Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Henry always had a lot on his plate, but still, he found more than enough reasons to smile each day. I hoped the world wouldn’t steal that away from him—his joy. All in all, Henry was a good kid. He worked hard, never complained like the other employees, and he always was quite the gentleman whenever I crossed his path.
“Go, Henry,” I said, waving him off. “Go meet America’s sweetheart. Take the whole day off.”
“Oh no, I won’t take the whole day. I need the pay. I want to buy that new virtual reality game in a few weeks! I just need like fifteen minutes or so, and I’ll be good.”
“I’ll cover for you and make sure you get the pay. Besides, the big festival for Aiden’s return is happening tonight. You should go enjoy it with your friends.”
“Then you’ll come, too?”
I laughed a little. “I can’t. I’m going to be busy.”
“Dang. I was going to win you a stuffed animal,” he joked. “Well, if you’re really okay covering for me,” he said, already backing up and taking off his name tag. “Thanks, Hailee! I’ll get a picture for you if you want! I’ll see you later! And maybe we’ll run into one another at the festival if you get a bit of free time! People said there will be fireworks!” He excitedly skipped away as I was left there in the solitude of a now completely silent inn.
A part of me wanted to dash outside, too. I wanted to see Aiden—hug him, hold him, and tell him that I’d thought about him repeatedly over the years—but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I was determined to do my best to stay out of his way over the next few weeks. The less interaction I had with him, the better.
I went back to organizing the bookshelf for a while, glancing out the window every now and again toward the clock tower. The crowd was massive, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart start racing faster as I set my eyes on Aiden.
That man.
My heartbeats.
How were they still controlled by him after all this time?
It turned out that that heart of mine was still somehow connected to the man who stood only a few hundred feet away from where I worked. I wondered when that feeling would fully fade away, or maybe when you once had love for a person, reminiscences of that love would always tug at one’s heart. Perhaps I’d always be tethered to his essence in some way. My racing heartbeats were proof of that the moment I saw Aiden grab his suitcase and start walking in the direction of the inn.
Wait.
Why was he walking toward the inn?
What?
No.
“You have got to be shitting me,” I breathed out, completely distraught as to why he was heading my way with a train of groupies and townspeople behind him. “You better not come in here, Aiden Walters, or so help me…” I grumbled to myself, placing my hands on top of my head in a state of complete shock.
He didn’t hear my order as he walked right into the inn. My boss, Mr. Lee, sat behind the front desk, and the moment he saw Aiden, his eyes lit up with joy.
“Well, well, well… if it’s not Leeks’s superstar!” Mr. Lee said, leaping up from his chair. He hurried over to greet Aiden and pulled him into a tight hug. “Welcome back home. Welcome to your home away from home!”
Did Mr. Lee know that Aiden was staying at the inn?
The worst trait about Mr. Lee, bless his loving, bald head of a soul, was his ability to forget to tell me the most important things. Like the fact that my ex was staying at the inn where I spent the majority of my time. Why was he staying here? Why wasn’t he staying with his parents?
Aiden seemed somewhat surprised by Mr. Lee’s warm embrace but melted into the hug. It was no secret that Mr. Lee gave the best hugs in all of Leeks. I knew I hadn’t seen much of the world outside of our small town, but I had no doubt that he might’ve had some of the best hugs in the whole world.
“It’s good to see you, Mr. Lee. It’s been a long time,” Aiden said. His voice was deep, and strong, and oh-so kind. That hadn’t changed much. What had changed was the fact that he was built like no other. Aiden was always a good-looking guy. He had the kind of smile that made it easy to fall head over heels.
“I was surprised to hear you wanted to stay at the inn instead of with your parents,” Mr. Lee mentioned.
You and me both, Mr. Lee.
It was fine. I could deal with one weekend of avoiding Aiden.
Aiden grinned, and my heart almost exploded. “No, sir. I have a few work commitments and business calls I’ll be taking throughout the next few months. Figured it would be best to have my own space.”