20. Aaron
Chapter twenty
Aaron
After a very long day, I’m happy to receive an invite for supper from Bella. This morning had been filled with practice, and the rest of the day was spent working on the charity dance.
I’m just getting back to the city after visiting Castleton for some last-minute logistics. It’s been a long drive, and I’m ready to be done.
Bella and I seem to be in a good place. We’ve both made it clear that it’s not a good time for a romantic relationship for either of us.
Which has in turn taken off the pressure and allows us to just see what feels natural.
I arrive at her apartment, and she buzzes me up. The smell of frying garlic and onions makes my stomach rumble.
“Smells good,” I tell her as I come into the kitchen. “What can I help with?”
Bella beams at me. “Just wash up. It’s all ready.”
She grabs oven mitts and pulls pre-sliced garlic bread from the oven. I head to the bathroom to wash my hands and face. By the time I’m done, there are two settings with Caesar salad, garlic bread, and seafood linguini.
“It looks delicious,” I tell her, taking a seat.
“Thanks. We need to save some leftovers for Mike and Ellen. They’re going to be here in a couple of hours.” Bella brushes her hair away from her neck. “Oh, did you want any wine?”
I shake my head. “I don’t really drink except when on vacation. But you can have some if you want.”
Bella shakes her head. “I’m having an early morning tomorrow, and wine makes me too sleepy.”
We dig into our food. It tastes just as good as it smells.
“I did something today,” Bella announces after a little while. “I went to Steven’s apartment and gave him back his ring. And I confronted him about the way he used to treat me.”
My stomach drops at first, but she looks so happy that it can’t have been that bad.
“How’d it go?”
“Honestly? There was less fighting than I thought there’d be,” she says. “He did act like I was coming back to him at first, but he cut it out pretty quick. I got to tell him how his behavior was toxic and he can’t blame me for the things he did.”
“You mean like switching out your wedding dress?” I ask.
“Among other things.”
I watch her as she fidgets with her silverware. She’s practically glowing.
“I told him that I’m starring in my own fashion show. When he started to ask me if I was sure I was ready, I told him it didn’t matter because the experts in the field think I’m ready. That him up fast!"
She laughs.
I grin at her. “I’m happy for you.”
“I know it seems like I’ve already put all this behind me, but I realized I needed to cut out everything that reminds me of Steven,” Bella says. “I haven’t even thought about that ring in forever, but it was still there.”
“So now you got rid of it.”
“Yeah. And I told him that I’m blocking him on everything. If he tries to get anyone to contact me on his behalf, I’m blocking them, too.” She grins, triumphant.
As she beams, I twirl some linguini onto my fork. “How did he take that?”
“Surprisingly well,” Bella answers. “He even admitted that he shouldn’t have messed with the dress. He apologized and didn’t try the ‘I’m sorry but’ technique.”
I raise my brows in surprise. “That’s a twist. I thought he’d continue to blame you for everything.”
“Honestly, I thought he would, too,” she admits. “But I think it ended well. He took the ring back and agreed never to try to contact me again.”
I want to reach across the table and pull her into a hug.
“I’m proud of you. That can’t have been easy, but you did what you needed to do to get your peace of mind.”
Bella beams at me. “Yeah. So, that’s how my day went. How was yours?”
I tell her about my trip to Castleton. Our conversation turns to reminiscing about the various activities we did there.
More than once, I catch a wistful look on her face. When we’re done eating and have cleaned up, two hours have gone by. Mike and Ellen should be coming soon.
We sit in the living room, and the conversation turns to talks of the future.
“Once my name is established, I hope to be able to have an affordable clothing line,” Bella tells me. “I want to make beautiful clothes that everyone can enjoy.”
“How much money do designers earn?”
Bella shakes her head. “Oh, it depends on so many factors. But I don’t care about getting rich off it. I would like something that allows me to be comfortable, with enough to save for retirement and donate to charity. What about you? How much do NHL players earn?”
I grin in answer. “Enough that I could retire right now and be comfortable for the rest of my life. I’ve been prudent with my spending habits.”
“So, what do you want to do when you retire?”
“I want to find a small town where I can coach a kid’s hockey team. I’m not looking to create the next big star. I want to give kids the chance to enjoy the sport and have a sense of community,” I tell her.
She rests her chin on her hand. “How small of a small town?”
“Less than ten thousand people,” I answer. “Preferably a place that has an ice rink, but I’m willing to build one.”
Her eyes nearly bug out of her head. “That’s got to cost a few million dollars!”
“It varies in cost,” I hedge.
“You have enough to build that and still be comfortable with the leftover?” she demands.
I grin. “My salary has been reported on before. You can check it if you want.”
She whistles. “Will you name the arena after yourself?”
“Goodness, no!” I laugh. “I’m not that arrogant. I’d name it after the town I’m in. That is, if the small town I end up in is so small they don’t have a rink already.”
A distant look comes to her eyes as she hums. “I could see myself living in a small town. Just as long as it’s close enough to the city to continue my work.”
My heart flutters. “How close is close enough?”
“A lot of what I do could be done from home. Especially if I start my own lineup, just so long as I have the proper space in my house.” She taps her chin. “But assuming I had to commute every day, I’d say no more than an hour.”
“An hour? So you’d have a two-hour round-trip commute every day?” I ask, surprised.
She gives me a puzzled look. “It already takes me almost an hour to get from here to Imogen’s studio. Honestly, some people have it worse. But like I said, I could work a lot from home. I wonder if I could be a work-from-home mom. Doing two jobs at once seems like a lot of work.”
“If you have a husband who has most of his day free, then he could have the kids during your work hours,” I say.
Bella meets my eyes. “That sounds lovely.”
She twines her fingers in mine. My gaze drops to her lips, and I remind myself that there is no kissing in the apartment.
Maybe I should ask her to step outside for a moment—
The door opens and we both turn. Ellen and Mike come in, arms around each other, giggling like a couple of lunatics.
“What’s going on?” Bella asks.
Ellen detangles from Mike and rushes over, throwing her arms around Bella. “We were going to wait, I promise. But when we went to the mall, we decided to look, just to see what was available. And… well…”
She leans back and holds out her left hand. There, on her middle finger, sparkles a diamond ring. The gem is cut in a circle, a single stone with two small emeralds on either side in the delicate band.
“And they’re all lab-grown, so I don’t have to worry about it being a blood diamond,” Ellen squeals. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
I laugh as I get to my feet. I give Ellen a one-armed hug and pat Mike on the back.
“Congratulations, you two,” I say. “So you decided not to have a dramatic, public proposal after all?”
Mike chuckles. “Not yet. I am going to propose officially, and that will be a spectacle. But the when and how is a surprise.”
Ellen beams at him. “Just how I want it.”
They’re so happy, they don’t notice Bella slowly getting to her feet. Or the clear devastation on her face that she’s trying to hide.
But I do.