I finished the last cookie on my plate and wiped my hands. “Is it true that you have a boyfriend in every country?”
“It wasn’t always that way. I was in love once too. Well, a few times. But one very big one.”
“Who was he?”
“Her name was Rebecca. She died in a car accident years ago.”
I paused, not realizing how much of my aunt’s lifeno one really knew.
I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”
She squeezed back. “I’m glad you asked. She was incredible. She challenged me, inspired me, took care of me. Everything you’d want in a partner.” Lilit’s eyes glistened with tears. “It reminds me of you and William. He seems like a good man, Nairie. Sometimes, those are worth all the risks.”
I smiled sadly at my aunt. There was so much more I wanted to know, but I had to help at the church bake sale.
I gathered my things by the door and waited for Lilit to reappear from one of the back rooms. “Can I see you again? Or will you be gone soon?”
She smiled warmly. “I’ll stay long enough for the church banquet, and then I’ll be off again. But you can always call me or, better yet, visit me wherever I am.”
I hugged her tightly. “I’ll come by again soon, then.”
“Good. And take this.”
She slipped me a folded-up paper. “Consider it an accumulation of gifts for all the life events I missed.”
I unfolded the paper and saw that it was a check for $10,000. “No, no, no. You can’t be serious.”
I pushed the check back to my aunt, who refused to take it back.
“I’m an investor, Nairie. And you’re my next project. I want this money to fuel your art career, to give you choices.”
“No.”
Lilit stared at me stubbornly. “And I want to commission a piece.”
I paused. “You really want a piece by me?”
“It better be good.” She winked.
I didn’t want to accept the money at all, but trading it for actual work was better than taking it for free. Denying was also useless. My aunt would find a way to deposit the money in my account anyway.
“Okay, thank you.”
As I pulled away from the grand mansion, Lilit’s advice niggled in the back of my mind. Would I ever take that leap to make my own path in life?
***
Once at church, I started prepping the tables in the courtyard for the bake sale. Being here always reminded me of my childhood. Every bake sale was always on a blistering hot day every year. The only difference was that now, as an adult, I could dress myself. When I attended these events as a kid, my mom would dress me in pantyhose and velvet dresses, regardless of the weather. I shuddered at the thought and purposefully wore my most breathable dress. It was a pretty yellow and had thin spaghetti straps tied at the tops of my shoulders with a flowy skirt that wouldn’t restrict my movements.
Elspeth should be by to help any minute. Our church congregation was notorious for being intense. Last year, there was an all-out brawl between two old ladies over the last loaf of sweet bread. I shuddered at the thought of wigs flying.
I was setting everything in place when a tall, dark figure cast a shadow across the table. William was staring down at me with his aviators on. He looked damn sexy, and I hated him for it.
“What are you doing here?”
“Elspeth had to take care of some things at the pub. I’m subbing in.”
“No, that’s okay. I can handle this on my own.”
