Chapter 69

“I hate waiting,” Natalie said.

“We all do. But maybe this is the thing that’ll finally get her back,” Morgan retorted.

“If she leaves the property, Nick will know, and he’ll be back before she gets in.”

“Why doesn’t he just talk to her as soon as she’s at the airport?”

“Because we have no idea who might be with her. It’ll be easier, even if she’s alone, to talk to her when she’s out of the lion’s den and surrounded by the people that care about her the most.”

Natalie shook her head. “I don’t like it, but as long as I get to hug her again, I’ll be happy.”

Astrid couldn’t believe her eyes when the gate opened, and there was Thornton sitting in the passenger seat, along with who she could only assume to be Susan Thornton. One of their hare-brained schemes finally worked. She called Nick. “Get on the plane now. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Got it.” Click.

Jasmine opened her phone as her and her mother exited the terminal at Reagan International. There was a new message from Aaron.

Mind if we meet at central, the place i took u for our first date? I dont wanna deal with Morgan

She had no energy to fight or correct his assumption that Morgan was still there and agreed. “Hope you don’t mind a stop real fast; I need to talk to my ex.”

Susan shook her head. “As long as your apartment is empty before the flight, I’m fine with it.”

Her mother was unusually relaxed about a deviation from the plan. Schedules meant everything to Susan. It didn’t matter, though; they’d be gone in two days’ time either way.

They took a taxi to the park and went to the old park bench and table she’d visited with Aaron years ago. It brought no sense of nostalgia, though. It felt like another person had sat here, eaten PB&Js, and laughed until she was nearly sick, and she had merely taken their place, a separate entity from the naive girl she’d been before.

Her mom descended into her normal gossip, but all Jasmine could think about was how close Whitlock Inc was. What if she just went in and spoke to Nick?

It’d be a bad idea; she knew that. Security probably wouldn’t even let her in. Still, she couldn’t suppress the urge.

“Why isn’t she here yet?” Natalie asked, paced the room.

“Maybe Mom found out what’s going on,” Andrea replied, with the same level of paranoia and worry she had every time they formulated a new extraction plan.

“Not possible. Between me and Nick there’s no way she can suspect anything.”

As soon as Merrick finished his sentence his phone began to ring.

“Yeah, Astrid?”

His face fell. “Shit. Okay, thanks.”

“What?” Morgan said, her cool demeanor falling.

“She’s at Central Park with her mom, and her ex just pulled up. Nick already knows and said we should meet there.”

“Goddamn, I love that girl. In another life, she was a spy.” Morgan grinned.

Without another word, they grabbed their things and rushed out the apartment.

Aaron sat down across from Jasmine. He was surprisingly groomed, more than she was used to: his hair was styled for once instead of just combed, he wore a button up shirt that had to be new because she didn’t recognize it, and his nails were clean.

“So…” he began awkwardly.

“Yup.”

Aaron looked up at the trees then down at his tightly clasped hands.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

Jasmine shrugged. “Probably never. I didn’t expect nor want you to stay in my life. Besides, it’s not any of your business anyway. But I guess it wasn’t the world’s business either, but here we are.”

Aaron’s face reddened, and he clenched his fists. “I feel like it was important for me to know.” He took a deep breath, allowed himself to relax. “But I’m glad I know now, and you’re here. I wanted to ask you something.”

She lifted an eyebrow. What was there to ask?

“I actually got a job offer in Georgia,” his eyes darted to Susan for a split second before they returned to her, “And I was thinking, maybe we could give this another shot, for the baby.”

Jasmine’s jaw dropped.

“Uh, no. I have no interest in you anymore, and I don’t need your help raising my kid.”

He unclasped his hands and leaned forward. “Come on, can’t you imagine us in that little cottage of yours, raising our kid surrounded by all the love from their parents? And we both know Nick isn’t gonna step up, so why not me? You know how much I’ve missed you. You can’t tell me that you haven’t missed me even a little.”

His words swirled in her mind. Did he think the kid was his? He had to know the timing didn’t work out in his favor. But there was a more pressing question that needed answered, given the death glare her mother was giving Aaron.

“How do you know about the cottage? I never told you about it. I never told anyone.”

His face paled, and he frantically looked at her mother again. “Uh, well, I just assumed—”

“Oh my god. You two have been talking to each other this whole time, haven’t you?”

Their silence damned them.

“That’s how you found me that day at the deli. Aaron told you where I’d be. That’s why he pushed so hard to meet up again.” She stood up and whirled to face her mother. “How much did you pay him to be your rat? Is this whole trip just to make me hate New York? Is that what all this has been for the last several months?”

Susan recovered as her daughter yelled at her. “It wasn’t originally, but you’ve been so depressing to be around. You rejected all the suitors I proposed, so I thought you might find some comfort in a familiar face brought back home.”

Jasmine laughed derisively. “My cheating ex? Bad fucking call.” She turned to Aaron. “And as for you, just so things are perfectly clear, the kid’s not—”

“Jasmine!” Even if she didn’t hear that voice for sixty years, she’d always recognize it.

The butterflies in her stomach threatened to make her puke as she spun around and faced Nick, out of breath and looking as perfect as she remembered.

He grabbed her and hugged her so hard she couldn’t breathe.

“I love you.”