Chapter 2
Someone was sitting on the front porch. The car’s headlights briefly illuminated the stranger’s silhouette as Selene turned into the driveway.
Her hands tensed on the wheel, and her heartbeat kicked up a few notches.
She couldn’t think of a reason, at least not any good reason, someone would be lurking around a house this late.
Selene put the car into park, wondering if she should call the police or just wait to see what happened, but the moment the car stopped, Allie’s door flew open, and then she was sprinting toward the front door.
“Allie!” Selene shouted as she wrestled with her seat belt and practically fell out of the driver’s seat in her effort to race after the girl. “Allie, wait!”
But she came to an abrupt halt, her alarm turning into shock as the figure on the porch rose, triggering the porch’s motion light, and opened his arms .
. . arms that Allie leaped into. Her laughter, a bright sound that had been so rare since her mother’s death, spilled into the night air as the stranger spun her around in circles.
The spell that stupefied Selene broke as she grasped for a rational interpretation of what she was seeing. A young man set Allie gently down, still holding her close.
“I missed you so, so much,” Allie told him. “It feels like I’ve been away forever.”
“I missed you too,” he replied. “Every day. Every minute. Every second.”
He released her, but only so he could cup her face in his hands. “Are you okay, Allie?”
She nodded. “I’m happy to be home. It’s hard, but me and Aunt Sel—”
Allie drew a sharp breath and pivoted toward Selene. “Oh.”
Yep, that’s right, Selene thought, her mind still buzzing with surprise. I’m here. Feeling awkward and a little like I’m watching a movie scene. But I guess this is real life? Who is this guy? Why haven’t I heard so much as a peep about him?
The guy in question took a step toward Selene, though he kept one hand linked with Allie’s. Now that he was closer, she could see that he was young, walking the line that separated boy from man. He was tall, had thick brown hair and blue eyes, and offered Selene a confident smile.
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Ms. Jones,” he said. “I’m Josh.”
Allie offered Selene a tremulous smile, then turned toward Josh, beaming at him with the force of a thousand suns. “Josh is my boyfriend.”
Selene made herself take a beat even though she wanted to fire off about a million questions.
She felt an all-too-familiar pinch in her heart followed by the treacherous inner whisper that she had no idea what she was doing when it came to parenting a teenager—well, a child of any age would be daunting, but teens came with extra .
. . everything. And she’d been tossed into the deep end on day one in her new home because now there was a boyfriend.
Allison wasn’t Selene’s niece by blood. Emma, the sixteen-year-old girl’s mother, had been Selene’s college roommate and best friend.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared Selene for the phone call she’d gotten six months ago.
The police asking her to come to San Francisco to identify a body.
Emma was dead. She’d been attending a weekend conference for work, and she’d been the victim of a mugging while walking from the convention center back to her hotel. A robbery gone wrong, they said.
Gone wrong. As if what had happened was a fluke. A simple mistake. Not a gaping wound in the hearts of the people who’d loved her.
Selene had gotten the call from the police because Allie was a minor and Allie’s father had been out of the picture for years.
Selene was named Allie’s guardian in Emma’s will, but she never thought she’d become Allie’s guardian.
Because only a nightmare would trigger that change in their lives. And the nightmare had happened.
Selene had collected a shell-shocked and grieving Allison and taken her home to live with her in Los Angeles until they could sort out a long-term plan.
They’d been feeling their way along ever since.
Both burdened by loss. Sometimes able to share their sorrow and find comfort, other times stumbling over each other in awkward, painful ways.
For the most part, it had been good. At least as good as it could be, considering the circumstances.
But not a day went by without Selene worrying that she either wasn’t doing enough or was trying too hard.
Selene knew her tone was clipped when she said, “You have a boyfriend? Since when?”
“Since . . . a while.” Allie returned her attention to Selene, her smile dimming a bit, but she held it in place.
Selene forced herself to count to five before replying in hopes of maintaining her composure.
“And I’m just hearing about it now?” Selene asked. Even after waiting, her voice came out a little strangled. But who could blame her? She and Allie had been living together for months.
It was Allie who hesitated this time. She and Josh exchanged a glance, and he offered her the slightest of nods.
Okay, they obviously planned this conversation.
