Chapter Fifteen #2
However, the mood toward us has shifted—if only a little.
A few years ago, the townspeople gawked whenever Thorin, Zeke, and I would come into town since we were a rare sight with an even more mysterious history.
Left with no choice but to fill in those blanks themselves, we became some cheap urban legend.
Over time those stares became less frequent and lengthy, but there were still some.
They whisper when I pass, and for the first time, I don’t grit my teeth or glare them into looking away. I take in all their stares and curious whispers because it means they aren’t giving her a second glance. My presence is the perfect disguise.
I’d managed to move and force an indulgent smile by the time Aurelia realized I wasn’t responding to her many questions and comments. She was standing in front of the specials board contemplating her many choices when her head popped up and she looked around in search of me.
Smoothly, I reappeared by her side and reclaimed her hand. “I’m right here, baby. What was that?”
“Oh. I said I don’t know which flavor to get. They all sound so good and gross at the same time.” She wrinkled her nose. “How is that possible?”
I smirked at her. “Why don’t we get them all so you can try them?”
“Really?”
The teenage cashier with a large septum piercing and more freckles than not wore a bored expression when we stepped up to the counter, and she barely suppressed an eye roll when Aurelia and I ordered all nine of the specials.
Sam and Molly had dozens of flavors that were constantly changing, but Aurelia and I were determined to make a sizable dent in their menu.
The shop was busy today since it was a warm, sunny day and a Friday. I even spotted a few kids who had clearly decided to skip school. The cashier handed one of the servers our ticket, and he hurried away to get started on our big order.
“Thanks,” Aurelia said.
“Sure.”
Placing a hand on Aurelia’s lower back, I start to move her out of the way when the cashier’s gaze snags on Aurelia’s face and the recognition that flashes in her eyes puts me on edge.
“Hey. Has anyone ever told you that you look like that singer?”
Aurelia stops, her face as alarmed as I’m feeling. “W-what singer?”
“I don’t know. Anastasia, I think.”
“Oh. Yeah,” Aurelia plays it off with a laugh. “Yeah, sometimes. Are you a big fan of hers?”
“Not really. I think she died or something.” Clearly bored with us now that she believes Aurelia isn’t a mega celebrity, the cashier sighs and turns away to restock the cones.
My gaze is stuck to Aurelia as we walk away while worry churns in my gut at how she might feel at seemingly being so easily forgotten.
Her expression is confused, and she’s pensive for a few seconds before she snorts and then lets out the most obnoxious sound I’ve ever heard from her.
She quickly claps a hand over her mouth to smother the rest of her laugh, and I reach out to wrangle her hand away from her face.
Aurelia grins up at me and giggles. “It’s not the first time that’s happened,” she whispers when we’re far enough away from the cashier. “But I have to say it’s the first time it’s felt that good.”
“Congratulations. You’re a nobody like the rest of us. How does it feel, pleb?”
“Honestly? Like for the first time, I can truly do anything, and no one will give a shit. It’s great.”
Her smile is not only infectious, it lights up her face and emphasizes her beauty and I’m not talking about the allure that’s easily recognizable to anyone who sees her.
It’s the beauty within that captivates me.
The one you have to trudge through darkness and thorns, bitter words, and sneers to see.
But if you know where to look, it’s right there in the quick little breaths she takes when she’s excited, the way her brown eyes brighten, or the way her smile takes over her face.
She’s a vision that nearly sends me to my knees.
When I peek over at the server, he’s barely gotten through our third dish so I quickly pull Aurelia over into the dark hallway between the dining room and the employee area and I kiss her while she clings to me for the air I’m denying her.
When I finally release her, she’s panting for breath with a look in her eyes as if she wants to ask me what she’s done to deserve a kiss like that when really it’s me who feels as if I passed some sort of test.
“Order ninety-two!” the server calls out.
“That’s us,” Aurelia pants.
I kiss her one more time, albeit briefly, and then I pull her over to the counter and retrieve the large tray with our order. Aurelia leads the way to an empty table tucked into a back corner by the window. It’s been freshly wiped, so I set the tray down and we take our seats.
Aurelia has her eye on a sundae with scoops of cookies and cream, bubblegum, and strawberry ice cream.
It’s studded with Oreos, sprinkled with gummy bears, drizzled in caramel, and topped with a cherry.
