“How’s it going?”Wes asked.
“Fine.What’s up?”His tone was tense.Damn it, he couldn’t shake off his angst about Dez.
The click of the front door told him Wes had entered.He didn’t bother to put on a shirt because he’d jump in the shower once Wes left.
“Oh, not much.Just seeing if—What the hell’s on your counter?”A loud laugh burst from his friend’s lips.
“Shut up,” Aiden said, lacking venom and turning to lean against the wall across from the counter, arms folded across his chest.
Wes’s shoulders shook.He pressed his hands onto the edge of the counter, his chuckles shaking his body.
“All right.Do I need to knock you out?What the hell’s the matter with you?”
Wes sighed.“What’s the matter with me?What’s the matter withyou?I had a woman sneak out of my bed before, but I never pissed someone off so much they painted my counter.”
“It’s lipstick, numbnuts.”
“Yeah, and that’s not going to come out.Really, though.What happened?When I left the bar last night you and Dez seemed cozy.I waited half the morning to swing by and see if you were still coming on the hike with me.Sure didn’t expect this,” Wes said, nodding at the graffiti.
“No hike.I’m not in the mood.Besides, I have to start work in an hour.As for Dez...fuck if I know.We had a good night as far as I can remember.”
Wes lifted a shoulder.“Maybe she just doesn’t want you to feel obligated to take her out again.Girls are weird like that.Makin’ you work for it, you know?”
Aiden slid his attention to the words again, and a new ball of knots formed in his stomach.No need to call.“Maybe.”He waved his hand in the air as if to bat away any further discussion.“I’m off Tuesday if you want to hang out.”
“Sure.”Wes straightened and moved toward the door.“Oh,” he said, snapping his fingers.“One thing.You didn’t tell me Meredith Wilkes moved in next door.”
Aiden folded his arms in front of his chest.“Why would I tell you that?”
“’Cause she’s hot and you know I’ve got a thing for blondes.Unless...wait a minute.That’s the neighbor you were talking about, isn’t it?”
Aiden grumbled.Leave it to Wes to make him rehash his screwups first thing in the morning with alcohol still clogging his brain.“That was months ago.And yeah.”
“Well, shit.”He lifted his hat a few inches and scrubbed his hair.“There goes that idea.I was going to ask her out, but not after...you know.No offense but that’d be weird.”
“None taken.Besides, things got strange with Meredith.She was nice and all.Super nice, actually.Still is.But I got the feeling she wanted things to get serious.Even though I told her in the beginning I wasn’t looking for a relationship.”He made his way to the coffee machine.Thank Jesus it too hadn’t failed him, like his charm had.That would have made for an even shittier start to his day.“Coffee?”
“Nah, I’m going to head out.”
“’Kay.Have a good one.”
“You too,” Wes said, cracking open the door.“By the way, try some hydrogen peroxide on the counter.But I think you should keep it as a daily reminder of how to improve your sexual performance.”
Aiden cocked back his fist and advanced on his friend, but a laugh hit his throat.“Get outta here,” he barked.
Wes’s howls bellowed from the porch after Aiden shut the door.
Might as well be the theme song of my life.
CHAPTER 2
Desiree pulled intothe parking lot behind her shop.Being her own boss made Mondays a helluva lot more tolerable.After taking her keys from the ignition, she got out and made her way to the building’s back door.
The breeze picked up and she rolled her shoulders forward an inch.Once the sun was higher the day would warm up.She stuck the key in the lock and bumped open the door.Then she dropped her purse on her desk in the office nook next to the microscopic lunchroom and flicked on the lights as she reached the front of the shop.
A draft hit her cheek and she froze.
She jerked her gaze to the front window.Her view of the street was unobscured by the name of the shop, Raven’s Nest, and an image of tarot cards and crystals.She gasped and ran forward.Glass crunched underneath her soft-soled shoes.
