Page 29 of Smith

I didn’t want to find her more amusing than I already did. I didn’t want to enjoy her company or the way she made me want to bust a gut laughing but I did. I certainly didn’t want to admit that I found her sense of humor even more appealing than her looks, but there it was. More proof my brain had sustained one too many injuries.

“Good call going with twit. And your preference is noted.”

“Only if the mood is right. Don’t go over-using the C word and cunt this and cunt that. And never—I mean never, ever—call a woman a see-you-next-Tuesday unless you want a kick to the nuts. That insult is saved for women to use and only sparingly when the offending woman has done something seriously egregious.”

For some insane reason, I had to know what would be so outstandingly bad for the use of the C-word.

“What constitutes the use of?—”

“Betrayal,” she interrupted me. “Not man stealing. That’s lame. You can’t be mad at the woman if your man strays. She didn’t make any promises of fidelity to you. If your man cheats, you send the woman a thank you card for exposing the dickhead within and you send your man packing and move on. Admittedly there are some circumstances where this doesn’t apply. Say your best friend, your sister, your mother is the other woman in the scenario, then you cut them off, too. The C-word is saved forwomen who tell your secrets for the purpose of knocking you down. Gossip is one thing—that’s petty and lowbrow. But when someone purposefully sets out to share your insecurities and secrets in hopes you fail—that’s a cunt. That kind of betrayal is unforgivable.”

Fuck. I didn’t want to like that either, but I did.

“You’re not wrong.”

“I know I am not.”

I heard her notebook hit the coffee table before I heard her footsteps.

“Damn, that smells even better from in here.”

Aria’s beer bottle hit the counter of the island a moment before her shoulder and tits hit the back of my arm and she leaned in to inhale.

A man who wasn’t as fucked-up as I was could get used to this—a sexy, outspoken, funny woman hanging around. And if I wasn’t careful, she’d make me forget how fucked-up I was.

“Need help with anything?”

I tipped my head to the side and found her staring up at me. Our position far too intimate for the casual nature of our relationship. Which was absurd after what had happened back at her flip house but it was true, nonetheless. There was a difference between making out, which necessitated her being close, and her standing with half her body pressed against mine while making dinner. One said orgasms were forthcoming, one said something else. And it was the something else I needed to guard against. But damn if I didn’t like her close.

“Nope. Chicken’s done. I just need to make the sauce and mash the potatoes.”

“I could mash.”

“You could, or you could sit, drink your beer, and tell me how you got into the house buying, remodel, and flip business,” I suggested.

The smile that hit Aria’s face nearly knocked me on my ass. She smiled a lot. Most of those smiles were flirty or because she was amused. This one, however, was genuine—full of pride and unguarded happiness.

Fuck yeah, she could make a man forget.

With a smile.

“Real estate mogul.”

“Come again?”

She stepped away but didn’t lose her smile when she went on to explain, “That’s the goal. The ten-year plan. I want to be a real estate mogul.”

I waited until she was pulling out a stool at the island before I asked, “Not a social media icon?”

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling where they lingered before dropping them back to me with her nose scrunched.

“Um, no. The channel was started purely to document my journey. It also allowed my dad to stay connected. I never thought it would take off the way it has. I’m not complaining—there’s a side hustle there which brings in extra money, and who doesn’t need some extra scratch? But truth be told, I’ll be happy when I no longer have to focus on making content. And not to be critical but you need new light fixtures in here.”

I couldn’t hold back the belt of laughter. Not only from her decree but her delivery.

“Anything else?” I asked through my waning chuckle.

“Well since you asked…” she started but trailed off.

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