CHAPTER 19 (2)

“Sally wants to meet you and the twins.”

“Sally Beischel?” This time, her voice was darn near a squeal of shock. “The woman who took you in after…”

His chest, his gut, everything in him, tightened up as he said, “Yes, she’d like to meet you this weekend. We’d fly out on my plane

Saturday morning to Chicago, if that works for you.”

“Of course it does,” she said, “but are you sure about this trip?”

He wasn’t sure about anything right now.

“I’ll check with Kathy and Tyler now, then confirm the travel details.”

“I know they’ll be thrilled to spend more time with their brother.”

Brother. It was amazing how much that word meant to him. Even coming from her.

After they hung up, he called Tyler.

“I knew we did the right thing coming to you,” Tyler said after Ares gave him the update on Tessa’s ex-boyfriend. “Thanks a

million.” Then he laughed and changed it to, “Actually, thanks a billion.”

Ares couldn’t hold back a smile. Tyler had charm to spare, even in the worst situations. “I just talked to your mom about a last-

minute trip to Chicago.” He explained about Sally—who she was and that she wanted to meet the three of them.

“Chicago sounds great,” Tyler said. And then, “She’s your mom too.”

“She is. But there’s too much history to get into it all.”

“Okay.” Tyler obviously knew when to let something drop, at least for the time being. “Thanks again. Looking forward to hanging

with you in Chicago, bro.”

Ares phone rang less than thirty seconds after they hung up.

“You are wonderful and marvelous and the absolute best,” Kathy gushed. “I’d love to go to Chicago to meet the couple who took

such good care of you. And what you did for Mom today is huge. Thank you, thank you.”

Kathy’s enthusiasm made his heart flip. She made him feel like a hero.

In business and finance, everyone demanded a piece of him. They either wanted his money, or they wanted him to tell them how to

make money. But Kathy was different. She’d asked him to help, out of the goodness of her heart. And somehow, he’d dredged up the

goodness inside of him to do it.

“You’re doing so much for us,” she continued, “we’ve got to do something for you. I don’t know what. But we’ll think of something.

Something huge, I swear.”

“I don’t need you to do anything, Kathy.”

“That’s the whole point,” she said, as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. “We want to do something because

we don’t have to. You’re awesome, Ares Lowells.”

She hung up before he could set her straight. Before he could tell her he’d done only what he’d needed to, what any person with a

soul would have done.

Before he could remind her that helping out her mom didn’t mean he was ready to accept Tessa as his mom again.

* * *

So, really, how was she supposed to fight for Ares?

Kelsey finished the notes from her last session, then quickly checked her email while her mind mulled over what to do about Ares.

She was determined to fight for him. But how?

Ares had wanted her last night. His kiss, his touch, and the fire in his eyes had confirmed what her body knew. But she couldn’t use

his desire to bring him closer. Couldn’t use it against him. That was Keira’s modus operandi—ensnaring men. As far as Kelsey was

aware, Keira had never cheated, but she still loved to gather men around her.

In any case, Keira aside, Kelsey didn’t want to fall into bed with Ares only to have him deny his feelings in the morning.

Because what Kelsey felt for him was so much deeper. On some level, she had to believe he knew it too. Their souls seemed to speak

their own special language. She’d felt it all those evenings they’d talked for hours in his library about books, movies, politics, her

work, his work. The connection had existed between them even in college, all the nights they discussed classes and students, science

or high finance; daydreaming about how they would shape their futures; talking about their goals, what they wanted to accomplish

and how; or even something as simple as what the best classic sci-fi movie was. They’d both chosen The Day the Earth Stood Still,

with Forbidden Planet a close second. If she was going to fight for him, she had to do it by showing him how much more they had

between them than desire.

Her eyes skimmed the headlines online and flitted over a sidebar without really seeing it.

She wanted to do something special, something that would help Ares see they were meant to be together, no matter how many

obstacles stood in their way. But what could possibly convince him? What, what, what?

Suddenly, her gaze was snagged by a brief mention containing the words science, fiction, and Mars. Oh my God. It was the absolute

best thing imaginable. It wasn’t obviously romantic. It wasn’t flashy and sexy. But it was so absolutely them. Grabbing her phone,

she tapped in a quick text.

Andrei Wyeth is speaking tonight at a bookstore down the street from your office. Do you want to go see him with me?

They’d both loved The Martian. They’d read it at the same time, marveled over it, dissected every chapter. And seeing the

advertisement right on the heels of her thoughts about their favorite classic sci-fi movies had to have meaning. Ares answered almost

immediately.

Sounds good. Mendez can pick you up from your office and then we can come home from the city together.

Come home. Yes. The words were sublime, all she could ever have asked for. They made the rest of their arrangements through a

few quick texts.

Mendez picked her up for the ride to San Diego, but the traffic was horrendous getting into the city despite it being a weeknight. She

dashed into the bookstore with no time to spare as the emcee for the evening tested the microphone. It was standing room only, but

Ares had saved her a seat, and she squeezed past an elderly couple to slip into the chair beside him.

“You’re here.” He reached out to squeeze her hand, and she wanted to hang on forever. He was scrumptious in his dashing dark gray

suit and white shirt, his tie a shade of topaz and green that somehow emphasized the flecks of gold in his eyes. She wanted to eat him

all up right then. But she’d promised herself this night wouldn’t be about sex. Or desire. Or need. Or all the physical things she

desperately wanted from him.

Before they could exchange another word, the bookstore owner introduced the author to a round of deafening applause. Andrei

Wyeth was an incredibly interesting guy. And his publishing story was amazing. When he talked about selling his AOL stock options

at the absolute high after he was laid off, Ares gave her a thumbs-up and whispered, “This is my kinda guy.” She loved that he could

share this with her.

The talk was fascinating, even as Andrei got technical. And yet, like his book, he presented the material in layman’s terms she could

easily understand. He was extremely self-deprecating, and when asked how he came up with the idea for The Martian, he said he

was a geek who liked to sit around daydreaming about how it would be possible to accomplish this thing or that.

She nudged Ares and murmured, “Just like you.”

And yet it was more. It was like all those nights in college discussing their plans for the future. Daydreaming. Ares had made all his

dreams come true.