She frowned, at first not understanding the reason he seemed shifty about that and then, smiling to herself. “Someonesomeone?”
He glanced back at her, smiling goofily. “Maybe.”
Relief spread through her. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized that there was a part of her still carrying the weight of responsibility for his happiness. “I’m glad.”
“I’ll keep you posted. If that’s not weird.”
“I literally poured my heart out to you. It’s not—,” she stopped talking, and walking, abruptly, at the sight of two sleek, black cars parked outside her parents’ home. Her heart slammed into her throat, and her brain tried to tell her not to jump to conclusions. There could be any number of people with expensive cars identical to the fleet Raf owned…except, of course there couldn’t.
Of course this meant Raf was here.
Or maybe he’d just…sent another car. Maybe this one needed a service, or something.
“Ellie?” Aaron clicked his fingers in front of her face. “What is it? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m—,” she shook her head, her eyes unable to shift from the cars, so Aaron followed her gaze and made a deep noise.
“He’s here?”
Elodie looked at him, panicked. “I think he must be.”
“Do you want to go back to the pub?”
But even as Aaron asked the question, the back door of the second car was opening, and Raf was stepping out. Raf, in jeans, a dark shirt, and a jacket, looking so perfectly handsome and utterly like she remembered, that every cell in her body went into a crazed whir.
He walked a normal pace, long legs covering the pavement easily, but to Elodie, it felt as though time had slowed down. It felt as though she was waiting forever.
His eyes swept over Elodie in a way that made everything hurt, and then, sideways, to Aaron. She saw the flicker of emotions in his face, the way his lips tightened into a sort of grimace.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, when he was close enough to hear. She sounded awful, her voice thin and raspy, trembling a little, so Aaron immediately moved closer, putting a protective arm around her waist. To support her, she supposed, as though she might pass out.
But Raf instantly reacted, his eyes dropping to the gesture as his jaw shifted and his shoulders squared.
“Can we talk?”
Three words, so much meaning.
Elodie just stared at him, her heart pounding, her body in a state of freefall, because she’d been wanting to see him so badly, yet she’d been scared of that, too. Scared of how it would feel to be near him, and now she had her answer.
It felt like all the missing parts of her were right there, inside of him. It felt like they’d been there all along—like they’d never be a part of her again.
“Just for a few moments.”
She realized she hadn’t answered him; that she didn’t know how.
“I can stay with you,” Aaron offered, so she remembered he was there, too. She glanced at Aaron and shook her head once.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m okay.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded once.
“Alright. Rematch next Friday.” He leaned closer and kissed her cheek. “I’ll stay nearby. Call if you need me.”
She put a hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine, really.”
Aaron angled his face towards Raf’s, nodded once, curtly, then turned and left, walking back towards the pub.
