Page 37 of When Love Is Unexpected

"Okay," I say, "let me walk you out."

When I open her car door, I ask her if she's still mad at me.

"I'm not mad at you," she says.

"Good," I say. "Aaron will be here with the moving truck early tomorrow morning. I'm meeting him and Adam at seven to help them unload it."

"Okay," she says. "See you at seven."

Walking back to the house, I realize how close I got to kissing her. I was playing with fire, too. I can't let that happen again.

***

After a long and restless night, I get up before my alarm goes off. Knowing that I'll see Laila in an hour gives me a surge of energy.

When the doorbell rings at ten before seven, I grab a couple of water bottles from the fridge and run to the door.

"Aaron," I say. "Welcome home, man!"

"Thank you," he says, shaking my hand. "I appreciate that."

"Are you ready to unload the truck?" I ask.

"Yes," Aaron says. "Adam should be here any minute. There's not that much to unload, and it's a small truck."

"Okay, let's go," I say.

By the time Aaron and I leave the house, Adam and Laila are already standing by the truck. I greet Adam and then walk up to Laila and give her a hug. She's wearing black leggings, sneakers, and a pink oversized sweatshirt. Her hair is piled into a curly bun on top of her head. She looks beautiful.

"Where's Loren?" I ask.

"She's inside making breakfast," says Aaron.

As soon as I walk into the house, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee and crispy bacon awakens my taste buds.

Unloading the truck and placing the labeled boxes in their designated rooms in the house takes less than half an hour.

Loren is wearing jeans and a maternity top that shows off her baby bump in all its glory.

"Good morning," she says, turning from the eggs she's scrambling in a bowl. "Thank you so much for the help.

"Sure thing," I say. "There wasn't that much stuff to unload."

"We didn't have any furniture to move," Loren says. "I'm so glad we kept this house. The condo in Boston is furnished and ready for Laila and the girls."

"Yeah, I heard," I say. "I'm glad Laila won't be there alone."

Aaron walks into the house with the last box and puts it down by the fireplace, then walks over to Loren and kisses her.

"I missed you so much," he says. "Let's not do that ever again."

Loren laughs, "It was only one night!"

"One night too many," Aaron says, smiling at her.

"What do you guys do when you have to travel for work?" I ask, looking at Aaron.

"I don't travel anymore," he says. "We have good people on the team who don't mind the travel. Adam and I get to be home with our families."

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