Was that what all Allie’s furious texting on the drive up from LA had been about?
She and Selene had barely spoken, but Selene had assumed that was because Allie was returning to a home filled with memories of Emma.
Yes, they’d decided Avondale was where Allie wanted to be, hoping to ease back into a normal life where she’d attend a familiar school and be surrounded by friends.
Allie’s high school had been incredibly accommodating, allowing her to continue her classes remotely while she was in Los Angeles, which meant she’d be able to ease back into her schedule without being months behind.
That didn’t mean the homecoming wouldn’t be bittersweet.
But given what Selene was witnessing at that moment, maybe not as bittersweet as she’d imagined. Now Selene wondered if she’d been projecting her fears onto Allie, while Allie had been eagerly anticipating this reunion with Josh.
“You’ve been so busy getting ready for the move,” Allie began. “And sorting everything out with your job. I didn’t want to give you something else to worry about.”
Obviously there was more to it, but Selene held her temptation toward sarcasm at bay. “Allie, I’m never too busy for you to tell me what’s going on in your life,” she replied. “I always want to know.” She fixed her gaze on Josh. “And I definitely need to know about—”
Selene’s intention was to be firm, stern even, but holding Josh’s stare was unnerving.
The blue of his eyes startling and intense.
For a kid, he had incredible presence. Despite the awkward situation, he gave no sign of embarrassment or worry, unlike Allie, who kept glancing anxiously between Selene and Josh.
Clearing her throat, Selene continued. “Important people in your life.”
“I know, I know!” Allie blurted. “And I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to wait until I knew . . .”
She trailed off and turned toward Josh, cheeks turning a deep shade of pink, keeping her gaze slightly downcast but peeking up at him through her eyelashes. Selene sensed impending disaster.
“Until you knew what?” she asked.
“That what we have is real,” Allie answered dreamily, and Josh took her other hand.
“It is,” he said softly.
Allie took a step closer to him. “I know.”
When it became clear they’d completely forgotten Selene existed yet again and looked like they were about to kiss, she panicked.
“Hey! Whoa! Time out, kiddos.”
Time out, kiddos? Wow. I am so bad at this. So much for being the cool aunt.
Lack of cool notwithstanding, her outburst at least startled the teen lovebirds out of their reverie, so points for that. Allie was staring at her like she’d grown a second head. Josh simply looked amused.
“Are you okay, Aunt Selene?” Allie asked. “You’re being kind of weird.”
Grimacing, Selene decided to try a do-over. “I’m fine, Allie. You caught me off guard. I didn’t think we’d have company the second we arrived in town, especially given that it’s almost midnight.”
“I know.” Allie averted her eyes. “I meant to tell you on the way here, but I didn’t know how.”
“Right.” Selene knew she was supposed to be the adult here, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to stop herself from giggling.
She was overtired from the drive and the stress of, well, everything about the last six months.
How perfect was it that she’d arrived at her new home and stumbled right into this—could it be a more classic teen-and-parent moment?
Selene needed to establish ground rules with Allie.
And she would. But she was also a little relieved that Allie was caught up in something so normal when she had every right to be cocooned in sorrow, raging at the injustice of having her mom snatched away so suddenly and violently.
Allie deserved every bit of happiness she could find.
For tonight at least, Selene decided to go easy on her. And Josh. They’d have plenty of time to sort this out, preferably in the light of day.
“Since we’re talking about how late it is,” she said, “and the fact that it’s a school night, I think Josh should go home.”
Allie made a grudging but affirmative noise.
“And Josh, I hope we can get to know each other better soon,” Selene told him.
“I’d like that, Ms. Jones,” Josh replied, the soul of politeness. “Allison is very important to me.”
Selene didn’t miss that he echoed and emphasized her word of choice from a few minutes ago. She wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it to be respectful or if he was poking fun at her. That puckish glint was in his eyes again.
“Is it okay if I talk to Josh alone for a minute, Aunt Selene?” Allie asked. “To say good night?”
“Okay,” Selene said. “It was nice meeting you, Josh. I’m sure we’ll have the chance to talk again soon.”
Josh and Allie exchanged a weighted glance that made Selene’s brow furrow.
“I’m sure we will,” Josh replied.