Page 48 of Until You

Chapter Fourteen

Lanie had hoped Aiden would change his mind about the baseball game, but he’d shown up at her apartment at noon dressed for the part.

“Why are you wearing a Royals shirt?” she asked after she’d given him a warm welcoming hug. “You’re from Atlanta.”

“Never hurts to wear the enemy colors when in enemy territory,” he said with a grin. Then he handed her a shirt too. “Now, put this on.”

She glanced down at the royal blue shirt with the Kansas City Royals emblem. “You’re kidding me.”

“When in Rome, Lane,” he said. “Now, go change.”

So she went to her room and changed from her cotton dress to the T-shirt and a pair of white shorts, but she insisted on bringing the straw hat to keep the sun off her face.

When she emerged from her bedroom, Aiden had found Tyler’s jacket on a chair in her living room, and was holding it up with a look that suggested she was about to be interrogated. “Please tell me this means you’re dating someone.”

“Define dating,” she said as she grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter and put them in her purse. She doubted Aiden had Tyler’s lock-picking skills. “If you’re going to make me go to this game, then let’s go.”

“You make it sound like a death sentence, and don’t think I didn’t miss your evasion of the question,” Aiden said as he followed her down the hall to the elevator.

She groaned and pressed the down button. “There’s a guy, but it’s nothing serious. You know me, Aiden. I don’t do serious.”

The elevator opened and they got inside and pressed the button.

“But you’ve brought him home,” Aiden said. “How well do you know him?”

She reached up and patted his cheek, smiling up at him. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

The elevator stopped on the third floor and the older woman from the night before got on. The silver-haired woman did a double take when she saw Aiden, then turned to Lanie and winked. “Why stick to one man? Good for you, honey.”

Aiden gave Lanie a questioning look, but remained silent.

They made small talk all the way to the stadium, and Lanie took advantage of the fact that he’d known the full details of her career since she first accepted a position with Montgomery Enterprises, and told him everything about her current situation and that she was considering turning in her notice. He remained silent, offering no advice or insight, and hopped out of his car in the stadium parking lot. Even stranger, he evaded her questions about his job, which was a first. He loved talking about his work.

When they got inside the stadium, he insisted they have the full baseball experience and got them both hot dogs and beer, then led her to what she presumed were expensive seats since they were so close to the field and home plate.

She made it halfway through the second inning before she asked, “Are you going to tell me what in the hell is going on here?”

“What?” he asked, taking a big bite of hot dog.

“Aiden.”

He finished chewing and chased it down with a gulp of beer. “I lost my job about five months ago.”

Lanie gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was figuring out my shit.”

“You thought I’d interfere with that?”

“No…maybe?” Then he shook his head. “I knew I had to make the change on my own, so I didn’t tell anyone until I’d made the transition.”

“Where did you land?” she asked. “Are you still in Atlanta?” She grinned and gestured between their shirts. “Or is this your way of telling me you’re moving to Kansas City?”

He laughed. “I’m still in Atlanta. I considered moving, but I have too many contacts there to throw them away.”

“So who did you end up with?”

“Me,” he said. “I opened up my own firm.”

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