Chapter 14

Aurora remained fierce and strong all the way to the airport in Denver. But once she was off the plane and realized she was stuck there in the airport with no cash, no phone, or computer, she slipped. She found a payphone that took credit cards and placed a call to her mom. “Hello?”

With emotion clogging her throat, she sobbed, “Mommy!”

“Aurora, honey, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I’m in Denver, at the airport. Can you come get me?”

“Where’s Rob? Why are you at the airport? Are you sick? Hurt?”

“He kicked me out. I don’t have my phone or anything. Please come get me.”

She heard her mother swear under her breath. “I’m on my way, Aurora. Do you have any money?”

“I have my cards.”

“Go get something to eat and I’ll be there as quickly as I can. I’ll have them page you when I get there.”

“Okay. It hurts, Mommy!” she cried.

“Oh Baby, I know. Just stay strong a little longer. I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Aurora went into the ladies’ room, locked herself in a stall and let herself weep. She felt like her heart had shattered into a billion pieces. She’d taken a chance and bought his line. That stupid line written on a cup. A lie from the moment he’d written it. She’d given him her heart, and he’d made sure that she belonged to him, heart and soul. Then, for no reason she could understand, he’d tossed her aside, discarded her like those other girls. She knew she should just move on, but she couldn’t. He owned her heart, and she knew even if she healed, she’d never love another man like she did him.

As she sat there and calmed down, a plot worked itself out in her mind for a book. She left the stall, washed the tears off her face the best she could, and went to the sky mall to get a pen and notebook. She may not have her laptop with her, but she’d start this book the old-fashioned way; longhand. She took her new purchases and went to find something to eat. She’d pass the time waiting for her mom by pouring herself into the story of a woman in love with a man who wasn’t worthy of her love. A man just like Robin George Donovan.

Before she realized it, the notebook was almost full, her food was eaten, and the intercom was paging her to report to the baggage area. She looked at the clock and realized her mom had arrived. She’d been so lost in writing, she didn’t even realize that time had passed. Just a few minutes and she’d be in her mother’s arms, and she wouldn’t have to be strong for a while. She’d just let her pain flow and hope for the heartache to lessen.

*****

Rob wanted to scream. He was so frustrated. He’d missed Aurora’s flight by five minutes. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it till the next morning. He’d checked. There wasn’t another flight that would get him to Denver until tomorrow morning. He purchased his ticket and went out and moved his car before it could get towed. He put the phone on speaker and called Lynn.

“Rob, tell me you made it in time.”

“I missed her Lynn. She’s gone.”

“Then go get her, son.”

He gripped the steering wheel tighter and fought against the urge to mash his foot through the floorboard. “I can’t. Not till tomorrow, and by then it will be too late.”

“No, it won’t. I have a plan, but you need to get back here before we can implement it. So, hurry back, and I promise it will make things right between you and Aurora.”

Rob was skeptical, but this was Lynn, and she was one of the smartest people he knew. She also believed in love and romance and had written it so long that it came like second nature to her. “Alright, I’m on my way.”

“Good. Kelli and I will meet you in your room in half an hour.”

Rob pushed the rental car just a bit faster. He could only hope that Lynn’s plan would help him win Aurora back. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if it didn’t, he’d dedicate all his time to doing nothing else. Without her, he was useless as a writer. He needed her for more than to be his muse. That night at dinner with Caroline had shown him just how much of his heart and soul belonged to her. He wanted her in his arms, his bed, his life. He needed her to wear his ring, take his name, and give birth to his children. Without her, he was just a shell of a man. So whatever it took to win her back, he’d do it.

*****

Aurora sat in the living room, telling her parents that night what she’d discovered. She tried to stay calm, but by the time she got to the part about calling her mom for a ride, she was a mess of tears. She didn’t know what to think when her dad reached out and pulled her into his lap like she was a little girl again. “Oh, baby girl, I’m sorry he hurt you. We’ll make him pay for hurting you. No one, and I mean no one, takes advantage of us Wrights and gets away with it. We’ll get your book published and then I’ll pay to market it nation-wide. Before this Amore Con you were talking about, everyone will know about your books.”

She pulled out of her dad’s arms and looked at him. “I thought you’d tell me to turn my attention to getting an actual job, Daddy. To be cautious and responsible.”

“Well, maybe I should, but that punk told us you were good. Everyone who’s looked at the books since has said they are good, so now I want to rub his nose in it. We’ll work together and get you on that bestsellers’ list he’s so proud of, and get you higher on it than he ever was.”

Just then, before Aurora could say anything else, her sister Ariel came running into the living room. “Um, before you guys plan how to kill R.G. and hide the body, you may want to check out the Facebook Live that Aurora’s friend Kelli is doing right now.” She picked up the remote for the smart TV and pulled up Facebook with Aurora’s account. She clicked on a link on Kelli’s timeline, and then, before they had a chance to see what was happening, she backed it up to the beginning. “You need to see this, Aurora, from the beginning. You will not believe it.”

Aurora looked at the screen, and was enthralled as her friend started to speak.

“Hey everyone, this is Kelli Thomas coming to you live from the Central Region Romance Conference, where, as I’m sure, those of you who are romance book fans know about the problem that happened today. I know a lot of you do because this photo...” She turned the camera on the Facebook Post on R.G.’s timeline of him and that skank making out. “And your responses to it have gone viral. R.G. has been getting slammed for the last three hours with thousands of you asking how he could dump Aurora Wright, his Disney Princess. You want to know how he could pick this, well I’ll call her a skank, because that’s the nicest of the words you’ve used to describe her. And don’t worry friends, I agree with you. If he dumped Aurora for that nasty bitch, he’d deserve to be horsewhipped. Y’all know me and my grandma Lynn Thomas would be doing the whipping. But I have been doing some investigation for you and for my friend, Aurora. Girl, if you’re seeing this, hit me up. You aren’t going to believe what’s happening here.