“Excuse me. Can I get a refill?”
Aubrey turned toward the voice and felt a shock, the trilling of her blood rising to the surface. It was the man from the cab, the one she’d chased down earlier. She was transfixed. She couldn’t move. The man’s eyes stayed on hers, and she felt like he was staring deeply into her soul.
It could have been two heartbeats or two years later when he finally spoke. “It’s you.”
Aubrey felt herself leaning forward, drowning in his eyes, dark like the deepest coffee.
“Um, Aubs, are you going to fill the man’s cup, or do I need to do it?”
The spell was broken. Aubrey tore her eyes away. She glanced at Meghan, who was looking at her with undisguised curiosity. Flustered, she grabbed the man’s cup. Their fingers touched, and she pulled her hand back as if she’d been burned. The man didn’t look away; he continued to stare at Aubrey with something akin to wonderment.
Meghan’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you know each other?”
“We don’t,” Aubrey said, as the man chimed in, “Yes, we do.”
Meghan cleared her throat. “Well then. I need to get things cleaned up. Why don’t you two catch up?” She turned tail and scooted away, seizing upon Linda, making her way toward Aubrey and the stranger like a crocheted guided missile, and steered her off course to the back of the store, but not before Linda caught Aubrey’s eye and gave her a small thumbs-up.
Aubrey was filled with guilt, and shame, and embarrassment. What must that have looked like? Had she just panted after a strange man like a dog in heat, in front of two of her dearest friends? This was not acceptable. Yes, he was handsome, and had a nice voice, and beautiful eyes. But her husband was dead, officially, as of today. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew where the asserted attachment was coming from. She was tired of being lonely. But now was not the right time.
“I must be going as well,” she managed, untying her smock.
The man was still watching her closely. “You can’t just leave.”
“Sure I can.”
“I’ve been thinking about you since I ran into you at the park.”
“How nice.” She started to move around the counter toward the door.
“My name is Chase. And you are?”
He stuck out his hand to shake, and without thinking, she took it. “Aubrey, and I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday. How early can you get started on a weekend? Let me buy you a drink.”
“Is this how you end all your days? Asking strange women out for drinks?” And she smiled.
What the hell was that? It had been so long since she flirted with anyone that she didn’t recognize the warmth when he responded in kind, took a step closer to her, and leaned on the counter.
“We aren’t strangers. You’re Aubrey, and I’m Chase. We bumped into each other earlier today. Obviously, we are destined to have a drink. Come on. Just one. You can tell me who Josh is. You seemed like you were surprised I wasn’t him.”
Aubrey felt like she’d been slapped. She shook her head. No. No way. He wasn’t allowed to use the name so carelessly, so easily. She couldn’t tell a complete stranger the story, much less a man with espresso eyes.
Meghan popped up. Figured she was lurking nearby, eavesdropping.
“Oh, go on, Aubrey. Sam’s is still open. Linda and I will meet you over there in a bit.”
Aubrey heard the unspoken promise: We won’t leave you alone with a stranger, honey. Go on, have a drink. We’ll be right behind you to make sure you’re okay.
“Yes, please join us,” Chase said, and Aubrey could hear the slightest tinge of annoyance in his tone. For some reason, that made her feel good. He wanted to be alone with her.
Aubrey Marie Trenton Hamilton, you are a first-class idiot.
But there was something about this man that she simply couldn’t understand, some draw that she hadn’t felt in many, many years.
Josh’s face floated into her mind, his blue eyes smiling, nodding, almost as if to say, Yes, Aubrey. Go. She wanted to hold on to that image so badly, of him smiling at her, but the moment her mind reached out to grab it, it dissipated like smoke.
Five years. Five years later, she was bumping into her future at last.
The truth was, Chase reminded her of Josh, and tonight, she wanted to find a way to be close to him.
She watched him watching her, nodded.
“All right. But just one drink.”
CHAPTER 9