Bet on It (82)

Maybe that was why he’d started calling her Peaches without a second thought. Not only because the space between her thighs rivaled even Minnie’s best work, but because he unconsciously recognized that she made him feel as at home as the cobbler did.

Wasn’t that what he’d been looking for his entire life? A home to feel safe in? A place where he could be all of himself—from the scared little boy that hid inside of him to the mostly self-assured grown man?

He’d spent the past month mulling Adya’s words over. She’d said if he loved Aja, he would try. At the time he hadn’t been willing. He thought that if he gave himself enough time, he would get over her, that his love would fade the longer the distance between them lasted.

But the longer it went on, the more unbearable it became. When he’d driven into Greenbelt that morning, he’d had to tighten his hands on the steering wheel to the point of pain to keep himself from driving to her apartment. It didn’t feel right to be in town and not see her. It felt like a betrayal. And he fucking hated the thought of betraying her, especially after he’d broken her heart.

It hit him like a Mack Truck, this newfound openness to the possibilities of what their relationship could be. He couldn’t ignore the correlation between this and the resolution he’d come to with his father. He’d shown himself that things that were hard were sometimes worth it. He’d proven that he didn’t need all the answers right now. He could go for what he wanted, what he knew in his gut was right, with both fear and eagerness in his heart, and come through it with something worth having.

Maybe he’d needed this. Needed to set himself on the right path with his father before he was ready to open himself up to Aja. He felt ready to make hard decisions. To risk being hurt. All for the possibility that he might be rewarded with something incredible. A real relationship with Benny. A once-in-a-lifetime love with Aja.

The need to go to her rose up in him so fast that he shot up out of his chair. His father looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you OK?”

“Yeah.” Walker patted his pockets to make sure he had his phone and keys. “I need to go though. I have somethin’ I need to do.”

“Oh.…” The disappointment on Benny’s face was unmissable.

“I’ll be back, I swear,” Walker assured him. “There’s just … this woman. I need to tell her I love her. Then I need to beg her to give me another shot because I acted like an asshole the last time I saw her.”

“Good luck,” Benny called. “Bring her by to see us if she doesn’t tell you to get gone.”





Chapter 28


There was something incredibly sinister about an unexpected knock on your front door. Every single person she knew, even her landlord, made sure to call before they came over. Most of the time they didn’t even knock, instead sending her a quick “I’m here” text once they were outside.

Aja was damned near startled out of her desk chair when a loud, pounding knock sounded against her door on a Thursday afternoon in mid-September. The first thing she did was try to remember if she’d forgotten some plans she had made. She was supposed to go out with the girls on Saturday evening, but that was the only thing set in stone for the week. Nothing was wrong with her apartment, so it shouldn’t have been building maintenance. She was anxious as she looked through her peephole. It was too foggy to make out anything other than a faded logo on a T-shirt so she had no choice but to open up to see who it was. One hand on the knob and the other on the mini-Louisville Slugger she kept by the door, she swung it open, dropping her arms to her sides when she saw who it was.

“What the fuck?”

She had convinced herself that seeing Walker Abbott in person again would be a long shot. And if it did happen, it would probably be somewhere awkward, like the Piggly Wiggly. And she’d probably be too angry to say any real words to him. She certainly hadn’t thought it would happen only two months after he left and in the doorway of her freaking apartment.

“I’m sorry to just show up like this.” His eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe he was there. “I … I didn’t even think to call.”

She didn’t feel like she had a right to call him her ex because they’d never gotten that far. But for the sake of the argument she was having with herself in her head, she found it intolerable that her ex still looked so fucking good after time away from her. He was just as tall and lean, his T-shirt still stretched perfectly over his chest, and his jeans fit him snugly in all the right places. There was a ruddiness to his cheeks, and his lips were slightly chapped. The only thing different was the beard. It was blond. Light blond, a few shades paler than the hair on his head. It wasn’t thick and rugged like a lumberjack’s, but it was full and soft-looking and surprising to see on him. She’d never even thought to imagine him with a beard—what a shame. He had a pink box in his hands, tied with a blue ribbon.

Her mouth gaped, words escaping her. Everything came rushing back at once. The pain when he’d left that night without a good-bye. That he hadn’t bothered to send so much as a text to apologize. Sadness and exhaustion and … anger.

Aja was angry at him. Mad as hell really. And she refused to be distracted by his absurd bearded face.

She slammed the door, twisting the lock closed like the action would make him disappear back to wherever he’d come from. Her forehead pressed hard against the door. For a few stretched moments, it was so silent she was afraid that her wish had actually come true.