Page 69 of The Compass Series

I took a few steps in her direction as I began taking off my suit jacket when I witnessed her shivering, then I placed it around her shoulders. She slid her arms into the sleeves, and it hung against her, clearly too big but somehow exactly the right size.

“Thank you,” she said. Her voice was sweeter than I remembered, and I remembered it being pretty damn sweet. She wrapped her arms around her small frame and kept smiling. A soft sigh fell from her full lips. “Hi,” she repeated.

I chuckled and nodded, taking a few steps closer. “Hi.”

“So…” She swayed back and forth in her heels. “This is weird, right?”

“Very.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Did you somehow know that someday I’d partner with Jason in order to cheat the universe and force us to meet again?”

She laughed, and I loved it. “Shockingly, no. This seems to be that fate thing you were going on about all those years ago.”

Fate must have a sick sense of humor if it decided to bring Aaliyah back into my life by pairing her with Jason.

“How have?—”

“How’s life?—”

We spoke at the same time then nervously chuckled together.

My hands slid into my pockets, and I couldn’t shake the nerves I felt. Why was I nervous around her? Why did my heart feel as if it were going to explode out of my chest at any second?

She nodded my way. “You first.”

“Oh no, ladies first always.”

“Still a Southern gentleman, I see.”

“Some things never change.”

“A fact that gives me comfort.” She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, and I watched her moves as if each one gave me my next breath. “How have you been?”

“Good, good. Same ole, same ole.”

“All work, no play still?”

I chuckled. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I walked over to the rooftop railing, placed my hands against it, and stared out into the night.

The city lights were vibrant as the hustle and bustle sounds of New York stayed loud.

I’d never imagined those sounds would be something I fell in love with.

Aaliyah joined me in staring out into the night.

“What about you?” I asked. “How have you been? Have all your dreams come true?”

“Not all, but I’m closer. I was made junior editor at my company. One step closer to senior editor, but…” Her face grew somber as her words trailed off.

“But what?”

She shrugged. “I recently gave my two weeks’ notice. With Jason getting the position in California, we’ll be moving out that way, so I couldn’t keep my job.”

“It’s your dream job, right? At that company?”

“Yes. But…as a superhero once taught me, you can’t have the best of both worlds. So I chose the dream family over the dream career.”

She said those words as if she wanted to believe them, but her slight tone made me think she didn’t.

Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. I didn’t know why, but it made my skin crawl when I thought about how she was throwing away her shot at her future for a man like Jason—a man who would, without a doubt, let her down.

I knew he would let me down over time, too, but that was a business risk I was willing to take to achieve a future goal.

With Aaliyah, she didn’t get any prize from him ruining her life. I had no doubt he’d leave her world in shambles, and he wouldn’t even blink twice.

“You think I’m crazy,” she said, tilting her head in my direction.

“What? No.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you do. You don’t have the best poker face.

Remember? I’m good at reading people. I get it.

Career has always been at the forefront of your dreams, so I completely understand why you think it’s insane for me to choose a family life over a job.

But in my world, a family has always been my biggest dream. ”

“I understand completely,” I told her, and I did. I had no problem with Aaliyah wanting a family, especially when I knew she’d grown up without one herself. Yet I wished it was with anyone but Jason.

He created more tragedies than happily ever afters.

“I think it’s great, Red, that you want a family.” I meant that, too. I wanted her to have everything she’d ever wanted from this world. “How did you and Jason meet?”

“It’s funny, really. I met him through a matchmaker—also known as his mother.

” She laughed a little and leaned on the railing.

“Marie was a regular at the coffee shop where I worked. Two years ago, not long after I met you, I went through a tough situation, and Marie was there to help me. After that, we grew closer. She had me join her book club, and we started building a good bond. She pushed Jason and me together, and the rest is history.”

“Marie and Walter are great people.”

“Yeah. Between you and me, I think I fell in love with Jason’s parents before him. Some days, I swear I love his mother more than I love him,” she joked. “But that’s only when he drinks.”

I didn’t comment on her statement because anything I said would’ve been negative. I had no positive thoughts about her future husband, so I bit my tongue to avoid making her feel bad.

“How long have you two been together?”

“A year and a half.”

I blew out a heavy breath. “That’s a quick turnaround.”

“Yeah. I understand people thinking that, but honestly, life is short. I don’t want to spend however much time I have left waiting for things to happen. I want to embrace every single second.”

I placed my hands against my chest and laughed. “As someone who is invested heavily in the stock market for the long-term, the idea of a quick turnaround is terrifying to me.”

“I guess that’s something different about us, Cap. You’re living for tomorrow while I’m living for today.”

“I hope today’s good for you, Red.”

She smiled. “I hope tomorrow’s even better for you.” She looked down at the statement gold band watch and groaned. “Speaking of living for today, I should probably get back inside.”

She was frowning, and that made me sad for her. “You don’t want to interact with those people down there, do you?”

“How did you know?”

“Don’t forget, you weren’t the only one who knew how to read people. Rich people can be a lot sometimes, especially some of the ones in there. Rude, invasive?—”

“Total dicks,” she added.

I laughed. “Exactly.”

“Between you and me, I really don’t want to go back in there. It feels like I’m being tossed into the shark tank, and I don’t know how to swim. They are just so…so…ugh! Mean. For no reason.”

“Oh, there’s definitely a reason.”

“And what’s that?”

“You intimidate them.”

She laughed. “What? No way. What’s there to be intimidated by? I’m nothing special. Those people in there have it all.”

“It’s all fake in there. Between you and me, a majority of those individuals likely hate their lives, hate their spouses, or hate themselves. It’s probably driving them crazy to see someone like you coming in and showing them something they haven’t experienced in a long time.”

“And what exactly am I showing them?”

“Your authentic self. They are envious of how real you are, so don’t let them get in your head too much.”

She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I just wish I had more time to breathe out here to build up the courage not to let them get to me.”

“Take more time to breathe up here. I’ll cover for you if anyone asks where you are.”

“You’ll do that for me?”

“Of course. Without question. I’ll say you were talking to some big, impressive person.”

She reached forward, took my hand in hers, and squeezed it. “Thank you, Connor.” She paused. “Connor…I really like your name.”

I smirked. “I think I love yours more.”

She didn’t pull her hand back right away, and I wondered if she felt it, too—the heat that began to race throughout my veins. When she did let go, the chills returned to me.

I gave her a half-smile then nodded in her direction before turning to walk away.

“Connor! Wait!” she called out. I looked back to see her hurrying in my direction. She slid out of my jacket and held it out toward me. “Thank you for keeping me warm.”