Beyond Chance (27 page)

“I was thirsty.”

“Did you see the verdict?” he asked,
stepping back. His expression was solemn and my entire body became
rigid with fear.

“My phone isn’t working. Should I sit?”

Aaron nodded, and I knew my world was about
to be forever changed.

Aaron and I had ridden in a cab back to the
apartment the night before. It turned out I’d been wandering the
streets of Paris for over five hours, and my feet had the proof to
show for it. I was barely able to sleep as I waited anxiously for
the sentencing. The verdict had come in last night, but none of us
knew how long he’d spend behind bars. I woke up early and Aaron
rose with me to hear the news. I quickly scrolled through my
messages and found the one I’d been waiting for.

“He was sentenced to three-hundred and
twenty months,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. The maximum
sentence for attempted murder in the first. I expected to feel glee
and relief, but I think I was still in shock. I handed Aaron the
phone, and he read aloud the same words, and it didn’t seem any
more real coming from his lips.

I’d spent so long not getting my hopes up,
that now I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Derek was
going away for a very long time. There was no resolution with his
accomplice on the outside, but my hope was that his cousin would
plead guilty and get it over with. I doubted it would be that
simple, but I could hope.

“You’re handling the news really well,”
Aaron said, rubbing my back.

I shook my head, my hair falling out of my
ponytail. “I don’t think I believe it’s really over. I’ve been
waiting so long for something to go wrong that now that it has gone
right I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I think a celebratory dinner is in
order,” Aaron said, smiling. He looked so reassured and at ease
with the news, and I still felt wound up tight as a rope.

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.
I wonder if Ayden or anyone even knows. They might have gotten on
the plane before the verdict or sentencing was read.”

“Yeah. I don’t know. You better write to
your mom so she knows you got the good news,” Aaron said, pulling a
shirt over his head. “I’m going to go make us breakfast.”

I sat up and let the feelings of ease
replace the torment I’d gotten so used to.

“We only have two hours before we meet them
at the airport,” I called to Aaron as I crawled out of bed. “I
can’t believe they’re actually going to be here soon, and my
brother’s going to be engaged.”

Aaron laughed. “You’re assuming she’s going
to say yes.”

“Hey, she’d be crazy not to marry him.”

I slipped into my terrycloth robe and
wandered into the kitchen where Aaron was slicing some of the
leftover ham from the night before and scrambling eggs.

“I’m making us some breakfast
sandwiches.”

“You’re getting pretty clever with
breakfasts,” I teased.

“Better enjoy it while we’re here. I have a
feeling once we get back to Seattle, there’ll be no rest for the
weary or wicked or both.”

“However that goes,” I laughed, taking a
seat at the table as Aaron brought over a cup of French-pressed
coffee. I took a sip and let the warmth trickle down my throat.
“Can you believe tomorrow is your show?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I’ve got to
go over there this afternoon.”

“Well, I’m sure no one will mind. They’ll
probably need rest after the flight anyway.”

Aaron grabbed a plate and made a sandwich
out of the bread, cheese and warm slices of ham. He cut it in half
and brought it over to me.

“Looks absolutely delicious.”

He walked back into the kitchen and prepared
a sandwich for himself before coming over and taking a seat next to
me.

“Not that this trip hasn’t been absolutely
thrilling,” he teased. “But I’m really looking forward to going
home early.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Me too. I
think I’m set for traveling for a while. Not that I didn’t love
every second of being here.”

“Oh, of course. How could a person not love
Paris?” he teased.

“So I still need to see the damn catacombs
and the Eiffel Tower,” I mused, wondering if we’d be able to fit
them in with our company or if it would be by ourselves.

“Definitely.”

“And we only got through a quarter of the
Louvre…”

Aaron smiled and nodded. “We’ll definitely
make it through the rest.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He took a bite of the sandwich,
and so did I.

And that’s when I realized the weight that
had been hanging on my heart had finally started to flutter away.
The thoughts of a mad man were slowly drifting to another place and
becoming a distant memory. Things were going to be okay. I was
going to be okay and law school was going to be okay. And we were
going to be more than okay.

Aaron leaned back in the chair and studied
me as I chewed the last bite and I scowled at him, not enjoying the
attention. I swallowed and waved my hand in front of him. “Not when
I’m eating.”

“You’re just so beautiful.” His eyes
twinkled, and I hoped he’d never stop believing that.

I couldn’t believe it. Ayden, Lily, Gabby,
and Jason were right in front of me in Paris. The girls wrapped
their arms around my neck, crashing into one another. They, no
doubt, had heard the news.

“We’re so happy for you,” Lily gushed. “This
is huge. That scumbag deserves life if you ask me, but I guess
we’ll take the maximum.”

She stepped back and Ayden gave me a great
big hug. “So happy to see you, knucklehead.”

“Still with the knucklehead?” I groused.

“Yup. It might change to aunt knucklehead
someday, but it’ll still be there.”

