Shaking his hand, she nodded. “I’ll probably have a bruise on my knee, but yeah, I’m fine.”
“Then I’ll let you get back to your walk. Enjoy.”
Regardless of how gorgeous the woman before him was, he didn’t have time to stand around and talk. He needed to finish up his run and shower. His sister had a lot of studying to do, so he’d promised to take Tiegan to the movies and lunch so Candace could have the house to herself. The theater was showing the new superhero movie Tiegan wanted to see at noon but not again until eight. If they missed the afternoon show, they’d have to drive over to the theater in North Conway, which he’d rather not do today. He’d spent enough time traveling yesterday.
Juliette smiled, and a jolt of awareness hit him hard, reminding him just how long it’d been since he’d had sex. Hell, never mind had sex, it’d been longer than he cared to admit since he even went out with a woman. As much as he loved living in Avon, its limited population of single women his age made dating difficult.
“You too. I’ll see you on Tuesday night.”
He’d been thinking about being conveniently absent for dinner that night. “See you then.”
Aaron watched her walk away. Her oversized ski jacket concealed her figure from the hips up. His eyes dropped lower to her jeans-clad legs. Man, the things went on forever. It shouldn’t surprise him. The woman was a model. As far as he knew, models were never short. Although why, he didn’t know. Women came in all different shapes and sizes, so at least to him, it didn’t make sense that you never saw a five-foot-tall woman showing off clothes for the top designers.
Before he could stop himself, he conjured up an image of Juliette in a far different outfit, and his damn body once again reminded him exactly how long he’d been alone. “I need to get out more, Clifford.” Reaching down, he scratched the dog near his collar, then started running again.
Opening the door to the theater, Aaron waited for his niece to exit. He’d been watching movies at the Palladium Theater on Main Street his entire life. From the outside, it resembled an old-school movie theater. Aaron doubted the building’s exterior appearance had changed since the theater first opened decades ago. However, the same couldn’t be said about the interior. Like its larger counterparts, the theater had the latest audio and visual technology and heated seats. He never used the option, but his mom, who always found the theater too cold, used it whenever she went. The Palladium also had the best popcorn around.
“What did you think of the movie?” Rather than head toward the parking lot and his car, they started down the sidewalk toward George’s Diner. Unlike the movie theater, both the interior and exterior of the establishment appeared part of a different time—not that it seemed to hurt business. The place was rarely empty.
Tiegan kicked a small rock on the sidewalk as they walked. “It was good, but I think I liked the first one better.”
Designed as a trio, the first of the series had come out the previous summer. The last installment was due out in the fall, and he was anxious to see how the writers tied up all the loose ends. “Me too.”
The Beatles’ song “Twist and Shout” greeted them when he pulled open the diner’s door. While the food was delicious, and you’d find everything from burgers and fries to vegan and gluten-free options on the menu, you would not find any modern music at George’s.
Today, like any other Sunday afternoon, people occupied roughly half the booths and tables. Several customers also sat at the counter. Unlike many restaurants in the city, there was no hostess waiting to seat you when you walked in. Instead, if you saw an empty table, you took it.
He picked a booth near the door and grabbed two of the menus placed at the end of the table. “What do you think you’re going to get to eat?”
“Either fried chicken or a mushroom cheeseburger.” She opened her menu, then looked up at him. “Can I get a milkshake?”
His sister made sure Tiegan ate healthy at home, so one milkshake with him wouldn’t make a difference—besides, it wasn’t like his niece sat around on the couch all day eating potato chips and playing video games. She might not participate in as many sports as his nephew, but the girl was constantly on the go, either dancing around the house or riding her bike outside.
“Go for it.”
He was deciding whether to have a steak and onion sub or a bacon double cheeseburger when Christine Cote, someone he’d graduated high school with and the owner’s daughter, approached their table, notepad in hand ready to take their order.
While Christine’s mom owned the diner, her grandparents had actually opened it back in the 1950s. And although her mom still played a role in the business, Christine oversaw many of the day-to-day operations, and everyone in town knew it was only a matter of time before the older woman turned the reins over to her completely.
“Hi, Aaron,” she greeted. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. How have you been?”
They’d never dated, although during freshman year he’d wanted to ask her out. Unfortunately, Dwayne Cote got to her first. However, they had run cross-country together all four years of high school and gone to the prom together as friends their junior year.
“Good. How is everyone?” Although Christine and Dwayne broke up for a short time during junior year, they’d gotten back together the summer before senior year. They’d been together ever since and now had two children, a son Tiegan’s age and a two-year-old daughter.
“Oh, everyone’s fine. Are you two ready to order?”
Tiegan spoke up before he could answer. “Can I have a mushroom cheeseburger with onion rings instead of french fries and a chocolate milkshake with whipped cream?”
Christine glanced at him as if to ask if it was okay for her to order that, and he nodded. His niece had stopped ordering off the children’s menu a long time ago.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks,” she promised after he ordered a bacon double cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake. He’d planned to get an iced coffee, but as soon as his niece mentioned a milkshake, he’d started craving one too.
No longer needing it, Tiegan returned her menu to the holder on the table and turned her eyes on him. While she resembled his sister considerably, she had her father’s eyes—a man he’d love to hunt down and beat some sense into. Even after almost a year, Aaron found it impossible to comprehend how Eric could just up and walk out not only on his wife but also on his daughter. Perhaps even worse was the fact he didn’t bother to stay in contact with Tiegan. Aaron could count on one hand the number of times Eric had reached out to her since he left town.
“Is there anything else you want to do before we head home?” He enjoyed spending time with his niece, but it wasn’t the only reason he was asking. The way he saw it, the longer he kept Tiegan out of the house, the longer his sister could study without any interruptions.
She didn’t hesitate to reply. “Can we go shopping for some new clothes?”
Aaron didn’t have any objection to spending money on his niece. But he did have an objection to stepping foot in the mall. Even when he needed to purchase items for himself, he tried to do so on the internet rather than venture to the mall. “You should probably go shopping with your mom or Nana.”