“Your mother certainly did a turnaround when it came to me,” he commented as they walked back across the green so Liz could open the store. He glanced her way. “So did you, or am I wrong on both counts?”
She smiled. “Oh, your charm definitely paid off with my mother.”
“But?”
“I think what really did it for my mom was convincing her that it was okay for me to stop grieving my late husband.”
“How did you accomplish that?” he asked as she unlocked the door to Pet Style.
Liz sighed. “Maybe that’s something we should discuss when we can really relax and talk.” She seemed to hesitate for a very long time before meeting his gaze. “We could have those BLTs later.”
“Are you cooking?”
“I can microwave the bacon and slice the tomatoes,” she told him, sounding as if she were making a magnanimous gesture. “But you have to make your own sandwich.”
He laughed. “It’s good to know where the line has been drawn. Should I bring wine, dessert? Maybe my own bread?”
“Actually it wouldn’t hurt for you to pick up a loaf of white bread. I know whole grain is very healthy, so that’s what I have at home, but proper BLTs should be made on plain old white bread slathered with mayo.”
“Agreed,” he said at once. “What time? Six-thirty? Seven?”
“Make it seven, so I have time to shower and change after I get out of here.”
“Done.”
“And maybe you should bring some wine, too. If we’re going to have a particularly heavy conversation, I’m going to need it.”
Aidan frowned at that. “Liz, I know we’ve promised to bare our souls and all that, but if it’s going to be that difficult for you, I can wait for answers.”
She shook her head. “No, now’s the time. We need to get this stuff out in the open. It’s the only way we’ll ever know if it’s even possible to move on. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a lot of hang-ups about that. I’ve made some progress recently, but I’m not 100 percent certain they’re behind me.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “How about you?”
“Not even close,” he admitted. Worse, if full disclosure was on her menu for tonight, he couldn’t share everything anyway. He’d made a promise to Thomas, and no matter how badly he wanted to be open and honest with Liz, he couldn’t do that until they’d found out the truth and agreed that the time had come to share it. He had a feeling the delay, reasonable though it might be, was just one more thing he’d wind up holding against his father.
* * *
Liz’s nerves went a little crazy every time she thought about her plans with Aidan. She knew it was time to be open and honest with him about her past, but the thought of telling him about that terrible night, the humiliation of discovering that her marriage was a sham, then the tragic accident that had followed made her sick to her stomach.
“You look a little green,” Bree commented, coming into the store just before closing. “Too much champagne last night?”
“No, it was a wonderful party,” Liz said, forcing her brightest smile. “You deserved to have a celebration. The play was brilliant and the food and champagne lived up to that high standard. No Broadway after-party could have been nicer.”
Bree waved off the compliments. “You and Aidan seemed to be getting closer,” she said casually. “There were reports of a romantic rendezvous on the terrace.”
“Do the members of your family not have better things to do than spy on me?” Liz asked testily.
“Not lately,” Bree said with no hint of apology in her voice. “Dad’s gotten his own kids married off, as well as Uncle Jeff’s and even his first granddaughter. He’s at loose ends for the moment, at least until Carrie’s love life shows signs of heating up. I don’t think he’s in a big rush for that to happen, not until he’s sure she’s not going to let that cheating, hotshot fashion designer back into her life.”
Liz gave her a wry look. “Maybe I should encourage her to do just that and get the heat off me.”
“Don’t you dare,” Bree said. “Marc Reynolds really hurt her. I don’t think any of us realized how much till Carrie came back here and started moping around at loose ends.”
“Okay, I won’t use your niece as a diversionary tactic,” Liz agreed. “What else might work?”
Bree’s eyes lit up. “You could tell me if the kiss was as hot as the reports made it sound.”
Liz laughed despite her frustration. “That’s not a diversion, that’s capitulating to your prurient interest in my love life.”
Bree gave an unapologetic shrug. “It would work, though.”
“Too bad. Did you have a reason for stopping by, other than tormenting me, I mean?”
“Not really. What are your plans for this evening? I imagine you’re ready to relax now that your family’s gone back to North Carolina.”
“Relaxing is definitely at the top of the agenda,” Liz agreed.
Bree studied her. “And what else? The idea of a nice shower and a good book would not put that blush in your cheeks.” Her eyes immediately sparkled with delight. “We’re back to Aidan, aren’t we? You have plans with him.”
“Not talking,” Liz declared. “And do not get any ideas about parking outside my house to see if he shows up. Or hanging around here to see if I go upstairs. Or coming within a hundred feet of either one of us, for that matter.” She thought that ought to make her point clear.
“You sound as if you think you might need a restraining order, for goodness’ sake.”
“Do I?”
“Sweetie, we love you. We want you to be deliriously happy.” Bree shrugged. “It makes us a little nosy, but we’re not stalkers.” A grin spread across her face. “Of course, there are a lot of us all over town.
