“I haven’t really thought about that day since it happened...until today. Mary basically told me that Lauren will most likely publicly forgive me for what happened, but she will not be apologizing for what she did to me. For a split second, I was almost good with that. End the feud. I’d get back in everyone’s good graces, but then I realized that she was basically asking me to apologize for getting shoved off the swings. I’m not nine years old anymore and neither is she. I don’t need her to be my friend. I don’t think I want her to be my friend if she can’t say she’s sorry when she hurts me.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Bonnie did deserve better than that from her best friend. He also didn’t want to believe that things weren’t going to get better. He needed things to get better. “I hope my sister is better than that. Maybe Mary doesn’t know what Lauren really wants to do.”
“I don’t know. But I do know that everyone is willing to stick by Lauren’s side even though they think she’s wrong because no one wants to cross her.” She moved closer to Aaron. “I appreciate that you are not one of those people. I can’t even explain to you what it means to me that you have sided with me on this. It’s people like you that make me think I might be able to get through this without having to move far away to start over somewhere else.”
He took her by the hand, and the contact made his heart beat double time. She was soft and warm physically and emotionally. “If you left, I might have to come with you.”
“You would do that for me?” She looked up at him with those green eyes that made him weak in the knees. He was beginning to think he would do anything for her.
“I think I would.”
Bonnie wrapped her arms around him and gave Aaron a hug that solidified for him that he would absolutely do that and anything else she asked of him. It also made him realize that he couldn’t stop himself from falling for Bonnie even if David was concerned.
He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. He brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her green eyes were locked on his. His lips carefully pressed against hers. If she resisted even the slightest bit, he’d never kiss her again. She didn’t resist, though. She actually deepened the kiss almost immediately. His whole body felt like gelatin, wobbly and like he wanted to bounce around. He would do anything for this woman. If she needed Lauren to apologize, he was going to see to it that Lauren did that and more.
CHAPTER TWELVE
BONNIE HAD ONCE read that one of the ultimate tests of a relationship was furniture shopping together. She was beginning to think they could add any kind of shopping to that list. She and Aaron weren’t even a couple and fixture shopping was stressful. He had this annoying habit of falling in love with two choices for every single item on their list. He was a way better kisser than he was a shopper.
“I think the farmhouse sink is the way to go,” she said, trying to guide him in the right direction after a thirty-minute discussion about cabinet styles. “They are really in right now.”
“Agreed. But single or double basin? I like them both,” he said, running a hand over the divider in the double basin on display. “Single is nice and simple, but is a double more functional?”
“I would go with the double. This one is perfect.” Bonnie stood in front of the one that she liked the most.
“If we go double, do we pick the one that has two equal sides or the one that has one larger side? I like them both.”
If he said I like them both one more time, Bonnie was going to scream. “I don’t think it matters that much.”
“What are people going to want?”
“I don’t think there’s a huge preference in either direction. You could go with the least expensive to save some money.”
Aaron took off his baseball hat and scratched his head. “I’m going to have to think about it.”
He was adding that to the list of other things he still had to think about, like which drawer pulls he was going to put on the cabinets and which showerhead he wanted for the master bath and which toilet was going in each of the bathrooms.
“We need faucets for the kitchen and bathrooms, but I feel like you might freak out when you see all the choices in that aisle.”
“Why are there so many things? It’s overwhelming,” Aaron complained. “I feel like every decision is so critical. If I pick the wrong faucet, buyers won’t buy the house. All I want is for someone to fall in love with it.”
He was infuriating but also pretty adorable. Bonnie grabbed his hand. “Someone is going to completely fall in love with it, because it’s going to be beautiful no matter which faucet you choose or if the cabinets are Shaker or traditional. Once we get it narrowed down to two we like, you aren’t going to go wrong with either one. I promise you, there’s nothing you’re going to buy that’s going to turn people away.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m stressed.”
“Do you trust me?” she asked.
He smiled down at her, showing off his perfectly white teeth. He kissed her, and it was soft and gentle. She felt her cheeks heat when he pulled back. “With my life,” he answered.
“Whoa, that’s way too much responsibility. I mean, I know the Heimlich, but if you were drowning, you’d be in trouble, because I am a terrible swimmer.”
He threw his head back as he laughed. “My trust does not require you to save my life
