Page 67 of It's Complicated

Bang. Bang. Bang.

A loud pounding on the door makes me jolt on the bed.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Aiden’s brother yells from the other side of the door. “We’re leaving for lunch in fifteen minutes.”

“Ouch,” Jace says, kissing my nose. “Guess you’ll have to cut your shower short today, babe.”

I whack his beautiful face with a pillow. “You’re the worst.”

And I love you, I add in my head.

I’ll say it to him out loud… soon…

28

LORI

I wait until Tuesday evening to knock on Aiden’s door. Jace left early since he sees patients in the morning on Tuesdays while both Aiden and I receive them in the afternoon. I finished my consultations a while ago, and even if it’s been a long day, I stayed back, leaving my door open to keep track of the comings and goings of our practice.

Even if I checked the time of Aiden’s last appointment—Mrs. Davenport at five thirty—with our receptionist, I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t leave before I could talk to him.

So the moment I spotted Mrs. Davenport cross the hall, I dashed out of my office to knock on his door, barely leaving Aiden time to drop his white coat.

Now, as his calm voice utters a polite, “Come in,” from the other side, I nervously enter.

Aiden is at his desk, white coat still on, typing on his keyboard. When I get in, he looks away from the screen and greets me with a big open smile—one that used to cause all kinds of flutters in my belly. Only lately, it seems I’m more into crooked grins.

“Lori,” he says. “What’s up?”

“Do you have a moment? I need advice.”

“For you, always. Do you need help with a patient or…” he trails off.

“No, Dr. House, my patients are fine. It’s personal.” The irony of going to Aiden for advice on how to navigate my relationship with Jace is not lost on me…

“The juicy stuff, then.” Aiden playfully waggles his eyebrows. “Let me finish writing this note in Mrs. Davenport’s file and I’m all yours.”

Five minutes later, Aiden swivels in his chair to face me, giving me his undivided attention. “Spill the beans, Dr. Archibald, I’m all ears.”

I hesitate only for a second before asking, “How did you know Kirsten was the one?”

Aiden low-whistles. “I suppose we’re really talking about you and Jace?”

I nod because, at this point, I’m pretty sure I love Jace. But with him, I don’t have the chance to explore things and see how the relationship would go. The kind of all-in commitment he’s asking of me is comparable only to taking wedding vows, and the only person I’m close to who’s about to do just that is Aiden. Hence why I’m sitting in his office having the most awkward conversation of my life.

“Any particular reason you’re asking how to recognize The One?” Aiden smirks. “Do you want to propose or something?”

“No, no,” I say. More I can’t keep my hands off my best friend any longer without risking auto-combustion every five seconds, but I also don’t want to mistake lust for love and ruin something with the potential to be my forever. How do I explain that to Aiden?

He keeps staring at me questioningly.

I need to share the truth, or at least part of it.

“Okay, I might need to make a small confession.”

Aiden chuckles. “You meananotherone? Hit me.”

Blushing tomato red head to toe, I say, “I might’ve slightly overplayed how… sexually active my relationship with Jace is…”

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