Page 73 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

Instead, I let these heady, addictive feelings get away from me. I hurt him, and I realized that gut punch of a feeling wasn’t something I was receiving this time—it was something I was causinghim.

Aaron stared at me, wide-eyed and red-faced, waiting for me to answer.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Lizzie turned toward me; I could feel her gaze on the side of my face. I couldn’t look at her. My head was too full of noise. Panic raced through me and burned every nerve ending, making it hard to focus on anything except the jittering in my legs and the pounding of my heart.

“Mysister?”

“It’s not—Aaron, I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

In my peripheral vision, I saw Lizzie flinch. Her gaze left my face, dropping to the ground in front of us.

“A mistake.” Aaron scoffed.

“I…” I couldn’t take my eyes off him, off the anger and shock blazing in his expression. “Yes. It just happened. I can explain.”

I was flailing, and my words were making Lizzie flinch and crouch away from me, which made the panic inside me rear up taller and stronger and scarier.

Then Aaron’s eyes moved to Lizzie, and his lips curled. “So, what, you used the whole matchmaking thing as an excuse to—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “I don’t even want to say it.”

“It’s my fault,” I said.

“You weren’t the only one participating in that little display,” Aaron shot back. “I didn’t see Lizzie fighting you off.”

“We’re both adults,” Lizzie finally said. “What’s your problem?”

My mind was torn between them. Between the friendship that had gotten me through every significant moment of my life—my father’s antics and his final departure from our lives, my mother’s illness and death, my wedding, the birth of my son, the breakdown of my marriage—and the woman who made me feel like I was alive again.

How could I choose between them? How could I have been so stupid to think I could have both?

“My problem?” Aaron shot back. “My problem is that my best friendjustmoved back to town and you wasted no time in spreading your legs for him. My best friend, Lizzie!”

Lizzie’s face went white, and the panic inside me snapped. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

“Likewhat.” Aaron’s vitriol turned back to me.

“What’s going on here?” Mrs. B’s voice called out. A moment later, she appeared behind Aaron, frowning in confusion. “I heard shouting.”

“What’s going on is that Lizzie and Sean were making out,” Aaron said, flinging his arm toward us.

Mrs. B’s eyes went wide. She glanced at me, then at her daughter. All she said was, “Lizzie!”

Lizzie flinched again and shook her head. “I have to go.”

“Oh, you’re going to run away?” Aaron said as she hurried past him. “Like you ran away from your marriage? No wonder Isaac left you.”

The sob that left Lizzie’s throat was the only catalyst I needed. I took two steps and was on Aaron, but he saw me coming. I tried to punch him, but he caught my arm and got me off-balance. What followed was the most pathetic few minutes of red-faced grappling I’d ever been involved in. Suddenly we were fifteen again, tackling each other to the ground, pulling each other’s shirts over our heads, getting body punches in between snarled curses.

Mrs. B yelled at us to stop, and pretty soon the space filled with enough people that I was hauled off Aaron’s body by Kyle. Aaron was pulled to his feet and held back by his father and uncle. I touched the side of my jaw and found I was bleeding.

There was shouting. Kids poked their heads around corners, and as the adrenaline faded, shame began to gurgle its way to the surface. I stood in front of the mistletoe where a kiss had nearly undone me, surrounded by the only family I had left, and I knew that I’d made a mess out of everything.

And I’d done it for a woman that had meant very little to me only a couple of months ago.

As the ringing in my ears subsided, I realized Kyle was telling me to get myself together. He was asking me what the hell happened, demanding explanations. I shook him off. “I’m leaving,” I mumbled.

“Go,” Aaron snarled across the room. “Unless there’s someone else here you’d like to fuck? Another family member of mine you have your eye on?”

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