I narrowed my eyes as Jason gave me a hug.
“Congrats, hun. You deserve it. You’ve been to hell and back.”

I smiled and blushed. “We’ve all got
something.”

Aaron squeezed my shoulder and was beaming.
I caught him trading looks with Ayden, and I loved that I was in on
the secret. By the looks of everything, Lily was completely
oblivious and I planned on keeping it that way. It was pretty easy,
considering I had no idea when Ayden was going to pop the
question.

“So your hotel is literally one block up
from our apartment. You’re going to love it,” I gushed. “Aaron has
to go to the gallery to check on things this afternoon, and I
wanted to go with him because I’m just too nosey, but I thought
that would give you guys some time to rest before we go to
dinner.”

“Totally,” Jason said. “Between leaving
Katie with Carla and the flight, I’m exhausted.”

I glanced at Gabby. “She didn’t want to be
left?”

“No way.”

“That’s still too bad about everything. I
thought you started the whole process soon enough so that she was
allowed to come,” I said, helping with Gabby’s luggage.

Gabby blushed and dropped her gaze. I wanted
to ask, but I kept quiet as we walked to their waiting car.

“So here’s our address. Aaron thinks we’ll
be back to the apartment around six o’clock. Beep us and we’ll let
you up. We’re on the sixth floor.”

They shoved all their luggage into the car
and piled in. I wasn’t sure they were going to fit, but they made
it and we sent them on their way.

Our car was still waiting for us, and we
slowly walked over to it. “Well, that was a whirlwind. I feel bad
for shoving them in the car and ditching them.”

Aaron laughed and opened the back door of
our car and I slid in. Aaron gave our driver the address of the
gallery and we were off.

It was a short drive, about fifteen
real
minutes, until we arrived at the door of the gallery. I
saw a few people hovering around and didn’t realize what was going
on until it was too late. As soon as we stepped out of the car, the
flashes were going off and bits of English and French were being
shouted at Aaron and I as we walked to the gallery. It was the most
bizarre sensation I’d ever encountered. Since I had no idea what
they were saying, it made it easy to ignore them as we bolted
inside. The moment the door shut, the shouts went silent, and I was
awestruck by what was directly in front of me.

Aaron’s sculptures belonged here. They stood
impressive in size and expression. The pieces were astounding, and
it was empowering seeing Aaron’s manifestations of temperament and
art tower over the otherwise dull room.

Mr. Sennet walked into the space, offering
apologies about the press. I doubt he knew who was behind the
tipoff to the paparazzi, but regardless, I was still shocked any
showed up. I don’t think either Aaron or I really thought they
would.

“So what do you think?” Gregory asked,
clapping his hands as we walked around the first sculpture.

“Gorgeous,” I whispered.

“They’re certainly a commanding presence,”
Aaron said.

“We had a private showing for some of our
top collectors. They bid on every single piece. We’ll see how much
higher we can get them after the opening.” His eyes almost sparkled
with dollar signs, and I realized he very well might have known
about his daughter’s antics with the paparazzi.

We spent the next several hours going over
the setup and timeline for tomorrow night’s events. When we finally
left, the paparazzi were no longer waiting outside, and we were
able to climb right into our waiting vehicle without hassle.

We made it back to the apartment barely in
time to get settled before my brother and friends buzzed their way
into our apartment.

Lily was beyond excited and Gabby was a
close second. They rushed into the apartment thrilled to tell me
something, but they stopped short when they saw the place.

“Wow. So this is where you’ve been spending
your time?” Lily gawked.

“Most of it,” I confessed. “But Aaron rented
a chateau outside the city last week for us. We even went horseback
riding.”

“Showoff,” Jason muttered, as he slapped
Aaron on the back. “You’re making the rest of us look bad.”

Aaron’s laughter filled the room, and he
shook his head. “Believe me, I need all the victories I can
get.”

I rolled my eyes, but placed a kiss on his
cheek as we walked into the living room and everyone took a
seat.

“So something tells me you didn’t rest in
your hotel rooms,” Aaron said, glancing at Jason who looked
exhausted.

“Nope. No rest for the weary,” Lily
said.

I eyed Aaron and we couldn’t help but
laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she prodded.

“I don’t even know. So come on spill the
beans. What did you manage to fit in this afternoon?” I asked,
eager to hear about their first day in Paris.

“You’re not going to believe it,” Gabby
gushed. “It is the coolest thing I think I’ve ever seen, like
ever.”

“Come on,” I said, laughing.

“The catacombs. We got to see the
catacombs,” Lily exclaimed. “Have you seen them yet?”

“You’re kidding right?” I asked.

“Yeah. You’ve got to be joking,” Aaron said,
grinning.

“Why would I joke about that?” Lily asked
confused.

I let out a groan and threw the first pillow
I could find right at her.

Aaron was cracking up, and I just kept
tossing pillows at poor Lily while Gabby started chucking them
back.

“Do you realize how many times I’ve tried to
get into see those skulls?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” Lily said, laughing in
between breaths. “But they’re really cool.”