Until a thought struck me.
Remi, never in a million years, would have let him get away with hiding. She had her own life, her own problems, her own trauma to heal from. But if she had seen him like that, she would have sat him down and demanded he talk to her—complete with a stomp of her foot and potentially a punch to the shoulder. At the very least, she would have told him he needed to shave and then cracked a joke about him needing another three gallons of gel in his hair before she’d ever believe he was fine.
Fuck. I missed her.
Selfishly, looking out for him felt like helping her. As if I were taking this one thing off her plate, a plate I’d had a hand in filling. So even though Aaron and I didn’t have a close relationship, a call wasn’t out of the ordinary. However, a heartfelt discussion on how we were both floundering in virtually every aspect of our lives without her seemed a bit much.
So I did what any good Michaels would do: straight-up harassed him with invitations to every lunch, brunch, dinner, and obscure holiday I could come up with. He never showed for International Bacon Day or to my ironically nut-free party to celebrate Emma N. Nutt, the first woman telephone operator.
I did receive a What the fuck is wrong with you? text when I’d asked him to get a haircut with me on Be Bald and Free Day. But the bastard didn’t even attempt to return the favor on Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. (All very real holidays according to Google by the way.)
Finally, it took a phony plumbing disaster to get him to my driveway, and the minute he put the car into park, our game of cat and mouse was over.
If I’d learned anything in my time with Remi, it was that persistence paid off. I didn’t have my woman, but I could sleep a hell of a lot easier at night knowing her best friend was surrounded by good people and good food and not wallowing in pain alone. Well, at least that day.
Still cussing under his breath, he unlatched his seat belt and folded out of the car.
I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Smart man.”
He shrugged me off. “I’m not staying two hours.”
“We’ll see.”
“Bowen,” he snapped. “Trust me, I’m no ball of fun these days. Leaving early will be a mercy for them. I’m serious.”
“Yep. So am I.” Moving behind him, I put a hand between his shoulder blades and gave him a shove to get his feet moving up the sidewalk.
Back before the plane crash, when Remi had been one of the centerpieces of my family, it wasn’t unusual for all of us to get together. The Michaels crew adored Aaron. And yeah, once upon a time, even that piece of shit Mark too.
Time hadn’t changed that with Aaron. As soon as I opened the front door, pure love poured out of my house like heat from a fireplace in the dead of winter.
“Aaron!” everyone called in unison.
My mom was on him first, wrapping him in a hug so tight I wasn’t positive he could breathe.
Cassidy was next. “About time you showed up. I was starting to think you were avoiding us.”
“I was,” Aaron replied, slicing me with a side-eye. “I’d still be doing that right now actually if it wasn’t for that asshole.”
“That may be true, but watch your language,” Cassidy scolded as her boys played tug-of-war with Clyde in the hallway.
Aaron caught a combination handshake back pat from Tyson. His fiancé, Jared, was right beside him.
Aaron dragged a finger through the air between them. “Holy shit, are you two back together?”
Jared, who was at least three inches shorter than my brother, threw his arm around Tyson’s hips and beamed. “Yep. I’m hoping it sticks this time. I’m going broke on engagement rings.”
“Wow, congrats…again,” Aaron said.
My dad moved in for a handshake, a warm smile of pride aimed at our newest guest. “See, now if you came around more often, you’d know things like this.”
“Yeah, it’s…” He trailed off. “Been rough recently.”
My father sympathetically offered him a half smile and wrapped his arm around my mother’s shoulders. “We’re really sorry you lost your friend.”
“Don’t say that,” Aaron rushed out on a pained breath. “Jesus, Paul. After everything he did. How can you say that? He was never truly our friend.”
Dad slanted his head. “I’ll agree with you there, but notice I didn’t say ‘I’m sorry about what happened to him.’ Nevertheless, it was a significant loss for you, and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that. It has to be hard without Remi to lean on. You still have us.”
The mere mention of Mark was enough to set my veins ablaze. But as Aaron turned to look at me once again, tears welling in his eyes, I’d never loved my dad more.
