Chapter 6. It Never Happened

Joan POV

“It was fun, Jo. You should have seen,” Rhoda gushed over her mug of coffee. I gave an absent-minded nod as I lifted mine to my lips, the warmth doing little to ease my tangled thoughts.

She'd returned last night. I'd pretended to be asleep to avoid facing her. Truthfully, I couldn't sleep at all.

“He's really cute,” she muttered, her eyes lighting up with that glint they always had when she found someone or something particularly fascinating.

“Saunter off again without letting me know, and he won't have a cute face anymore,” a deep baritone came from behind me, making every nerve in my body grow taut.

The color drained from Rhoda's face as her gaze darted behind me. I was certain my face mirrored hers—though not for the same reason.

“Aaron,” she said, her voice sharpening. I forced myself to remain composed, bracing for whatever he was about to say next.

A small part of me dreaded that he might