Page 46 of Completely Captivated
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere nice.It’ll be a surprise.You deserve to be spoiled.”
“Dressy.Got it.See you later, Jared.”
With my phone back in my pocket, I turned to start another carafe of coffee and found Allie staring me down.The expression on her face said she was less than pleased with me.“What?”
“You’re going on a date with Jared tonight?”She put her fists on her hips and pinned me with her irritated gaze, daring me to deny my plans for the evening.
“It’s not a date.I’m only having dinner with a friend, and he’s helping me with this mess with Aaron.”
“Going to dinner somewhere with a dress code isn’t just a friendly outing, Christa.And that man doesn’t look at you as just a friend.Don’t be naïve.”She grabbed the towel from under the counter and began cleaning.Angrily.
“Wow.Where is this coming from, Allie?”I stepped in front of her to make her stop and talk to me.
“Christa,” she started, already exasperated with me, and threw the towel down.“You know I love you.You’re my best friend, and I want nothing but the best for you.I’m warning you now, nothing good will come from this.”
“Allie, I love you too.I’ve told you we’re only friends.But I seem to remember you offering to make Jared your own personal pogo stick.So, why the sudden change?”
“He’s handsome.”She shrugged.“I’m not looking for a forever kind of love.A night or two with him would be enough for me.He’s no different—I know guys like him.
“What Aaron did to you was really shitty, and part of me would like to feed him a sandwich using his balls as the sliced lunch meat.But he showed up here for you, didn’t he?He came crawling back, asking for forgiveness, trying to explain what happened.Yourhusbandasked for your forgiveness, Christa.”
She stomped off to the back of the shop, leaving me to digest her words alone.Hearing Allie call him my husband felt like a knife stabbing me directly in the center of my heart.I looked down at my left hand and could still feel the weight of my wedding rings even though they were long gone.My tether to Aaron was still very real, whether I was wearing the rings or not.Pride wouldn’t let me show him how much he hurt me…or how very much I still loved him.
Then I remembered the betrayal.The sting of his disloyalty.The utter disregard for my feelings when I cried and begged him in Lance’s office.The way he didn’t defend me against his brother’s accusations.And just like that, I was right back in the raging storm of anger and depression.
I marched to the back, where Allie was hiding after making her cutting remarks, ready to throw a few barbs of my own.“I know you think you’re helping, in your own twisted way.But if you recall, myhusbandadmitted he remembered everything except the week leading up to our trip to Vegas.That means he remembered me.He knew who I was.He knew how he felt about me and how I felt about him.But none of that mattered when I begged him—in front of his asshole brother—to just talk to me.Like an adult.Like ahuman being.I asked him if he wanted a divorce, if he truly didn’t want to be married to me.He didn’t.So, excuse me for trying to protect myself from that kind of hurt again.Apparently, Jared is the only one on my side, helping protect me.”
“If you think Jared is only trying to protect you from Aaron, you’ll end up making another colossal mistake because you’re fucking blind.Aaron fucked up, no doubt.But he loves you, and he’s trying to make amends.I’m not saying to run and move in with him.But you can give him a chance.”
“Give him a chance, huh?A chance to hurt me again?A chance to humiliate me?A chance to toss me aside like I mean nothing to him—just like my parents did?Hell no.”
“Then you’ll miss a chance to be truly loved for who you are.He’s not your mom or your dad.He’s a man who had a medical condition and freaked the fuck out.I don’t know how I’d react if I woke up married one day and my spouse had already moved in, but I had no clue how any of it happened.I’d probably beat the shit out of him with a baseball bat, no matter how long I’d been with him.Or maybe I’d play it off like I knew exactly what was going on because I’d finally convinced someone to marry my crazy ass.The point is, neither of us knows how we’d react because we’ve never been put to the test before.”
Allie and I finished the day speaking only when we were forced to and only about work.She wasn’t mad at me—she was disappointed in me, and that was almost worse.She waited for me to call Jared and break our friendly dinner reservation, but I didn’t.
It was not a date.
As I locked up for the night, my phone pinged with a text.
Jared:I’m looking forward to our date tonight.
The inadvertent cringe that message caused was impossible to ignore.I never wanted to date again.Not Jared, not any man.Because my heart and soul still belonged to Aaron.
Damn you, Aaron.
Me:I’m sorry—can’t make it tonight.I’m too tired, and I’m definitely not ready to date.
He answered immediately.Date was the wrong word.Just dinner with a friend.
When I didn’t reply for a minute, he sent another text.
Christa, let me be there for you.I haven’t been for so long.
Me:All right.Dinner with a friend it is.
When I reached my apartment, all I really wanted to do was sink down into my tub and stay home for the night.But I showered and dressed instead.No doubt Jared would take me to one of the best restaurants in the city.The ones where it takes months to get a table unless the right names are dropped and connections contacted.Jared’s family had those contacts, so I had no doubt he’d called in a favor.
