“Good. How is everyone?” Although Christine and Dwayne broke up for a short time during junior year, they’d gotten back together the summer before senior year. They’d been together ever since and now had two children, a son Tiegan’s age and a two-year-old daughter.
“Oh, everyone’s fine. Are you two ready to order?”
Tiegan spoke up before he could answer. “Can I have a mushroom cheeseburger with onion rings instead of french fries and a chocolate milkshake with whipped cream?”
Christine glanced at him as if to ask if it was okay for her to order that, and he nodded. His niece had stopped ordering off the children’s menu a long time ago.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks,” she promised after he ordered a bacon double cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake. He’d planned to get an iced coffee, but as soon as his niece mentioned a milkshake, he’d started craving one too.
No longer needing it, Tiegan returned her menu to the holder on the table and turned her eyes on him. While she resembled his sister considerably, she had her father’s eyes—a man he’d love to hunt down and beat some sense into. Even after almost a year, Aaron found it impossible to comprehend how Eric could just up and walk out not only on his wife but also on his daughter. Perhaps even worse was the fact he didn’t bother to stay in contact with Tiegan. Aaron could count on one hand the number of times Eric had reached out to her since he left town.
“Is there anything else you want to do before we head home?” He enjoyed spending time with his niece, but it wasn’t the only reason he was asking. The way he saw it, the longer he kept Tiegan out of the house, the longer his sister could study without any interruptions.
She didn’t hesitate to reply. “Can we go shopping for some new clothes?”
Aaron didn’t have any objection to spending money on his niece. But he did have an objection to stepping foot in the mall. Even when he needed to purchase items for himself, he tried to do so on the internet rather than venture to the mall. “You should probably go shopping with your mom or Nana.”
“Yeah, I guess. You don’t know anything about girls’ clothes.” She propped her chin on her hand. “When we get home, can we take Clifford for a walk?”
Even before Candace and Tiegan moved in, his niece and Clifford had been best buds. Now they were practically inseparable. The dog even slept in her room every night. And while he recognized she was far more mature than most children a few weeks shy of eleven, both he and Candace had agreed she needed to have an adult with her if she took Clifford for a walk in the woods.
His niece’s words conjured up the image of Juliette smiling this morning, but he pushed it aside because the last person he needed occupying his thoughts was her. “If you want.”
Christine returned with a milkshake in each hand. “Here you go, Tiegan.” She placed the chocolate concoction down near his niece before setting his vanilla one down. “Did you hear Holly Lambert is in town? Or at least she was. She came in on Wednesday with her mom for lunch. It was the first time I’ve seen her in at least two years.”
Aaron’s thoughts immediately returned to the other celebrity currently in Avon. No questions about it, Juliette Belmont was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. “My mom mentioned she saw her last week.” Christine didn’t need to know where or with whom Holly had been with at the time.
“She looked fantastic. But of course, she probably has a personal trainer and nutritionist telling her exactly what to do.”
What was the proper reply to that? Especially since there wasn’t anything wrong with the way Christine looked. Sure, she appeared a little tired, but she worked full-time and had two kids, so that wasn't surprising.
“Well, Mrs. Lambert seemed happy. I know she wishes Holly would come home more.”
His mom said the same thing about his sister Elise. He imagined having children—regardless of their age—who lived more than an hour or two from home could be tough on parents.
“Christine, can I get another coffee?” the older gentleman with his wife at the next table asked, putting a temporary halt to their conversation.
“Sure thing, Martin,” she replied before looking back at Aaron. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Who’s Holly Lambert?” Tiegan asked.
One thing he’d learned since she and Candace moved in with him was that the girl hated to be left in the dark. It didn’t matter the topic or the situation.
“Just someone your mom and I went to school with. I think she lives in New York City now.” Honestly, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care, because where she lived didn’t affect his life in any way.
“Nana said Juliette is from New York City.”
Considering who she was and what she did for a living, that made sense, though much like with Holly, he didn’t care.
“I really want to go to New York. I’d love to see the Rockettes or the New York City ballet. Do you know it’s one of the best dance companies in the world? I read a book about it for my nonfiction book report.” While Tiegan enjoyed playing basketball and softball, her real passion was dance. Unfortunately, at the moment she wasn’t able to take any classes.
“You don’t have to go to New York to see the ballet. There’s a professional ballet company in Boston. If you want, I can see if they are performing anything you might like and get you and your mom tickets for your birthday.”
Tiegan nodded, a grin stretching across her face. “That would be awesome. Can you and Nana come too?”
If she wanted to see a basketball or baseball game, he’d tag along in a heartbeat. Hell, he’d tak
e her himself. Ballets were another story. He attended a performance of The Nutcracker while living in Boston because a woman he’d been dating at the time loved the ballet. He had no desire to see another show. At the same time, he hated disappointing the girl across the table from him. “We’ll see.”