5. Aurora - Tongue Tied… and then

Chapter five

Aurora - Tongue Tied… and then

I really want to say something, anything, but it seems my tongue has gone on a vacation and left me here to just gape at him. The thing that captivates me most are his eyes. You’d think he was wearing a very light swipe of kohl on his lower lids, his dark eyes are piercing, intense, and captivating.

Even though I can see the playful glint in his eyes, they look sort of guarded. He is sitting, but I can tell he is tall, probably around six feet. He has broad shoulders, clad in a round-necked, black, long-sleeved shirt, and rocks the look with a laid-back confidence.

His hair is dark and tousled, falling in a slightly messy yet stylish way. His jaw is chiseled, complimented by a hint of stubble, giving him a rugged and masculine appearance. His lips are full and curved into a slight smile. He looks like he was created out of a fantasy novel for women .

It seems as though I’ve lost the ability to use my tongue for the moment. I have been gaping for a while, so not wanting to seem rude, I mutter an excuse and walk away to my office, situated behind the VIP section.

I hope no one notices my shaky legs as I enter my office and switch on the light. I just need to sit down on the couch and take some shaky breaths.

What’s wrong with me? It’s not like I haven’t seen my own fair share of handsome men, and I have never once allowed myself to be fazed to the point of being tongue-tied. I am a confident woman, not a blubbering college girl crushing on her professor .

Aurora, go back in there, smile, and say hello. Get your act together and stop hiding in your office. I give myself a mini pep talk, willing myself to get back out there and handle the situation like the adult I am.

I grab a bottle of cold water from my mini fridge to calm my nerves. The water runs down my throat, leaving a very cool and refreshing trail behind. Feeling like myself again, I walk back to their table, my strides are sure and more confident.

Clearing my throat, I say what I hope is a cheery hello. Brittney looks at me with a smile, but I can read the question in her eyes. “I’m fine,” I mouth back at her.

“Glad you could join us at last, Rory.” Ryan greets me with a silly grin on his face, winking at the same time.

“Please, don’t call me that,” I laughingly tell him. He knows my dislike for the nickname but that doesn’t ever stop him .

“You look beautiful tonight, Aurora. Come, take a seat. Ignore Ryan,” Britt says, while stink-eyeing Ryan. I laugh and smile at her in thanks.

Ryan clears his throat, and I look at him, unintentionally catching his friend’s eyes. I feel something drop in my stomach. Gone is the laidback guy I saw some minutes ago. Now he looks . . . different. His dark eyes are startlingly cold. Gone is the playful glint in his eyes. He looks a little bit tense, and his lips are downturned in a little frown.

“Jake, Aurora. Aurora, Jake,” Ryan says, after clearing his throat, exchanging glances between us while making the introductions.

“He is the friend I told you about, Aurora. Jake works at the new construction company across town that opened just last month. I invited you both to the grand opening, remember?”

I remembered Ryan inviting us to the opening of a company about a month back. He told us then that his friend from college works in the company.

But I never really paid any mind to it. I was working on renovating my café, and I didn’t have the time to attend. Brittney had a family gathering and couldn’t attend either.

“Hi, I’m Aurora. It’s a pleasure meeting you. Welcome to Birchwood, and I hope you’re enjoying your stay in our town. I own this bar, and everything will be on the house tonight. Consider this a welcome party, Jake.”

I extend my hand to him for a shake while smiling. Jake extends his hand too, but instead of the handshake I was expecting, he grabs his cup and takes a leisurely sip of his drink instead.

What? Huh? Did I say something wrong? I cast a questioning look at Ryan, but he seems as confused as I am at his friend’s attitude.

“Glad you can finally make it to the table. Let me ask you something. A construction company is a better contribution to society. Isn’t it, Aurora?”

Again, what? Is he drunk already?

I lower my hand with an embarrassed smile. I can see Ryan and Britt sporting confused and surprised looks respectively.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean by that, Jake. Better than what? Could you elaborate?”

“Nothing, really. I hear you own three shops. And I asked you if you think a construction company is a better contribution to the town, rather than a bar, a café, and a pastry shop,” Jake says, with a mocking smirk on his face.

He looks nothing like the guy I saw minutes earlier. What is he trying to say about my work? I’m feeling my face flush in anger already. I am about to give him a piece of my mind when he opens his mouth again.

“I’m just trying to understand the motive or the reasoning behind opening three different shops in such a small town when you could contribute more meaningful services. Why are you opening all these shops? Should we be expecting a grooming shop for pets from you next?

“Got commitment issues or something? I mean that’s a bit immature, jumping from one business to another, don’t you think? What’s that downstairs? You call that a bar? It’s more like a petting zoo to me.

“You can do better than this. Guess you’re not as smart as your friends here have made you out to be, Princess.”

I am stupefied, and also beyond angry. Who does he think he is? Who is he to come here and start judging me? Make a jest of my hard work? My shops? It’s not like he owns the construction company where he works.

Who, then, is he to talk to me as he deems fit? It takes all my willpower and the respect I have for Ryan to hold back from slapping him silly.

“Excuse you, Mr. Hotshot City Boy. Who the heck are you to judge me? Make fun of my work? I might not own or work for a construction company, but owning three shops doesn’t make me lazy or immature! What? I’m not allowed to do what makes me happy and provides needed services to the town? Or own three places I can handle?

“I do not care about your opinion! Or what you think! So, you can take your assessments, and shove them down your prideful throat. And I promise you, the next time you call me Princess, you’ll be pronouncing your next word through a straw!”

Continuing, I add: “Calling me immature and talking about commitment issues doesn’t hide the fact that you’re an obvious scaredy cat, running down here to Birchwood to hide from something or someone under the guise of working in a construction company!”

At the last statement, his eyes turn impossibly colder and he glares at me. I give him a satisfactory smile, knowing I hit a nerve. Well, he did too, calling me out on the commitment issues. But I would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that .

Turning to my friends, who look totally shocked at how things have escalated so quickly, I give them a reassuring smile. “You guys enjoy the rest of the night. I’ll text you later. Have fun!”

Britt tries to follow me, but I shake my head at her. I really need to be alone at the moment. Smiling reassuringly at Ryan, who has a guilty and bewildered expression on his face, I swipe my clutch off the table and walk out of there, my head held high.

What a jerk!