Aaron’s jaw tightened. “Excuse me.” He turned and walked away.
“Wait,” Hunter called after him, but as he went to follow, Richard tightened the grip he had on his arm.
“That probably was a little insensitive of me,” Richard said.
“A little insensitive? You’re an asshole, man.”
Hunter stormed off, leaving Richard with wide eyes and Garrett with a grin a mile wide.
He shouldered his way through guests, trying not to knock into anyone or spill drinks. By the time he arrived in the foyer, Aaron was nowhere in sight. His mother was there, however.
“Mom, have you seen Aaron?”
“Hmm. Not lately. No. I was watching you and Richard, though. You make such a handsome couple. You taking after your father, and Richard with that wonderful blond hair. He certainly wears a suit well.”
“Listen, Mom, I really need to find Aaron. He was upset.”
She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. You’ve only got a small amount of your vacation time left, darling; don’t waste it. You should make the most of it, and Richard—”
Hunter lowered his voice. “I don’t care about Richard. I care about Aaron.”
“Richard is a fine young man, Hunter, and you’d do well to remember that,” she said, her tone hardening. “He comes from a good family, and he’ll make a fine lawyer—”
“That’s great, Mom, it really is. But that doesn’t make him the right guy for me. Surely you get it? I need someone forme. Someone who makesmehappy. I don’t care about family trees and business prospects. I care about finding someone who is down-to-earth, who appreciates the simple things, who cares about others and doesn’t want to make me into something I’m not.”
“Hunter—”
“If you love me, Mom,reallylove me, you’ll want me to be happy. You’ll want me to find the love of my life, to be with him.”
“I do want you to be happy. Richard—”
“I’m not listening to this anymore.” Hunter threw his arms up in exasperation. “I’ll see you at home later.”
He left her standing there, mouth moving but nothing coming out. He didn’t even have it in him to feel guilty. Not anymore.
12
Aaron studied his phone. Two text messages and a missed call from Hunter. He chewed his bottom lip as he stared at Hunter’s name. The first message was sent last night.
Are you okay?
The second text was from later that evening.
I’ve been looking for you. Assume you left. Sorry the night ended badly. Can I still see you tomorrow?
There was no message left after the missed call.
Should he return the call? Surely Hunter would have left a message if he wanted Aaron to call back? No, he should call, because he’d already ignored the messages. But something held him back.
Garrett’s arrival decided for him. He put the cell phone on the tabletop.
“Hey, how are you feeling this morning?” Garrett asked as he slid into the booth seat opposite. “I’ve got a head that feels like it has a herd of stampeding bulls running around in it.”
“No hangover for me. I guess that’s one advantage of leaving a party early.”
Aaron’s attempt at humor failed. Garrett frowned. “Just ignore Richard. That guy’s always been an asshole.”
“I know.” Aaron sighed. “His comments just brought back some unwanted memories, I guess. I thought I was past all that.”
