Page 44 of Coerced

So, I took a deep swallow and simply inclined my head with understanding.

Paxton must have realized the effect he was having on me, because a chuckle had escaped as he gave me one final squeeze and released my hand.

“Have a good night at work tonight, Aria.”

“Thanks, Paxton. And thank you for such a wonderful day today.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you later.”

Once I opened my door and got myself inside, Paxton turned and walked off toward his house.

And I decided there wasn’t a chance I was ever going to leave Steel Ridge.

TWELVE

Aria

“So, how was it?”

Warmth mixed with contentment and moved through my body. I felt the best I could ever remember being in my whole life as long as I didn’t give myself the opportunity to think too much about where my life had been just over two months ago and earlier.

This was all so unexpected. And yet, it was undeniably rewarding.

Between the jobs I’d landed, the friends I’d made, and the new home where I lived, I had succeeded in turning my life around entirely.

But the change wasn’t simply about where I was and who I was around now. It wasn’t even about the work I was doing.

The biggest change I’d experienced had nothing to do with any of the outward stuff that was happening in mylife at the moment. It was about something that others couldn’t see—my willingness to share my life with the new people who had come into it.

While they never knew any differently from me, I recognized it was happening. It had started for me with Paxton, but I was finding it easy to do with some of the people I worked with.

Though I’d wracked my brain attempting to figure it out, it was difficult to know precisely what it was that had led me to experiencing such a drastic change in my willingness to be open with others.

Was it them? Were they just the kind of people that were so good at making others feel at ease that I felt safe enough to share?

Was it me? Had I gone for far too long bottling up everything inside and finally needed to make the change?

What had led to the transformation that was happening so effortlessly and right before my eyes, I was as surprised by it as I was relieved. Because even if it continued to catch me off guard when I spilled things I normally wouldn’t have dreamed of sharing, I couldn’t deny that it felt good.

And now that it was Monday morning, and I was back at the deli, I’d actually expected the question I’d just gotten from Mallory. No doubt she was referring to my date with Paxton.

I wanted to answer her, to tell her the truth, but I wasn’t quite sure how to share that I felt like I was on cloud nine without it seeming weird to her. The thing was, I’d had a wonderful time with Paxton, and I couldn’t wait until we were able to spend some time together. Sure, he was my neighbor that I saw nearly every day from mywindow, but spending time—conversing and laughing—with him was different.

“Oh, I think I just got my answer,” Mallory declared, her voice breaking into my thoughts.

“What?”

“I’d recognize that look anywhere,” she declared. “You’re daydreaming with a smile on your face, so I can only assume you had a stellar time with Paxton a few days ago.”

There was no use denying it. I didn’t know exactly how close Paxton was with his coworkers, but it was reasonable to assume Mallory could easily find out if I’d lied to her about how things went with Paxton if she simply asked Nixon.

Smiling, I admitted, “I had a great time with him.”

She beamed back at me. “I’m so happy to hear that. Did he wind up showing you all the cool spots around town?”

I bit my lip as I recalled our day together and shook my head. “Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”