"About Julie being pregnant?" he guessed.
"Among other things," she said, once more returning her attention to folding up her apron and getting ready to leave.
"Well, who's gossiping? I can fire whoever is making you uncomfortable. Or… instead of moving Julie over to Flavor, I can move you. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."
Although he was obviously trying to placate her, she actually looked hurt when she looked up at him. "You just don't get it, do you? I have been the one here for you all this time, I have been the one on your side, waiting for you to get over what that whore who ruined you did to destroy you—me. I have not bitched or complained about you being moody, I have never tried to rush you into getting over it or pressured you in any way. I have waited patiently; I didn't even date, because God forbid you think I liked someone else."
Now it was Aaron's turn to get uncomfortable, and he averted his own gaze.
That seemed to spark her irritation, and she said, "And then some new, random girl who has missed all of it just pops up on the scene pregnant, and you're ready to take her under your wing and play house. I really wish I had known all it took was getting knocked up—I could have gone out and gotten knocked up by any number of the guys who have expressed interest in me over the years while I was waiting around on you."
"It isn't like that," Aaron stated lowly.
"Really? It isn't? That's funny. See, it makes sense to me now—I guess I have to wonder why I never thought of it. I always knew that you wanted a family and that was something you had regretted, but I always thought maybe you would just adopt—I had actually given up my own dreams and expectations of ever having any kids of my own, because I knew it wouldn't be possible if we got together."
Sighing, Aaron said a little miserably, "Leigh, I never knew that you felt that way. You have to know that I didn't… mean to… do whatever I did to…"
"You didn't do anything," she said, shaking her head. "It isn't your fault. You just… you don't understand how wonderful you are, and…" Her voice trailed off, then she seemed to pull herself up a little and she said more strongly, "It doesn't matter. Now that you've decided to move on, you picked someone else to do it with, so obviously I just always wanted something that was out of the question."
Not really knowing how to respond, Aaron merely stood there uncomfortably, refusing to leave the conversation no matter how uncomfortable she made him.
"The point is," she said, her voice even stronger at his silence, "I don't want to work with you right now—I mean, I do. But… no good can come of it. Even now I'd like to rip you away from Julie, and it isn't personal; I really did like Julie. However, I do think you need to be careful. I don't know whose baby she's really having, but—”
"It's mine," he informed her quietly.
Scoffing, she said, "Okay, you know, I can respect that you're doing this—whatever it is you're doing, but can you not treat me like I'm stupid? I know that kid isn't yours."
Nodding, he said, "It is mine."
"It's not yours," she replied firmly. "Not only because you're infertile—I do know that occasionally there will be a miraculous case of that happening. But you have to remember, I've had a vested interest in you all along, so I've paid attention."
He didn't reply, merely looked at her.
Raising her eyebrows, she said, "Have you forgotten that I've known Julie has been pregnant since she started working here? You wouldn't have knocked her up and then been so mean to her—you hated Julie, you wouldn't even go back to your apartment because she was there. Even at New Years I had to invite you over and get you drunk before she could come over—obviously that was one of my better ideas."
"I didn't… hate her," he said uncomfortably.
"You did hate her," Leigh argued.
"I wanted to hate her, Leigh. I didn't hate her."
"Why did you want to hate her?" Leigh asked, looking him in the eye as she leaned her hip against the counter, waiting for an answer.
"It's complicated," he replied vaguely.
Nodding with a rather irritated look on her face, she said, "Right. Well, this whole situation seems to be complicated, Aaron." Then, picking up her purse purposefully, she said, "I'm just uncomplicating it."
Grabbing her by the arm, he stopped her and he said, "I wanted to hate her for the same reason that you have clung to me despite knowing how completely unavailable I was."
A flash of something that looked like fear—not of his hold on her arm, but a fear that he had noticed something she didn't want him to see—flitted across her features, and before she could clear it she said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Leigh, you can't lie to your best friend," he stated.
Swallowing, she said, "I'm not. It's not the same thing."
"It's exactly the same thing, Leigh. The difference is, you haven't met your Julie yet; no one has pulled you out of your… reluctance to jump back in."
"Stop it," she said sharply. "My attraction to you has nothing to do with what happened."