6. Aaron
Chapter six
Aaron
Bella and I finish off our side of the scavenger hunt quickly.
Other than the one disagreement about the oak tree, we’re on the same page for everything else.
We’re done half an hour earlier than we’re meant to meet Ellen and Mike, so we head to the café to wait for them.
“You don’t have to,” Bella protests when I buy her a lemonade. Her cheeks go pink.
“It’s no problem.” We sit at an outdoor table under the shade of a patio umbrella.
A cool breeze slides through the air, making the otherwise hot day bearable.
“Those are some dark clouds over there,” I note, pointing toward the east. “With any luck, they’ll blow around us.”
Bella drinks her lemonade. “I hope so. I can only imagine how much longer the cleanup will take if we end up with more bad weather.”
There’s nothing we can do to change the weather, so I turn the discussion to our matchmaking scheme.
“What should we do next? The scavenger hunt was great, but we need to up the romantic tension,” I suggest. “I can’t think of any way to bow out of the picnic on the beach without being obvious about it.”
“Yeah, I thought about that, too.” Bella frowns.
She drums her fingers on the table as she thinks.
I fight back a smile. Even sitting here, relaxing, she likes to keep moving.
“The notice board over there might give us some ideas,” she says.
We go over to check it out. There are so many notices that it takes us a while to go through them all.
Bella lets out a cry of triumph and taps one of them. “Look at this. A dance tomorrow night. Barn dance… looks like they’re adding space outside to accommodate more people. Tickets are only twenty-five per person.”
“Excellent,” I agree. “It will be perfect for us to attend. It’s been a long time since I went to a dance.”
“Me, too,” Bella says. She smooths her dark hair behind her ear. “Actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve gone out for anything like this.”
There’s no point in asking why. I already know why.
“A small town is the best place to dip your toes back in the water, then,” I say cheerfully. “And as an added challenge, I think we should both set some personal goals for the dance.”
She lifts one eyebrow at me. “What sort of personal goals?”
“I’m going to dance with three women,” I say. “It’s been a while since I’ve done anything like that.”
Bella’s cheeks turn red. “Ah. I don’t know if I want to do something like that.”
“That’s fine. Our goals don’t have to be the same.” We return to our table. “So what will your goal be?”
She considers, swirling her lemonade in her glass. “I will… talk to three people I don’t know.”
I grin at her. “That’s terrific!”
Her blush deepens. “It’s not much.”
“So? It’s still something.”
She gives me a tentative smile. “The notice said that the dress code is semi-formal. I’d like to check the fabric shop to see if I can get a sewing machine and some fabric to make Ellen and me dresses.”
“I don’t think you need to wear a dress.”
“But I would like to have something to do.” Bella leans back in her chair. “And it’s been a long time since I’ve worked on one of my own designs. I really don’t have the time to make something fantastic, but I can make something decent for a barn dance.”
Her eyes light up as she talks. I haven’t seen her this animated since we came here, and my interest is piqued.
I rest my hands on the table. “Don’t you work in fashion design?”
“Yes.”
“Then how come it’s been a while since you’ve made something you designed?”
Bella bites her lip. “Well, I’m always busy working with Imogen. That takes up a lot of my time, and I usually end up sewing her designs when I sew at all.”
“I see. But if you want to work on your own designs, why don’t you bring them to her?” I press. “Wouldn’t she be able to help you move forward?”
“I don’t have anything that’s ready. I don’t want to share my designs until I know they’re the best they can be,” she explains.
I nod slowly. “So you’re a perfectionist.”
Bella laughs. “I suppose I am. That isn’t to say I don’t have my own dreams. What I want to do is to create a clothing line that I can produce for people of all price ranges. Both ethically made and inexpensive.”
“Ethically made?”
“Good, safe conditions for workers who are paid good wages,” she explains. “With as little waste as possible.”
“Right. And you want it accessible to all price ranges?”
Bella nods eagerly. “I want to have dedicated thrift stores where people can donate their clothes for credit when buying new things. Then I can resell the clothes they donate at a lower price so that people who can’t afford to buy new can still buy.”
“What’s to stop people from buying second-hand clothes and donating them again for the credit?” I ask.
“I haven’t worked out all the kinks. But I have to get my designs ready before I can do any of that,” she says.
I’m so engrossed in how animated Bella is that I don’t notice Steven approaching until he starts to laugh.
Bella jerks.
“She talking your ear off about clothes, huh?” Steven says. He takes a seat at our table without asking. “She likes to yap about fashion, don’t you, babe?”
He casually puts an arm around her shoulder.
Bella shrugs it off and moves a little further from him. “We were talking.”
“There’s nowhere else open,” Steven says. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Actually—" I start.
Steven interrupts me quickly. “You learn how to tune her out when she’s droning on and on.”
“I thought it was very interesting,” I say stiffly.
Steven snorts, giving me a disbelieving look. He tries to put an arm around Bella again. She pushes him off.
“Don’t touch me,” she hisses.
Steven holds his hands in the air. “Excuse me for breathing.”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” I tell Steven firmly.
He ignores me.
“Bella here is obsessed with fashion and clothes. Did she tell you that she made her own wedding dress? For our wedding,” he adds, as though there was any doubt as to what he was talking about.
“I did,” Bella mutters. “But you didn’t want me to wear it, did you?”
Steven gives her an innocent look. “Babe, you were talking about your designs not being ready. I didn’t want you to be embarrassed as you walked down the aisle.”
He’s not leaving. I know that he won’t leave without making a scene. Will it be worth it to start the scene if it means that he’ll leave sooner?
“Of course,” Steven continues, his voice growing louder, “I had no idea that it was me who would be embarrassed. There I was, standing by the altar waiting for my bride and she never came. You know how embarrassing it is to have a runaway bride?”
Bella slides down her chair, trying to hide. Several of the other tables start to look over at us.
Steven’s eyes dart to the onlookers.
A grin twitches at his mouth.
He’s doing it deliberately, making sure everyone knows how much Bella wronged him in an attempt to humiliate her.
My hands clench under the table.
“I knew that she’s flighty and has trouble with commitments, but I never thought it would be that bad,” he continues, his voice raised. “But despite all that, I still love her.” He turns to Bella. “I still love you, Bella. And I forgive you.”