilling, blanking as he gazed at her. Aurelie tried to smile. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi.’
She couldn’t tell a thing from his tone. ‘I like the name,’ she said, pointing to a sign on the door. The Morpho Foundation. ‘Reminds me of a really great date I went on, when this butterfly landed in my hair and I kissed a man and it felt like the first real kiss I’d ever had.’
A muscle flickered in Luke’s jaw and he dropped his gaze. ‘Morpho is the Greek word for change, and this foundation’s all about change.’
She swallowed. ‘Change is good.’
He glanced up at her, and she saw that something had softened in his face. ‘But yeah, it’s about the butterfly too.’ He paused, and one corner of his mouth quirked the tiniest bit upwards. ‘And the kiss.’
It was more than enough of an opening. ‘I miss you, Luke. I’m sorry I messed up so badly. I panicked and I acted on that panic instead of trusting you like I should have.’
He shook his head slowly, and Aurelie’s heart free-fell towards her toes. ‘I messed up too. I should have told you what was going on in my mind. The stuff about my mother. I just hadn’t put it all together until that moment.’
‘And I was so wrapped up in my own pain and past that I didn’t think about yours.’ She managed a smile. ‘I thought you had it all together.’
‘So did I.’
‘I’m sorry about your mom,’ Aurelie said quietly. ‘I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.’
‘It wasn’t easy.’
‘I like the idea behind your foundation.’ She’d read online that the foundation would be supporting children of parents in crisis. Like a mom with cancer.
‘You gave me the idea, actually.’
‘Me?’
‘I thought about how alone you were, at such a young age. If you’d had one stable adult in your life things might have turned out differently for you.’
She nodded slowly. ‘They might have.’
‘Anyway—’ Luke shrugged ‘—there’s a lot of work to do before this thing is even off the ground.’
‘Still, I’m glad you’re doing it.’ They both lapsed into silence then, and Aurelie’s heart started thudding. Again. She’d thought they were getting there, working towards one another, but Luke still looked terribly remote. He didn’t move towards her even though she desperately wanted him to. She wanted him to take her in his arms and kiss her, tell her it was all going to work out.