I go for the other sundae with the least number of toppings—vanilla bean ice cream, caramel drizzle, peanut butter cups, and pretzels.
By the time we’re done, neither of us have finished a single dish, but we’ve sampled them all.
“I don’t think I can eat another bite,” Aurelia groans after one sip of a blue shake with a Cookie Monster theme.
“You ready to go?”
She peeks at me from under her lashes. “Only if you’re carrying me.”
I snort and throw a few bills on the table for the tip. “Let’s go, greedy girl.”
Aurelia groans when I help her out of her chair, and then we leave the parlor and step out into the sun.
We walk for a little bit, just enjoying the warmth after the freezing cold of Sam and Molly’s.
Unlike before, Aurelia is utterly disinterested in the shops we pass until we reach a florist. I let her pull me inside while she grumbles how our cabin is in desperate need of a feminine touch.
The bell above the door dings as we enter the empty shop.
“Welcome to Buds of Joy,” the shop owner calls out from the storage room. “I’ll be out in just a minute.” Aurelia and I look around for a few minutes before she joins us. “Hi. Thanks for coming in. I’m Til—Oh, hi, Khalil.”
“Tilda, hey.”
Our familiarity doesn’t go unnoticed by Aurelia, but since Hearth is a small town and everyone knows everyone, there’s nothing more than polite interest in her gaze as she observes quietly.
“I have to say I’m surprised to see you in my shop after you boys told me you had no need for flowers.” Finally, she notices Aurelia. “Who’s this you got with you?” Her gaze bounces between Aurelia and me as I debate which answer to give her—our cover story that she’s my cousin or the truth.
“I’m his girlfriend,” Aurelia recklessly answers for us both, whether purposefully or without thinking, I can’t say, and I definitely can’t question her in front of Tilda. “Aurora.”
So half-truths then.
“Oh my word. Aren’t you just the prettiest thing? What are you doing with him? You do know he’s got the manners of a boar, don’t you?”
“Well, you know,” Aurelia says, being perfectly charming like she’s not worse than me. “They’re not all first-round picks.”
Tilda tosses back her head and laughs like it’s the funniest thing.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What brings you to Hearth, Aurora?”
“Well, I kind of got lost and stumbled by accidentally. I made the mistake of asking this brute for directions, and that was all she wrote. I had no choice but to stick around.”
“Oh my gosh! That is so delightful.” While Tilda giggles like she’s just heard the beginning of the cutest Hallmark love story, I cut my gaze at Aurelia. Tilda doesn’t recognize the sarcastic curve of Aurelia’s smile, but I do.
Aurelia glances at me with a smug look in her eye once Tilda walks away and I mouth, behave.
Aurelia shrugs and makes a face like it’s not up to her.
Thirty minutes later, I’m walking out with an armful of four different bouquets while Aurelia and Tilda chat like old friends.
They’re a few steps behind me while I walk to the truck, and the flowers are blocking ninety percent of my vision, which explains why I don’t notice the woman glaring daggers at me until it’s too late.
“Khalil?”
“Fuck,” I grumble as I try to duck farther behind the bouquets in vain.
“Seriously? Khalil Poverly, I know that’s you.”
I lower the flowers just enough to spot Karla, Tilda’s daughter, standing ten feet away. I can tell by the scornful look in her eyes that she isn’t going to keep walking.
Shit is about to hit the fucking fan.
My girl is territorial as fuck, and Karla never could catch the hint after throwing herself in my path every time we’d come into town.
Aurelia won’t hesitate to stake her claim, and Karla will react like a jealous ex—even though she isn’t.
I’ve never even touched her. Neither woman will back down, and here I am uselessly waiting for the first missile to fire with an armful of flowers.
“What’s up, Karla? How have you been?” I ask even though I don’t give a shit. Last I heard, she was fucking around with a married man in the next town over and bragging to anyone who’d listen that he was going to leave his wife and kids for her.
“I don’t know, Khalil. You tell me.”
“You want me to tell you how you’ve been?” It was obvious that Karla had a script in her head of how our conversation would go once she ran into me, but she hadn’t counted on my interest in playing my part being nil.
“You don’t have to be rude.”
“Well, being nice doesn’t seem to land with you, so…” I shrug.
“What have I done to make you hate me?”
You won’t leave me alone. “Karla, I barely know you,” I point out instead. “It’s complicated.”