Page 17 of Done with You

She closed her eyes and reluctantly nodded. “So good.”

“That sucks.”

“Seriously sucks.”

“Want to come over for dinner tonight? Pen is making her famous paella. We can drink wine and you can let the Luna side of Oona come out, tell us how you really feel.” Teal snorted, then smiled. Teal and Penelope’s house was one of Oona’s few safe places where she could drink more than a single glass of wine. She had nothing to worry about when she was there, and allowed herself to overindulge on more than one occasion. To the point where Penelope made up the guest bed for her so she could sleep off the wine spins. But they were her people. Her sanctum sanctorum. She hadn’t told a lot of people about what Russell did to her, and although Teal and Penelope weren’t in her life when all the shit with him took place, they knew enough to give her the breadth and safe space she needed.

Oona nodded. “I’d like that.”

“In the meantime, we need to figure out who else we can refer him to, since the man clearly needs some help.”

Oona nodded again. “I was thinking of Astrid Kramer.”

Teal nodded and tapped their chin. “Yeah, I think she might have the space in her schedule, plus she owes me a favor. Let me call her.” Teal brought out their phone and tapped the screen half a dozen times before putting the phone to their ear.

While Teal handled that, Oona’s gaze drifted around the room, her mind fading back to the heated conversation she’d just had with Aiden. His physiological responses had been more akin to pain than rage. Yes, his nostrils flared, he bared his teeth, and his words were sharp and meant to hurt, but his grimaces also lingered, which indicated pain. Not necessarily a physical one, but an emotional one. His swallows were hard, and his head shakes slow and disbelieving.

Did he feel the connection between them that she felt, too? And was he hurt by her unwillingness to help him? His shoulders had cinched up so close to his ears, which was a sign of panic. She understood it, because the tension she felt in her shoulders every day around Russell was debilitating. But there was no need for Aiden to be afraid of her. So it had to be a panicked response to losing her as his therapist. To having to go back onto a waitlist.

Either way, the array of emotions that creased the man’s handsome face in the span of their three-minute conversation were astounding. His anger was paramount, but there were a lot of secondary emotions there, too.

Her heart went out to him.

Sure, he didn’t react well to the drunk driver, but his intentions were in the right place.

She believed that, despite his poor choices, that Aiden was deep down a good person.

Or at least, he was, until he made those cutting remarks about seeing her tattoos, tasting her pussy, and that she was terrible in bed.

Now, she wasn’t so sure.

“All right, thanks, Astrid. I appreciate it,” Teal said into the phone. “Have a great day.” They hung up and turned their attention back to Oona. “Astrid’s assistant is going to reach out to you later today to get the cop’s information, then they’ll contact him and set up an appointment. She said she can’t squeeze him in until the new year, though. She’s swamped with patients, then taking two weeks off to go to Mexico with her family.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Oona said glumly.

Teal sipped their tea and tilted their head to the side, gauging Oona. “You’ll get over this. It just stings right now because you put yourself out there and he behaved like an ape.”

“Your professional assessment?” Oona asked dryly.

“I’ll put it in writing if you like.”

They smirked at each other and sipped their tea, both of their gazes drifting out to Teal’s big office window that had the drapes pulled open, to reveal a gentle fluttering of snow falling from the sky.

“When do you leave for your sister’s wedding?” Teal asked.

“A week from today.”

“And you’re gone for two weeks?”

“Ten days.”

“I think this is exactly what you need. Time with family, partying, celebration, and getting away from this bitter cold and the idiot men of Montreal.”

Oona knew Teal wasn’t just referring to Aiden. They were also referring to Russell.

It was a constant fear of all of theirs that Russell would one day just show up somewhere where Oona was. It was one of the reasons she always carried pepper spray and a small switchblade in her purse. She’d also gone and taken self-defense classes after leaving Russell. She never wanted to be put in a position where she was the victim again. Where she couldn’t fight back.

Oona finished her tea and smiled over her mug at her friend. “Thanks. I needed this.”

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