After a long flight filled with second-guessing her life choices, Mila met her aunt at the airport on the other side of the country. Her aunt Cathy waved and held her arms out as they met in the middle. Tears pricked the back of Mila’s eyes as Cathy enveloped her in a bear hug. She hadn’t seen her aunt in a while, and it reminded her of her father.
They went straight to Cathy’s house, and she put on coffee and picked out snacks. Then, she plopped down across from Mila at the small kitchen table and folded her arms on the tabletop. “So, are you and your mom at odds over the marriage?” Her sandy hair, kept short, swept across her forehead. Cathy was her father’s sister, and it was a nice reminder of her dad whenever she saw her.
Mila made a face. “No. It’s fine. I just wanted to see you.”
Cathy stared her down. “You’re not fooling me, Mila. You can look at me with those wide, innocent eyes all day, but I don’t believe you. Something’s happened or you wouldn’t be here.”
Mila dropped her eyes. It was always tougher hiding from her aunt than her mother. Either that or her aunt simply wouldn’t put up with the secrecy. “I lost my job,” Mila blurted out. It had been hard not blabbing to her mother. And part of her wanted to just come out with it.
Her aunt’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
Without any other prompting, Mila launched into the story. The whole story, including the weirdness with Jackson and kissing Maddox. And how she was now going to be his second assistant or whatever.
Cathy listened without a single interruption. When she’d caught up to the present, Cathy rested her chin on her palm. “I think you need something stronger than coffee.”
“You can’t tell mom, or anyone,” Mila pleaded. “She thinks I’m just visiting.” How Mila would explain her indefinite amount of time out there, she hadn’t figured out yet. But she would cross that bridge when she got there.
“She doesn’t even know about your job?” Cathy’s eyes widened.
Mila shook her head. She felt bad hiding it, but for now, it was for the best.
“Wow.” Cathy stared at her in awe. “I know you’ve always been a little like this with your mother, but this is on another level.”
Mila nodded slowly. She’d never had secrets this big, or important. “I keep wondering what Dad would make of all this.”
Cathy sucked in a breath. “I know he’d be more worried about you right now than your mom.”
“He would?” Mila wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug. She was used to not having her father around now, but sometimes she just wished she could call him.
“Oh yeah. Let’s face it. Your mother is…your mother. But it’s not really your style to jump up and leave without any notice. I know your mom doesn’t know about everything else, but still. This isn’t generally how you do things.”
“When you put it like that…” Mila thought of the other possibility. That right now, a rumor about her and Jackson could be sweeping through New York. None of this was appealing.
Her aunt half smiled. “Come on. Rest up a little and then we’ll go get a strong drink and talk about clothes.”
“I like the sounds of that.” Mila forced a smile. Even if she was starting over, at least she had finally told someone everything, which was a weight off her shoulders. And her aunt wouldn’t hold it over her head either.
Maybe this would turn out better than she imagined.