Page 31 of Smith

That was ambiguous. But I didn’t get a chance to ask what she wasn’t saying when there was a knock on the door.

I turned the burner down on the chicken that was now simmering in the sauce, checked to make sure the potatoes weren’t going to boil over before I made my way out of the kitchen.

“Stay in here, yeah?”

“Sure.”

There was a high probability Zane Lewis had come calling. Not that Aria being in the kitchen would prevent her from hearing my boss but I didn’t think I could get her to go into my bedroom. Even then she’d be able to hear.

I checked the peephole and was both relieved and annoyed.

The door had barely opened when Jonas announced, “Damn, that smells good. I’m starved.”

My friend and teammate muscled his way in uninvited.

“Kira briefed me,” he went on, explaining his presence.

Of course she did. She probably sent him over with a box of condoms and some stupid slogan reminding me to use a rubber if I didn’t want Aria to be a mother.

Jonas’s sudden halt sent my attention in the direction of the kitchen. Aria was standing next to the island, one hand resting on the marble, the other shoved in her pocket. She looked her normal beautiful but more like she belonged, like she was comfortable, relaxed, like she’d stood in my kitchen hundreds of times. Or maybe I was projecting how I felt, how I wished a hundred days from now I’d walk in and find her still there with a welcoming smile. Even though I knew I could stupidly wish and want but it would never come to fruition.

A week at most was all I was going to get.

Then it’d be over and she’d be another regret to add to my ever-growing list.

“Aria, this is my teammate, Jonas Lang,” I introduced. “Jonas, Aria Taylor.”

I watched my friend come unstuck and finish making his way into the kitchen, bringing up his hand when he got close.

“Nice to meet you, Aria.”

With a smile and shake she greeted him back.

“You, too, Jonas.”

“You’re home early,” I noted for no other reason than to draw his attention away from Aria.

My friend’s smirk said I’d given away more than I wanted. Which left me wondering if I was truly onto something and I truly needed to get my head examined.

“Traffic was light,” he started and glanced at the stove. “And I didn’t stop to grab food.”

Bastard was weaseling his way into an invitation to dinner.

“Then you have excellent timing. Smith was getting ready to mash the potatoes. Can I get you a beer?” Aria jumped in playing hostess.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this mainly because I seriously liked it and I knew I shouldn’t.

“Yeah, but I’ll get it, darlin’. You need another?” Jonas tipped his head in the direction on her bottle.

“No, but thank you,” Aria said, climbing back onto her stool. “And just to say, I’m sorry you got pulled from your mission to come home and deal with my drama.”

Jonas lifted a brow in question.

“I told her you and the team were on a case,” I informed him, going back to the stove. “And you were coming home to help.”

“Right,” he drawled like I’d gone insane.

Which I damn well fucking had, but he didn’t know the extent of it. But if he stuck around long enough he’d puzzle it out. Not much escaped Jonas’s notice. He was perceptive and read body language like it was his second tongue. And I was off my game. Or more to the point, Aria had inexplicably thrown me off my rocker and unnerved me.

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