Page 20 of Made Over by Meredith

“That was an accident. It was a halter top, and the string caught.” I mimed the action of my topaccidentallyfalling off.

“Ryan hasn’t stopped talking about your tits.”

“Jealous?”

He didn’t answer, only placed his hand over my shoulders, the same way he’d done with Celeste, and ushered me down thesidewalk toward the parking lot. The thought of him touching me the same way he touched her made me irrationally angry, and I pushed him away even as I had no idea where we were going.

“What’s the problem?” he asked, and I had to assume he was being purposefully obtuse.

“Why are youhere?”

“Because—”

“You’re supposed to be withher,” I said with a real mature stomp of my foot. “What’s the point of everything we did if you’re not with her?”

“I went out with her. It was great.”

I held my arms out at my sides, silently demanding more.

“And now it’s over,” he said simply.

I sighed irritably. “Did you kiss her?”

He closed the distance between us in two steps, gently prodding me toward his car.

“Did you kiss her?” I asked again, because I needed to be put out of my misery.

When he didn’t answer, I shoved my hands against his chest, curling my fingers around the lapels of his jacket. It was buttery soft while giving Aiden an edge. Although, with the way he stared down at me, he had all the edge he needed.

I enunciated each word. “Did. You. Kiss. Her?”

He stepped even closer to me, forcing my neck back. He wasn’t that much taller than me, but in flats andthisclose, I had to tilt my head to hold his gaze when he replied, “Why does it matter?”

He smelled good, like citrus and leather, his jaw ever-so-slightly stubbled, his hair just this side of mussed. I shivered, and his hands curled around my upper arms. I’d only thrown on a casual knit T-shirt dress. It was long-sleeved but thin, and Ididn’t know I’d be hanging around outside after dark with this adorkable man being a pain in my ass.

“You’re cold,” he said, still avoiding my question. He removed his jacket and swung it around my shoulders.

It was warm, and I didn’t think about it when I slipped my arms inside, pulling it close around me, ducking my nose down to smell it.

He didn’t miss that.

This fucking guy didn’t miss a thing.

“Why won’t you answer my question?” I asked, and he had the audacity to smile.

“Why won’t you answermine?”

I shrugged. His question wasn’t hard to answer. “I want to know if you kissed, so I know I’m not wasting my time with any of this. You’re either going to get laid or you’re not.”

Aiden’s jaw ticked, his lips pulled tight together, and I growled in annoyance.

“If you’re here with me, I’m sure that means you’re not getting laid. Did you even try to kiss her? What the fuck, Aiden? I thought we were getting past your hesitation. If you don’t tell her what you want, you’ll never get out of the friend?—”

“I kissed her,” he bit out. “For fuck’s sake, Meredith. I kissed her. You happy?”

My mouth hung open in silence at his sudden temper, and it took me a moment to pick up the pieces of my brain. “You cursed. Not very gentlemanly of you.”

“You don’t make me feel very gentlemanly.”

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