From there, the conversation drifted into embarrassing high school stories courtesy of him, Thea, and Faith while Mabel and Jake laughed themselves silly. During a lull in the conversation, Thea dropped her crumpled napkin on the plate in front of her, wrapped a hand around her cup, and snuggled against him with a happy sigh. He obliged by wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. They might not be the real deal, but it still felt damn good to have her warm weight at his side during a lazy night with friends when everything was soft around the edges from tequila and the exhaustion of hard work. The pads of his fingers rested on her hip, where he lightly tapped the drumbeat to “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”
“Your nose is pink,” he murmured into her ear. “You should’ve worn a hat today.”
“You’re not pink. You’re nice and tan.” She yawned and burrowed closer. “Lucky to tan so easily. Gonna kiss you all over later.”
He just laughed softly and ran a hand over her hair. When he looked up, Mabel was watching them with a thrilled little smile while Faith looked shocked. And that answered a question he’d been curious about: Mabel apparently thought they were a real couple while Faith seemed to be in on the deception.
He met Faith’s gaze over Thea’s head, and her eyes narrowed fractionally. “I didn’t expect to be such a fifth wheel tonight.” Her voice carried a warning, but thankfully Mabel and Jake were too busy kissing to notice the undercurrent around them.
Thea’s head popped up. “It’s fine, Faithy. Remember how I always used to tag along with you and Leo in high school? That wasn’t so bad.”
Faith went absolutely rigid at Thea’s words. “That was a long time ago,” she bit out.
“Yeah.” Thea sighed and melted back into his side. “You two were such a cool couple.”
Her friend stood abruptly. “You know what? I should call it a night.”
Mabel yawned so hard her jaw cracked. “Yep. It’s at least two hours past my bedtime.”
“Oh no, is it eight already?” Jake asked, earning himself a smack on the arm.
“I’m notthatmuch of an old lady,” she said primly before turning to Thea. “Are we on for yoga tomorrow?”
Thea was interrupted mid-giggle by a jaw-popping yawn. “I’m thinking not this week.”
“You two do yoga?” Aiden was inexplicably tickled by the thought of tall, laid-back Mabel and tiny, bouncy Thea getting all blissed out on yoga together.
“God no,” Mabel said. “We usually just get donuts.”
“If we’re lucky, we’ll get Faith to join us someday.” Thea looked pointedly at her friend, who merely shrugged.
“The only way I’m doing Sunday morning not-yoga donuts is if you show up at my house with a dozen strawberry fritters in a box. Otherwise I’m not making the effort.”
“Rude!” Mabel announced, and their laughing conversation continued as they gathered up the empty pizza boxes and paper plates and shoved them all into the trash before they headed to the front door.
After they’d said their good-nights, designated driver Jake wrangled the two women into his Jeep with a promise to get Faith home safely.
“Best weekend ever,” Thea said as she shut and locked the hobbit door.
He grinned at her. “You think so?”
“I do.” She smiled back, her eyes liquid in the light of the hallway.
He stepped closer until his mouth was a fraction of an inch from hers. “Guess what?”
“What?” she whispered.
“It isn’t quite over yet.”
Without another word, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time to show her the perfect end to the perfect weekend.
Nineteen
Thea was nothing but jangled nerves when she walked toward the Murdoch Construction building. She hadn’t seen Aiden since he’d given her a heart-stoppingly sweet kiss goodbye on Sunday evening, and she hadn’t heard from him beyond a quick text on Monday morning to let her know that one of his guys would get her cabinet installation underway that week.
It was Thursday now. Her kitchen was essentially done courtesy of a Murdoch employee named Danny who communicated exclusively in grunts. The slate-gray cabinets were gorgeous against the backsplash she’d chosen, and every time she saw them, she wanted to cry.Aidenwas supposed to do that work. It was part of the renovation plan they’d agreed to, and Lord knew he always stuck to his plans. Except the past weekend, when he’d set his plan on fire and spent three days in her bed. And now he’d pulled a vanishing act.
Her fault for being surprised.Of coursethe past weekend would complicate things beyond what either of them had been prepared for. Then again, the absolute silence on his end was a bit much, and it left her confused and hurt and a little pissed.
