The Speed of Light: A Novel(77)

I clear my throat awkwardly. “Um, excuse me, ma’am?”

She doesn’t turn, doesn’t move at all—maybe she can’t hear me because her hood is up? I clear my throat, speak louder. “Could I please get past you?”

“Oh!” She jumps, and I feel bad for startling her. “Shit—yes, of course you can, sorry about that.”

The voice is familiar, but when she turns around, it takes me a moment because her hood is pulled tight so only her face shows. I blink, take her in—young woman, Latina, very pretty. When she smiles a dimpled smile, I gasp in surprise. “Arielle!”

“Hey, Simone. Kinda wild in here, right? Way too many people.” She shrugs, and I finally notice her face is haggard, eyes puffy.

“How are you?” I ask softly.

She scoffs, but then her face crumples. Without thinking, I reach forward and hug her. After a few seconds, though, she pulls back, wiping at her eyes with an embarrassed laugh. “Goddamn holidays.”

“Where’s Ella?” I ask.

“With my in-laws. Con—” She stops herself, looks down. “She’ll be home later.”

We’re silent now; then she reaches out her hand. “Hey, what am I thinking—I wanted to say I’m so glad you’re okay. What a nightmare.”

“Thank you.”

“I thought about texting or something, but I didn’t know, you know, after what happened . . .”

I cock my head to the side, questioning. Ah, between me and Connor. Well, screw that—I take a deep, impulsive breath. “So, I’m going to be in town for a while . . . possibly indefinitely.” I swallow. “Would you want to get coffee sometime?”

She blinks in surprise. Then she breaks into her dimpled smile again. “Oh God, I would love to. Drinks would be even better.”

I laugh. “Sounds great to me.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but then her eyes shift to my left. There’s a presence next to me.

“What are you doing here?”

I look up in surprise at my brother’s harsh tone, and he’s glaring at Arielle. “Emmett, what the hell?” I scold. Arielle looks almost frightened, and I’m mortified—and confused.

He twists his face up in disbelief. “Simone, you actually know Connor’s new girlfriend?”

My eyes widen. “His what?” I say the same time Arielle says, “Uh, excuse me?”

Emmett’s glare falters for a second, his eyes darting between us in confusion. I turn to Arielle and slowly reach for her hood. Her puzzled eyes are on me now, but she lets me loosen it and push it back.

She lets her long curls spill out—the long curls that are now a bright, fiery red.

A breath puffs out of me. “You dyed your hair.”

She brushes it back, fidgets in embarrassment and annoyance. “Yeah, finally made a change. Had to bleach it first and everything. I hate it,” she scoffs.

I turn wide eyes to Emmett. He’s staring at me with equally wide eyes. “Oh shit.”

“Emmett, this is Connor’s sister-in-law, Arielle.”

He squeezes his eyes shut. “I am so sorry.”

I turn back to Arielle, and to my surprise she bursts out laughing. “Okay, well, everything makes a little more sense now. Dude, when we saw you at the hospital, I just thought you were, like, super intense.”

“He didn’t tell me who you were!” Emmett’s voice is shrill, his defenses up.

“Uh, well, you sort of shoved him against the wall before he could say anything.”

Emmett grimaces. “Sorry about that.”

Arielle shrugs, smiling sadly. “He wasn’t even mad. He knew you were trying to protect your sister.” Her eyes flick to me. “He said all that mattered is that you were okay. But I know he really wanted to see you.”

Oh God. I clutch my arms around myself, leaning against the shelf full of aluminum foil for support. “Does . . . does he still want to see me?”

Arielle smiles. “Of course.”

“You’re sure?” I wince, squeeze my eyes shut. “I’m not like Diana.”

Arielle laughs. “So?”

“So, you said she’s perfect.”

“But not perfect for him,” she says. “Simone, when Connor’s with you, he’s . . . well, he’s Connor. Diana always made him feel like he wasn’t good enough—that he wasn’t enough. I’ve never seen him more himself than when he was with you.”

Hope swells within me, but then I freeze. “So . . . there’s no one else, even now?” I draw in a shaky breath, my entire being hinging on Arielle’s response.

Her smile is wistful. “Oh, honey, there’s no one else for him. That was clear to me from the day I met you. He’s like his brother that way.”

I’m overcome, oblivious now to the frenzy of shoppers pushing their carts past us, the loud holiday music blaring throughout the store. Arielle arches an eyebrow. “Well, I happen to know where Connor will be tonight. We have a few hours yet—he always has Ella call me on the way. I can text you when he’s close?”

I nod my head vigorously, and it’s swimming as we say goodbye. I follow Emmett to the front of the store, through the self-checkout, and outside to the car in a haze of disbelief and joy.