Aaron was standing on the sidewalk, freezing, as the car door shut with a snap. He strode quickly toward the door, determined to do what he’d come there to do, whatever the consequences. He managed to catch the door before it shut as someone entered, allowing him to circumvent buzzing the apartment. He had no idea what he would have said. He still wasn’t entirely sure what he would say. He went through her possible reactions and focused on the ones he liked the best, trying to decide how he would respond to each one.
He never found out what he would have said, though, because the moment the elevator doors opened at her floor, Jessica was pushing herself into it, a large cardboard box obscuring her vision. He was so shocked that he didn’t say anything as she set down the box and stretched her back. She was in jeans that hugged every curve of her legs and a large baggy sweatshirt, her hair tied back in a messy ponytail, and she was so stunningly beautiful his heart clenched. Any doubts about his feelings were gone in an instant. He was in love.
* * *
JESSICA TURNED AWAY from the heavy box to make sure the ground-floor button was pushed, and jumped back in shock. Her leg hit the box, and a small cry escaped her as she lost her balance. Before she could catch hold of anything to stop her fall, Aaron’s strong arms were around her, his handsome blue eyes staring into hers. There was another moment of silence before she finally gasped, “Aaron! What—”
She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her thoughts hadn’t yet caught up to the situation before her. His mouth turned up at the corners as he smiled. “Hi, Jessica. This situation seems familiar.”
It took her several seconds before she realized what he meant. He was still holding her, the way he had when she bumped into him at the restaurant. Her mind started to slowly catch up. “You’re in New York?”
It wasn’t supposed to come out as a question, but somehow it did. He nodded. “I know this might seem a little crazy, but I needed to come tell you—”
Her brain was still struggling with the unexpected situation. “Wait, you’re here at my apartment. How did you get here?”
“Jeremiah got the address from Marilyn. I had to talk to you.”
“I asked for your phone number days ago, but Marilyn said that Jeremiah didn’t want to give it to her. I thought you didn’t want to talk to me. Now you’re in New York to talk to me?”
She didn’t mean to grill him, but it was all just so bewildering she couldn’t help trying to wrap her mind around it all. The elevator dinged and the door closed, but neither of them moved from their impromptu hug to push a button.
“Jeremiah thought he was being helpful. I didn’t know you wanted to talk to me. I thought you hated me and never wanted to see me again. I mean, you left Vegas just to get away from me. I waited outside your room the night you left, but you were already gone.”
That brought reality crashing down. “I didn’t leave because of you, Aaron. I got a phone call from my family. My dad was in the hospital. I had to come back.”
His eyes filled with shock and empathy as he took in her words. “Is he okay?”
She smiled, but her eyes filled with tears. She was sad, but she’d had enough time to process the event that it wasn’t overwhelming to answer. Besides, she wanted him to know. “He died. He’d been sick for a long time, but he finally passed away.”
She found herself pressed against him as he hugged her close. She let her tears fall, his arms holding her, comforting her.
When the elevator began moving up, reacting to another tenant’s call, she looked around, surprised to find herself in a small metal box. She had forgotten where she was. By his reaction, so had he. He looked at the doors for a second, then reached over quickly and hit the emergency button.
She laughed through her tears. “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that unless it’s an emergency.”
He tilted his head. “They can wait. Can I do anything to help?”
She snuggled closer to him. “You already have, and I’m okay, really. We’ve known this was coming for a long time, and he was in a lot of pain, so... I just can’t believe you’re here. Why are you here?”
It had just occurred to her that it made absolutely no sense for him be in New York. If he found out she was trying to reach him, why didn’t he just call?
“Well, this might be terrible timing now, but...” He took a deep breath, and she could feel his chest expanding against her body. “I came to tell you that I love you.”
She stopped breathing. Before she could process and respond to it, he continued. “I know that’s insane. I only met you a few days ago, we live thousands of miles apart and you’re fully justified if you want to run away and never see me again. But I’ve never loved someone before and I had to tell you. I want to be with you, just you. If you have any feelings at all for me, I want to try to make this work somehow.”
She was still silent. She had things to say but hadn’t been able to find any way to say them, so she stood there, pressed against his chest. He exhaled. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have said anything. You’ve got too much to deal with to worry about—”
His words cut off as she leaned up and kissed him, pressing her lips hard against his. He lifted her off her feet and kissed her back. She pulled her face back a fraction of an inch, just enough to look into his eyes and speak, her lips brushing against his. “I feel the same. Stupid, crazy, illogical as it all is.” She pressed her lips back onto his.
The kiss quickly became deep and insistent, and she had to pull away regretfully. “We’re in the elevator. Probably not the best place for this. Any better ideas?”
“Back to your apartment, or to my hotel? The apartment’s closer, but you have a roommate...” He looked at the box crowding the corner of the elevator. “Or are you moving out? Did I interrupt something?”
She looked at the box, remembering her mission. “Oh, right. Yeah, I am moving. Cindy’s getting married in a few days, so I’ve been trying to get everything out before then. She’s been really sweet about the whole thing and said I could stay as long as I want, but I’m ready.”
He hit the emergency button again and then the one for the ground floor. The elevator began going upwards, continuing to its original destination. It opened to an empty floor, though. Apparently the person had given up and taken the stairs. They began their descent.
He picked up the box for her. “So, where are you moving?”
Jessica wasn’t sure exactly what to say. “Well, I’m putting my stuff in storage and was planning on staying with my mom for a week, until after the funeral and Cindy’s wedding. It’s a weird week.”
“And then?” he prompted, looking curious.
She blushed and looked down. “And then I was going to Texas. I promised my dad I’d try to find you.”
The box shifted, nearly falling out of his hands, and she had to reach out to make sure it didn’t crash to the floor. “You were going to Texas? As in, all of Texas?”
He was looking at her as if she were indomitable or crazy or something. She hoped it was the first option. The elevator door opened, and they stepped into the lobby of her apartment building. She guided him outside into the cold.
There was a black car waiting outside, with Jeremiah sitting in it. The moment they walked through the building doors, he rolled down the window and waved. “Hi, Jessica!”
Aaron groaned quietly. “Jeremiah came with me.” Louder, he said, “Things are good, Jeremiah. See you at the hotel later?”
The grin on Jeremiah’s face widened. “Sounds good. You two have fun.” He winked and turned to the driver, and the car pulled away.
Jessica felt as though she should be embarrassed, but the man seemed so good-natured that it was impossible. She and Aaron hurried down the street dodging the bags of trash and ice patches that littered the sidewalk, him carrying the large box.
“So, about Texas...” he prompted.
“Well, I had a plan,” she explained. “I’ve looked up ranches that participated in the rodeo and started going through their websites looking for owners’ names. I was pretty sure I could narrow it down to a few before leaving.”
He looked impressed before he tilted his head, clearly curious again. “Wait, you promised your dad you’d find me? Why?”
She paused for a second before answering. This had gone too far for anything but complete honesty. “He said that I was different when I came back. I was sparkly. I don’t know exactly what that means, but it was obviously because of you. He told me I should see you again. Before he died—” she cleared her throat, keeping her voice level “—I told him that I would try. So I was going to try.”
They arrived at the storage facility a few buildings down, and she used her key to unlock the door. They walked the rest of the way to her unit in silence. She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she waited, wishing he wasn’t carrying anything so she could slip into his arms again.
Once he set down the box inside her nearly full storage unit, he turned toward her and enfolded her in a tight hug. Her heart was happy. She could almost hear her dad’s approval. He spoke into her hair, his cheek leaning against her head. “So, do you still want to go to Texas, or do we need to find a place here?”