Page 15 of Finding Happily Ever After
“We didn’t agree, Aiden. It’s not fair that you make so much money and I’m over here living in—”
“You are kidding, right?” Aiden forced himself to take a deep breath and release it slowly before continuing. “Sorry, Brenna. I can’t help you. Take care.”
He hung up the phone and flipped it to silent before dropping his chin to his chest.
One more month.One more month.
That was it. One more payment he could barely afford on his meager salary, and then he was done. He’d made the cross-country move to Glacier Falls not only for the mountains and the lifestyle options, but mostly to put distance between himself and his past life. Brenna represented all of the things he wasn’t anymore: shallow, focused on appearances. A moron.
Because only a moron would let himself fall for her act the way he had.
He reached his arm around his back and massaged his tense shoulder muscles. One bad decision, no matter how bad it was, didn’t define you. He knew that. He also knew that he couldn’t be personally responsible for Brenna forever. He’d done more than his share. Sure, he’d married her when he never should have. He owned that. And he’d paid for it. Now it was time to move on. And as soon as that last payment came out of his bank account, he could finally officially do that.
He’d waited two long years, almost as a penance for his poor choices, to date again. And he’d needed that time to figure things out for himself. Because no matter what, he was not going to make the same mistakes a second time around. It wasn’t only two years of penance and a sabbatical from dating; it was learning what he wanted and what he didn’t want. Mostly what hedidn’twant, which was a liar. Brenna had proved to be a liar at every turn. Some big. Some small. All lies. She’d told him her mother had passed away—she lived two towns over but they didn’t get along. She would fail to tell him where she was going, or who she was out with—usually other men—and then insist that alie by omissionwasn’t a thing.
It got to the point where he couldn’t believe a word she said. It was a terrible way to live. Which was why he needed a woman who would be one hundred percent honest. Always.
He’d given himself two years. And now, time was up.
And the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
The vision of Natalie’s genuine, bright smile filled his mind.
Aiden got up from the table and stretched his arms over his head as he walked to the living room window and looked out. He’d been lucky to find a rental he could afford. Lucky for him, the timing had been perfect for Brody Morris, too—the head chef and owner of Birchwood, the restaurant in town. He’d recently gotten married and moved into Sarah’s home with her and her daughter, leaving his house vacant.
Maybe he could take Natalie to Birchwood on a proper date?
Yes.
Coffee had been great. And he was sure that the hike in a few days would be fun, too. Because so far, every second he spent with Natalie was fantastic. But a real date with her? One where they dressed up, and he took her for a nice dinner, and they learned more about each other before he walked her to her door at the end of the night and leaned in for a kiss on those sweet lips that were sure to be as soft as they looked…oh yes.
A real date with Natalie sounded like the perfect way to move on.
ChapterSix
Ultimately,it didn’t matter how excited Natalie had been for a winter hike that she was not remotely prepared for, because Mother Nature had other plans. The weather system that had brought a few feet of fresh snow had moved in late Monday afternoon and stayed for most of the next few days. Not only had it taken the hike completely off the table for Aiden’s Outdoor Ed class, but it had also meant that her shifts had been busy.
A winter snowstorm in the mountains meant lots of car accident callouts, most of which weren’t serious, fortunately. And there had also been two calls for smoke concerns with fireplaces that hadn’t been properly maintained, and one actual fire that had been confined to a garage but had only left the homeowners shaken, and rightly so.
No matter how many times Natalie was in a fire, she didn’t get used to it and she didn’t think she ever would.
It had been a long week. But even though she was completely exhausted and the idea of crawling into her bed with a glass of wine and a good show on Netflix sounded like the perfect way to spend her day off, one other thing sounded even better.
Teaching first aid to a bunch of high schoolers.
She couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
Was it only just a short week ago that she’d been petrified to set foot inside the building at all? And now she was actually looking forward to it?
Things changed.
And her change in attitude had nothing to do with the actual students or the school itself, but everything to do with the sexy teacher with the smoldering eyes who would be leading that class. And, well, maybe the students weren’t too bad either.
Aiden was waiting for her in the parking lot when she pulled up. His face split into a broad smile when he saw her. She lifted her fingers in a wave and hopped out of the truck.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“I was.” He moved in and for a hopeful minute, Natalie thought he might hug her. To her sharp disappointment, he stopped short of the hug but stood close enough that she could smell the hint of peppermint on his breath.
