16. Aurora: What Just Happened?

Chapter sixteen

Aurora – What Just Happened?

There are moments in life when you desperately wish you could miraculously go back in time or rethink a bad decision you made. This is one of those moments. I had seen Noah in the kitchen with three orders. He has been here since morning, covering for Emma, one of his co-workers. With the intention of relieving him of waiting on his new table, I collect the large tray from him, chasing him off for a five-minute break or until a new table needs to be attended to.

Now, I really wish I hadn’t done that. Never could I have imagined I’d be serving Jake, not even in my wildest imagination. I notice he has company. Two ladies - a very young woman and a slightly older one. He laughs lovingly at what the young lady says, so fixated is he on her that he doesn’t notice me until I announce the arrival of their food.

His smile freezes, and the young lady looks up to see what has caused it. My eyes zero in on her finger which has a simple but beautiful engagement ring sitting on it. Are you kidding me? Who the heck does this guy think he is? Asking me to be his fake girlfriend and bringing his fiancée to my shop barely five days later?

I stare at him hard, with disgust and anger warring against each other in my expression.

Jake stares up at me with a weird expression, as if he cannot figure out why I am staring at him with so much anger. The two ladies at the table look in between us. The older one with amusement, and his girlfriend with confusion, probably wondering why I’m murdering her fiancé with my eyes.

Poor girl. She seems nice, and I feel sorry that she’ll be spending the rest of her life with this brute, who, just this week, asked me to be his girlfriend. My eyes keep going to the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. Is he trying to get a girlfriend so he can get out of his engagement? Why not just tell her the truth? Why lead her on?

The girl stares at me, her beautiful brown eyes pools of confusion. She really is very beautiful, and her honey-brown eyes look so innocent and seem to reflect a beautiful soul inside. Her rich brown hair cascades down her back in soft waves like a river of honey, framing her face delicately, and adding a touch of elegance.

But her small button nose adds a cute and playful touch to her face, along with her cute lips with a natural pink hue. She is dressed in a flowy sundress with a floral print, pairing it with a cute pair of sandals. Understated, yet elegant.

She looks at Jake as if asking for answers, but I can’t bear to hear the lies he will fabricate from the yarns of deceit. Forcing a smile on my face, I turn to leave. “Excuse me, please. Enjoy your meal.”

“Wait, dear, maybe there has been a big misunderstanding. Why don’t you have a seat with us and let my son do an introduction?”

What? I feel a brake screech in my head, slamming against me. I take a good look at the woman, belatedly realizing the young lady is a spitting image of her. They share the same features: eyes, nose, hair, mouth. Even their height, judging from what I could see.

She has on a comfortable maxi dress, adorning her neck is a pretty gold necklace. With her hair down, she could pass as an older sister. Good genes really run in the family.

If this is Jake’s mother, then the lady is his, what, his sister? No wonder she is staring at Jake in total confusion. I must have looked like a weirdo, jealous of him being out with his sister. Hence their mother’s amused smile.

I feel my cheeks burn with mortification, spreading to my neck and my entire being. I can’t believe I have glared right at Jacob in his family’s presence. If only I could teleport myself from here before I faint from embarrassment. I look at Jake to find him regarding me with amusement, holding in his laughter.

“Don’t let me intrude ma’am. Please enjoy your meal,” I decline, as politely as possible, not wanting to seem rude.

“It’s nothing like that dear, come have a seat with us. We came down here today specifically to meet you.”

Meet me? What’s she talking about? What introduction was she telling Jacob to make? I steal a look at Jake, and he has an alarmed look on his face. I can do nothing but comply as his mom takes me by the hand and has me sit beside Jake on his side of the booth.

An understanding dawns on his sister, and she laughs out loud, good-naturedly. She sounds happy and carefree.

“You totally have to sit with us. You definitely have nothing to worry about. I’m his sister, not his fiancée.” Chuckling, she makes a disgusted face at the word ‘fiancée.' She glances at her ring with awe and flashes it at me. “This came from someone else, not my brother. You have nothing to be jealous about.”

What is she talking about? I look at his sister confusingly, and then it clicks. They thought I had been glaring at Jacob because I was jealous? Oh no, no, no! My eyes widen in panic at the thought of his family assuming that I’m his girlfriend.

So, this is why he had asked me to be his fake girlfriend. His family is visiting, and he has to introduce a girl to them? So, he hasn’t been lying about being in a ‘jam?’ He’s acted like a total moron about the situation, and that was all that mattered. I will take no part in this.

I wave my hand in panic trying to clear the air about the misunderstanding. Whatever the situation is with his family, I want no part in it. I am so fixated in my desperation to clear up the misunderstanding that I don’t realize we have company. Not until their shadows fall over the table.

I look up to see a woman, wearing a stunning emerald green dress, which accentuates her incredible curves. She pairs the dress with strappy heels, making her appear taller than she already is. On her arm is a fashionable fur handbag, with a designer logo on it. Her fiery red hair is falling down her back in a silky flow of fire. Her beautiful green eyes are staring at me . . . coldly?

“Hi, Aurora, been a while,” a voice says beside her, and I turn sharply, almost giving myself whiplash.

“Alex?”

“The one and only,” he says, with a silly grin on his face. I used to love that grin, but now I feel a wave of nausea hit me.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper, staring at him, willing this to be a nightmare.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Jake’s sister, who I still don’t know by name, asks with confusion. Her shocked face would have been hilarious if the situation weren’t so grave.

“Yes, we do. Aurora, here, is an old friend. Soph had mentioned she’d be tagging along with Bella to Birchwood, so I’ve tagged along to see her and personally introduce her to my fiancée.”

“You got my text, didn’t you? This is Sophia, I told you over the text I’d be coming with her today. Babe, this is Aurora.”

I glance at Sophia. She has a pleasant expression on her face, but her eyes are the opposite. They gleam coldly and, for a second, I’m taken aback. Then I realize she isn’t looking at me but beside me. She is staring at Jake, who has a bewildered expression at the wild turn of events.

“Nice to meet you, Aurora. Alex has said a lot about you. It’s almost as if I know you already!” Sophia said cheerily, extending a hand to shake, her expression still fixated on Jake.

Not giving me the chance to reply to her, she nods at Jake.

“You know Jacob?” she asks sharply, as if daring me to offer her an answer she won’t like.

The booth goes silent and I notice everyone is staring at me. Jake’s mother and sister have expectant looks, making me realize I need to clear their misunderstanding up when I get interrupted. Obviously, they still have the notion of me being Jake’s girlfriend.

Alex is staring at me with a strange look I can’t decipher, and Sophia is staring at me with a cold, calculative look that I definitely can.

I sigh inwardly, ready to clear the air and escape to my office. Alex’s presence be damned, I have no plan to make small talk with him like a long, lost best friend, nor do I have the desire to become girlfriends with his fiancée.

“Mom, Isabella, meet my girlfriend, Aurora Blaze. She’s the owner of this pastry shop, the coffee shop beside it, and the bar on the opposite side of the street,” Jake butts in, before I can open my mouth, shocking me.

I whirl my face to stare at him, but he is already looking at me with the most loving expression on his face. He holds my hand and kisses it.

“Babe, meet my family—my mother and my sister.”

What the heck just happened?