“Adele came to see me, every other Saturday.”
“What about your Mom? Is she still taking care of your ill grandmother?”
“No, she passed.”
Aubrey looked over at me. Her face fell. “I’m sorry. That was thoughtless. Your grandmother was ill. I should have realized.”
“You couldn’t have known.” I cleared my throat. “They’re both gone now, actually. Mum died of an aneurysm the first year.”
“Oh my God, Chance. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
I opened the water bottle I was carrying and fed some to the panting pooches. Aubrey was still looking at me when the bottle was empty. So I gave her my full attention and waited to hear what she was thinking about.
A tear rolled down her face before she spoke. “You’ve lost so much.”
I wiped it away and cupped her cheek. She leaned into my touch. I could barely breathe remembering all that I lost. “Yes. I did.” I closed my eyes briefly to pull myself together. When I reopened them, Aubrey was still watching me. So I continued. “Sometimes, it takes losing everything to make you realize what you really need.”
She laced my fingers with hers and squeezed. We sat on the bench like that for another hour before the four dogs we were exercising decided it was time to get back up. I told her about the soccer clinic I started in prison. She told me about everything she did to get the animal shelter up and running. Her firm allowed her to do a sizeable amount of pro bono work, which made her happy. It sounded as if she had found the type of balance she was still figuring out she wanted two years ago.
After we returned the dogs to the shelter, I wasn’t ready to let her go. We were standing out front, and it felt like an awkward end to a first date. “Could we go get a bite to eat?” I asked.
She bit her bottom lip. “I sort of have plans tonight.”
Dick. I nodded and looked down.
“But—”
I glanced back up hopeful. I wasn’t beyond puppy dog eyes.
“They were sort of loose plans. Maybe I could change them.”
I answered honestly, “I would really love that. I’m not ready to give you back tonight.”
She nodded and excused herself for a minute, walking away to make a phone call out of earshot. When she returned, she dropped her phone into her purse. “What are you in the mood for? I need to stop home and change for wherever we go. The dogs got me all dirty, and I don’t want to put back on my suit from work.”
“How about we order in?”
She thought about it for a few seconds. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chance.”
I held up three fingers. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Boy Scout’s promise.”
She squinted at me as she considered the idea. “Fine.”
My other hand was behind my back with two fingers crossed.
We ordered spaghetti carbonara and chicken cutlet parmigiana from the Italian restaurant a few blocks from her house. Sharing, we both dug in as soon as it arrived. She dipped a piece of bread into the sauce after we polished off both dishes. “I see you’ve lifted your ban on carbohydrates. I seem to remember you only allowing yourself one cheat meal a month.”
“I decided I liked food too much. So I traded bread and pasta for a strict regimen at the gym. Richard got me into running, and I realized I could burn off a slice of cheesecake in less than thirty minutes. Totally worth the half hour.”
I looked away. Hearing her talk about him, and all the good he’d done for her, left me conflicted. I was happy she was enjoying things more but sad I wasn’t the person who helped her learn to enjoy what life had to offer. If I was truthful, hearing his name from her lips also made me feel cross.
“Sorry.” She caught my long face and offered sincerely.
“I’m being an arse. I’m glad that you’re eating and exercising.” I needed a minute, so I got up and took our plates to the sink. Aubrey cleaned up the table while I loaded and started the dishwasher. It felt so…domestic. So right. I wondered if she felt like this with him, too.
It was only eight o’clock when dinner was done. I didn’t want to outstay my welcome, yet I never wanted to leave. I stared down at the kitchen floor. There were some cracks in the grout—a project for another day. “Do you want me to go?” My head was still bowed, but my eyes looked up at her filled with hope.
She shook her head and spoke softly. “How about we watch a movie?”
Pixy joined us in the living room. The minute we sat on the couch, the bugger hopped up on the adjoining loveseat. He propped his head up on the armrest and stared at us. “It’s sort of his seat,” she offered.