Page 68 of It's Complicated

Aiden frowns uncomprehendingly.

So I continue, “You know…”

He shakes his head. “I actually don’t.”

Turning even more crimson, I blurt, “We haven’t done it yet.”

Aiden’s eyes widen. “So the knocking boots morning, day, and night…”

“Never happened. We only kissed.”

“Okay.” Aiden seems to digest this development and not be exactly displeased by it. “Why? How did you get Jace to be with you for two months without sex?”

Because in reality, it’s been only a few weeks and he’s had years of practice. Of course, I can’t say any of that, so I go with another partial truth. “Actually, he’s the one who wanted to wait.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. Before we do anything, he wants me to be sure he’sThe One! He said we can’t risk our friendship for anything less.”

Aiden’s grin turns foxy. “Is the only reason you came in here today that you want to…” He waggles his eyebrows again.

I grab a medication flyer, crumple it into a ball, and throw it at him. “Don’t be a jerk.”

Aiden dives left to avoid the projectile. “Okay, okay, Lori, no need to resort to violence. I guess I’m just not used to you coming to me for love advice.”

No, because I always went to Jace for my love advice, mostly about you.

“Please be serious. How do I know for sure?”

“Sorry, Lori, the skies won’t open to send you a missive stating you’ve found your soulmate.”

“Sucks.” I pout. “How did you know with Kirsten? How did you go from I love you, to I’m in love with you, to I want to spend the rest of my life with you?” And if a month ago hearing the answers to these questions would’ve killed me, now I’m just eager to get an insight.

“The more we dated, the more Kirsten became a priority for me. I started rearranging, re-prioritizing, and reimagining my life around her.”

Despite myself, I snort, “Yeah, we noticed the dropout from our usual hangouts.”

“Come on, guys, we still hang. Just less. That’s what happens when you’re in a good relationship, and it never feels like a sacrifice.”

Okay, I’m definitely spending more time with Jace and reimagining my life around him. I’m even vacuuming my house regularly.Check.

“Then there’s the attraction,” Aiden continues. “Only, it’s more like a craving, a physical, inescapable need. It’s a constant yearning at the back of your mind and that feeling almost like a rush when you think of them.”

Checkandcheck.

“That can happen with any new relationship.” Aiden ponders for a moment. “You know you’re really in trouble when you start to even find their quirks attractive. Like if you ever thought Jace’s neat-freak tendencies were cute, I’d say you’re toast.”

I blush. I believe I said adorable, even so,check.

“And last but not least.” Aiden pins me with a stare. “You want to say those big three words. Like, they want out, and you can hardly keep them to yourself anymore.”

Check.

In New Orleans, I almost blurted it out at random a thousand times.

Aiden shrugs. “But I guess you know when it just feels right.”

It does. It so does.

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