Chapter 16

As Aubrey had feared, the ride back to home was pure torture; Barry blatantly begged her to go with him to his hotel room for a “night cap” as he’d put it. Of course, she declined but he was unrelenting with his request.

“Why pretend to be my girlfriend when you can be mine for real?” He asked petulantly. “You used to like me back in the day.”

“That was then,” Aubrey said, trying to keep the ice out of her voice. She’d had enough of Barry’s nagging, and she wished he would just leave her alone. If she could go back in time and advise her sixteen-year-old self, she would tell her not to spare a glance for the charming Barry that every girl in school wanted to date because of his good looks and bad boy tag.

“So, what changed?”

“Time. I grew up, so have you. My taste in men has changed, I guess.”

“So, you’re more into ordinary guys like that guy who you tried to make jealous at Freddy’s?”

Aubrey didn’t know why, but she was offended by Barry’s choice of words. “Eric is anything but ordinary,” she snapped. “Besides, he’s a family friend.”

“Then why did you lie to him?”

She heaved a sigh of exasperation. “Can we just drop this subject?”

“I’m sorry, Aubrey. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Barry apologized.

“I’m not upset. I’m just…tired.”

Finally, he pulled up in front of her driveway and Aubrey stifled a sigh of relief. “Thank you for the ride,” she said and reached for the door handle.

“Hey, hold on,” Barry said. “You seem to be in a rush to get away from me. Am I such terrible company?”

She managed a small smile. “No. As I said before, I’m tired and I can’t wait to get inside and relax.”

“Fair enough. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? I don’t think so. I’m catching an early flight to Anchorage in the morning.”

“Oh, that’s perfect. I have a meeting with a prospective investor tomorrow in Anchorage. We could go together in my private jet.”

“You own a private jet?” Aubrey was incredulous. How rich was this guy?

“Yeah, it was my gift to myself when I hit a new milestone in my career a few months ago.”

“Wow…”

“So, what do you say?”

The thought of flying on a luxury jet was quite appealing to Aubrey, but the excitement died when she remembered that she would be sitting on that flight with Barry and his overbearing presence.

“No, thanks,” she said as gently as she could manage. “Maybe some other time.”

“Okay then,” he said, smiling. “How about a goodnight kiss?”

“Go away, Barry,” Aubrey laughed and pushed him away playfully. “Good night.”

“Goodnight, Aubrey.”

She got out of the vehicle and walked to the front door. Aubrey noticed that Barry didn’t drive off until she had entered into the house. How nice of him, making sure she was safely inside before leaving.

“Look who finally came back home,” Gary said from where he sat in the den, reading a newspaper in front of the fireplace.

“Hi, Daddy,” Aubrey greeted him and went to where he sat to hug him.

“Where have you been?”

“Around town. Visiting friends,” she said with a mischievous smile.

“What friends?” Gary asked curiously.

“Here,” Aubrey presented him with the box of cookies she’d been given by Dione Black. “This is for you. Baked and packaged by Dione Black.”

“Wow. I haven’t tasted Dione’s famous cookies in a long, long time!”

“You’re welcome,” Aubrey said and giggled when her dad immediately unwrapped the box and bit into one of the delicious cookies.

“Mm…” he moaned in pleasure. “They taste divine.”

“I agree,” she said and took the box away from him. “You’ll have the rest tomorrow. I’ll go keep these in the kitchen.”

“Good idea,” Gary agreed with a mouthful of cookie.