“Lily, Mae.” Dad’s voice reaches me as soon as I whirl towards him. Beside him is another man. My attention falls on the signet ring before taking in the refined tuxedo. The material hugs his body in a mixture of elegance and power. Black inky eyes stare me down, a gleam in their pools. The masked intensity in his gaze almost buckles my knees.
Aaron.
Oh God. Is he really here? This isn’t another one of my dreams, is it? He looks so real. Different, but still the same.
“Let me introduce you,” Dad continues. “This is Aaron Rhodes. The son of my colleague.” He motions to Mum. “You met my wife Lily before.” Dad signals to me. “My beloved daughter, Mae.”
I stare at him, unblinking. There couldn’t be more than one Aaron Rhodes. Right? Definitely not with that face. Absolutely not.
“Oh, the kind gentleman.” Mum smiles wide. “It’s good to see you again.”
Kind? Gentleman? Aaron?!
I almost pinch myself to make sure this isn’t a dream. I’m quite sure my mouth is hanging open.
Aaron reaches for Mum’s hand and plants a light kiss on the back. “It’s an honour to meet you again, Mrs Wilson.”
What am I missing? Why does he know my parents?
“This must be the artist?” Aaron takes my hand in his and sharp tingles invade my spine. When he plants a kiss atop it, his lips linger longer than needed. My knees shake, incapable of holding my weight any longer. When my eyes almost flood with tears, he finally releases me. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Wilson.”
I nod, unable to form words. I’ll make a fool out of myself if I speak.
“Call her Mae.” Mum gives a light chuckle. “There’s no need for such formalities between youngsters.” She gives me a canny look. The ‘hey-he’s-a-potential-boyfriend’ look, and hooks her arm with Dad’s. “If you shall excuse us, we need to greet William’s colleagues.”
As soon as my parents stroll away, my heart rate seems to double. Then it triples with the effort to keep myself calm. I stare into Aaron’s eyes. Their dark depths absorb me, undoing the little locks I’ve been trying to protect myself with. He’s far enough to not invade my personal space but his mere presence is slowly, but surely, melting me.
Instead of drowning in his presence and never coming back, I pull him by the sleeve to a staff room, and close the door behind us.
The florescent light of the room makes him more imposing and... real. Not a painting. Not a dream. Not a hallucination.
He’s real.
I inhale deep, my voice calm. “What are you doing here?” Why not before? Why did you make me wait all this time?
His lips curve in a half-smile as he cocks his head to the door. “Apparently you’re exhibiting me. I don’t remember giving you permission.”
“Well, you weren’t around to ask!” I shout, sniffing back the tears. Then, almost like a dying storm, all anger exits my system replaced by the biting loneliness and heartache I experienced ever since he left me. My lips tremble. “Why is it so easy for you to erase me? Why can’t I do the same?”
A shroud of vulnerability and sadness cloaks his face. “Leaving you took everything in me, Mae. Everything.”
I release a shaky breath. The bottled up emotions rush to the back of my throat. “Then why did you leave me? If it burns you as much as it does me, how could you bear to separate from me? I’m ready to accept you the way you are. I’m ready to fight your demons with you. I’m— “
Aaron cuts me off with his chest against mine. His arms encircle my back, caging me in a strong hold. I wrap my arms around his waist, inhaling his enticing cedar scent. My internal chaos weans almost instantly. When he speaks, his voice is deep and thick. “I am sorry. I had to fight on my own first. I had to make sure I would not hurt the one person I can’t live without.”
My feet tingl
e. I begrudgingly push back to stare into his eyes. The grey flecks soften. They consider me with a mixture of adoration and... pain?
“You can’t live without me?”
“Technically I can.” He smiles down on me, but sadness tugs down the corners of his lips. “But it’s only a shell. One I don’t want.”
I bury my face in his chest and take another dose of his bewitching scent. “I love you, Aaron. I never stopped loving you. I forgave everything except you leaving me.”
“Does that mean I need to grovel?” Aaron asks in a playful tone.
“Uh-huh.” I nod into his chest, stifling a smile. “The first step is taking me back to the estate.”