Page 23 of Keep Me Close

“Goodnight.”

“Wait. Please?”

It’s not my attraction to him that stops me. Nor is it that damned smile that sends a thrill through me. It’s thepleasethat gets me. Me not leaving right now means something to him. It’s important to him, and that makes me feel like, in some small way, I’m important to him. That Owen could be, too. I should do this for him. For the life he could have. My pride is nothing compared to that.

I sigh. “What do you want?”

“Just to talk. Obviously not right now, because you clearly have someplace you want to be that isn’t a lavish party at a mansion. You certainly wouldn’t leave on account of me,” he says facetiously.

I can’t fight rolling my eyes. Even now, after all this time, he makes me smile. “I’m not in the mood for talking—"

“Which is why I was thinking I could put my number in your phone. That way, when the mood for talking strikes you, you have someone to call.”

“How do you do that?”

His brow dips. “What do you mean?”

“You make it sound like you’re doing me a favor by getting what you want? What the hell kind of trickery is that?”

He laughs roughly. “The kind you learn growing up with passive aggressive people, Aria. Sorry for that.” He sighs, and the frustration is plain on his face. He’s mad at himself for not handling this better. Once again, we have something in common. He starts over, “What I should have said was, I’d like you to call me. If I give you my number, then you can call at your leisure. I won’t bother to ask you for yours, because I know the answer is no. Not after that frosty reception. But if you ever feel like chatting—even if it’s just about the weather—I’m here for you.”

I spit out the last word on my mind. “Why?”

He slowly strolls around my car to face me. “I’m going to be in town for a bit, and I’d like the chance to get to know you. Properly.”

“Not nakedly?”

He smirks. “I’m open to anything really, but I’d like to get to know you properly first. I try not to do that other thing so much these days.”

“No more one-night stands for you? You’re a changed man? Something like that?”

“I’d like to think so.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. “Five years is a long time.”

Five years and nine months.“It is.” Despite my inner voice, I pass him my phone. “Go ahead.”

When he types in his name, it’s all too true. Everett MacMillan. Not James. Cormac had said his younger brother, Everett, was at the party. Lily had told me his name, too. Until now, I had ignored their words. Until now, I could. I just thought of him ashim. But with his name staring back at me in my phone, I cannot ignore the truth.

My son’s father is the fabulously wealthy youngest son of a family who owns a good chunk of my hometown. The man I have had a crush on and hated for five years is standing right in front of me, and I have no clue what to do about it, aside from stating the obvious. “…I thought your name was James.”

“It is. James is my middle name.”

“Why…why did you lie to me?”

He sighs, guilt lining his forehead. “My family knows everyone in Somerset Harbor. I’d told them I was going back to school that night. They didn’t know I was going to the Andes for three months, and I was worried they’d find out before I left. If they had, they would have made it very hard to leave. Since I don’t know everyone they know, it was safer to—"

“Safer to lie.” I nod. Of all our differences, that part of things I understand. “Lies feel like safety until they crash down around you, Everett.”

“I’m learning that now.” He gulps. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Aria. I won’t make a habit of it.”

Without a word, I nod and get into my car. For the moment, there is nothing more to be said. Not when I’m too raw, and he does not know what’s at stake. One day, maybe. After Owen graduates college.

-

10

Aria

My co-teacher, Riley, and I have an agreement. When the children have naptime, we are silent. No conversation, only text, and we only do that if we absolutely must. It is a daily quiet we relish. The children get an allotted hour for naptime, but they usually only make it around thirty minutes before someone gets up. Kids have different sleep needs, so we don’t mind, as long as they play quietly and let the other children sleep.