Chapter 152

Aria’s POV

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry,” I said, moving forward at once, napkin forward at the ready.

Joe looked up. “Sorry, mister.”

The man accepted the napkin, then started to clean off his knee. “It’s alright, kid. It happens to the best of us. Though now you don’t have any ice cream.”

“Yeah,” Joe said sadly, looking down into his cone.

I touched Joe’s shoulder. “I’m terribly sorry. I should have taken his hand.”

“It’s alright,” the man said and looked up.

I stilled at once, finally looking at this man. He wasn’t some stranger as I had earlier presumed.

“Samuel?” I asked.

His eyes softened and he smiled. “Aria. I thought that was you, but I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Why not?” I asked. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

Samuel had gone to the same college as I had, and since we took many of the same classes together, we became good friends. Times it felt like we were connected at the hip, spending entire days walking around campus and going to class.

Then, unfortunately, things became slightly awkward when he asked me out. He accepted my rejection well enough, not making a big deal about it and never bringing it up again. But it always seemed to hung over our friendship after that moment. Eventually, Samuel changed his major, our classes became different, and we grew apart.

“Tell me everything,” I said. “What is your life like now?”

Samuel stepped up to the counter and ordered three cones, one with sprinkles. To me, he said, “I’m an accountant now. Not exactly a dream job, but it pays the bills. You know I was always good with numbers.”

He was the only reason I had passed some of the harder math classes. His tutoring helped make everything seem so simple. I was indebted to him for that.

“Did you get married? Have a family?” I asked. He was here at the playground, buying three ice cream cones. He must have had a family.

“Never married,” Samuel said. “I’m here with my sister and my niece.”

Oh. I glanced around, though it was futile. Unless they were the spitting image of each other, I wouldn’t recognize his sister. We had been good friends, but neither of us had met the other’s family.

“You did well,” Samuel said. “I’ve seen you on the news. Working for that Formula One club?”

I blushed slightly with some mortification rising within me.

My television appearances lately have not been something to be proud of. All of them were scandalous, or involving the news. Samuel was being kind. He did that, I remembered, even in college. He rarely uttered an unpleasant word about anyone or anything. Even homework.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m a trainer there. Well, assistant trainer now. It’s a long story.”

“I believe you.”

The ice cream man started handing Samuel the cones. The first one, with sprinkles, he handed to Joe.

Joe’s eyes lit up like Christmas morning.

“Wow! Thanks!” he accepted the gone immediately, then scurried off to the side with William, moving much more slowly and carefully this time.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I told Samuel. Especially since his pants were still stained. I wasn’t sure even dry cleaning was going to be able to remove that stain.

“Can’t have a kid miss out on ice cream,” Samuel said to me, as he accepted the other two cones from the ice cream man. Then we both stepped out of the way, following William and Joe back towards the park.

“Two kids, huh?” Samuel asked. “You married, then, I imagine.”

I didn’t know how to tell him the truth. He was once a friend, but that had been some time ago. I didn’t know if I could still trust him with all my secrets, but it still seemed unfair to lie.

“It’s complicated,” I said instead.

“Ah,” he replied. “Say no more.”

He probably thought I was going through a divorce. I didn’t correct him, knowing that if I tried, I would have to tell him the entire confusing truth.

“Listen,” Samuel said. “I have to take these cones back to my sister and niece. But how about after, I come back and take you and the kids out to dinner. My treat.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that…”

“You aren’t,” he said. “I’m offering.”

It was still far too generous. Even though I was grateful, I couldn’t accept.

Besides, I didn’t want to miss Liam if he were to come home early. He and I really needed to talk about his father, this check in my pocket, and what our next steps should be.

“Not tonight,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled sadly. “Raincheck?”

The thought of having another friend did lift my spirits somewhat. My friendship with Samuel might have been previously tainted with awkwardness, but we were both older and wiser now. We wouldn’t be as foolish as we had back then.

“Alright,” I said.

“Great.” Samuel’s smile widened. “Let’s exchange numbers.” As Samuel’s hands were fully, he gave me his number and I texted him so that he could have mine. “It was great seeing you again, Aria. I mean it.”

“I agree,” I told him.

With that, we went our separate ways. I returned with the kids to Isabella. Samuel walked to the other side of the park where he handed the cones to a woman and a little girl – likely his sister and niece.

Before I could even sit down on the park bench, Isabella was lifting one brow at me. “Who was that?”

“You remember Samuel?” I said.

“The guy who hit on you in college?” Isabella asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t simplify. It was more complicated than that. He was my friend before everything else.”

Isabella hummed but didn’t otherwise comment. “That was him?”

“Yes.”

“You gave him your number?”

“No harm in catching up,” I said.

From the skeptical look Isabella shot me, I could tell she didn’t agree. But she didn’t say anything more about it, so neither did eye.

Later that evening, back at the house, after Isabella had left and the kids had gone to be, I sat up waiting for Liam to return. By midnight, there was still no sign of him.

Through the course of the night, I had tried to call Liam three separate times, but each time went to voicemail. Whatever he was doing, it had to be important.

I tried not to think too much about whether or not Joanna was there with him.

I was about to give up and go to sleep for the night, when my phone buzzed with a text.

Liam, thank goodness.

I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, only to be confused. The text wasn’t from Liam, but from an unknown number…

Wait.

That wasn’t an unknown number. It was Samuel, already texting me back. I hadn’t saved him into my phone yet.

It was so nice seeing you again, Aria. I’m hoping we can catch up more fully soon.

I wondered why he was up so late. As an accountant, he probably worked the standard 9 to 5. Maybe he just couldn’t sleep.

Well, neither could I.

Opening the message, I replied, Me, too.

A moment passed. Then another message from Samuel came in.

No time like the present. Can I call you right now?