She was the first person in my life who looked my way and saw past my smile.
Most people looked at me and believed the smiles. Aaliyah was different. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that realization. The last thing I wanted was for her to see my scars from the past that still had enough power to haunt me.
“You don’t have to answer that,” she offered. She must’ve witnessed my discomfort, too.
I took her up on the offer because I wasn’t ready to open up about how the hospital trip had taken me back in time to a period I tried to forget.
Luckily, she understood and smiled, breaking her stare away from me to go back to sipping at her water. “For a large chunk of my life, I lived in both the future and the past. Growing up without a family, you think about the past a lot. Like what made my parents give me up to foster care? Where did I come from? What are my roots? Then about the future—it’s a whole new set of fears. Will I ever get to create my own family?” She lowered her head, and a somber look found her. “I guess that answer is becoming clear now with Jason.”
“He’s a dick and didn’t deserve you. That doesn’t cancel out your chance at a future.”
“Sometimes, it just feels as if time is running out.”
I nudged her in the leg. “You’re young. You have your whole life ahead of you.”
She paused and locked those brown eyes with mine. For a split second, she parted her lips to speak, but she shut her mouth quickly. Then she smiled. “Needless to say, living in the moment is important. This is all we truly have.” She held her glass up and cheered. “To this moment.”
“Cheers to this moment,” I said, clinking my glass with hers.
“Hear, hear!” She took a sip. “Although, honestly, I’m a bit worried about my soon-to-be future. I need to find a new place to live, and the search has been hard. I can’t keep living at his place. But, I also know my price point isn’t great to get a decent place, at least not until I get my raise at Passion.”
“Move in with me.”
The words left my mouth without any thought or hesitation. The funny thing was, after they came out, I didn’t have an ounce of regret. I meant it. She shouldn’t have to live in that place. Plus, I didn’t hate the idea of seeing her every single day. The more time I spent with Aaliyah, the more time I craved.
She laughed. “Yeah, okay, Connor.”
“No, I mean it. Move in with me. It’s a three-bedroom, three-bathroom pad. It’s huge! Almost four thousand square feet. There’s plenty of space, and you won’t even have to worry about finding a place until you save up for a while. Then you don’t have to move into a shithole.”
Her laughter died down after she witnessed the look on my face. “You’re joking, right?”
“You said it yourself, you love my place.”
“This is ridiculous. There’s no way you can be serious about me living with you.”
“Why wouldn’t I be serious? I think it actually works out great. My place is big enough that we have more than enough space for you and your things. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Plus, it gives you more time to find your forever pad. Then you’re not rushing into the market looking for a trash place to live. It could be an in between, a place you stay before getting to the next one, especially since you’re getting a raise when you become a senior editor soon—”
“If I do a good job with your article.”
“You’ll do a great job.”
She released a low sigh. “That’s too much, Connor. Plus, I can’t invade your personal life like that. So thank you for the kind offer, but—”
“I haven’t even shown you the best part yet,” I urged, cutting her off. I stood and held my hand out toward her to pull her to her feet. I led her to my bedroom. “I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to hidden passageways, so when I saw this place, I knew I needed it.” I walked over to my walk-in closet, and she appeared confused when she followed. It was gigantic, and everything was organized to a T. Still, she wasn’t connecting the dots of what I was trying to show her.
I smiled, then pushed a button, which made the rack of clothes automatically shift to the right and reveal a hidden door.
“What does that lead to?” she asked, intrigued.
“Go ahead and find out for yourself.”
I stepped to the side and allowed her to go open the door for herself. When she did, a staircase was revealed, leading to the rooftop of the penthouse. She followed the stairs, and when she reached the top, she gasped.