Page 160 of Aria

Jon had pulled back, licking his lips and catching his breath. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I guess I’m just not ready yet. It’s nothing you did,” I had told him.

It’s simply who you are. Or… who you aren’t.

So, things went back to our semi-normal routine. Jon would duck his head with bashful accord as we crossed paths at work. Eventually, Maggie had taken an interest in the counselor, and I’d suggested they go on a date together.

“I couldn’t do that, Chelsie. That goes against girl code,” Maggie had insisted.

“Nonsense,” I’d said dismissively. “Jon and I were never serious. You two would make a cute couple.”

Fast forward one year, and here they were. Jon and Maggie were engaged.

It was bittersweet.

“Gosh, they are sweeter than the homemade brownies in the break room,” Anne said, clapping her hands and waving her fist in the air with a ‘whoop.’ “You made a good call hooking those two up.”

My lips thinned. I suppose I had.

I suppose I was far better at organizing happy endings for other people than I was for myself. “They’re perfect for each other,” I murmured.

Thomas, one of the swim instructors, snuck up behind me and squeezed my shoulders. I startled as I spun around to face him. “You scared me,” I scolded, a ghost of a smile toying at my lips. Thomas was the poster boy for “tall, dark and handsome.” He had black hair and tanned skin, along with a dreamy British accent that the female employees swooned over.

“Sorry, love. Didn’t mean to make you miffed.”

He flashed his pearly whites in my direction as I twirled a golden strand of hair around my index finger. Consider me one of those female employees. “It’s fine. You’re fine.”

You’re fine? Wow.

Thomas shoved his hands into his pockets, the muscles in his arms flexing beneath his polyester t-shirt. He nodded his head at the two lovebirds, who were still embracing and whispering into each other’s ears. “It’s a tad dodgy, don’t you think?”

My nose crinkled when I glanced at Maggie and Jon, who seemed blissfully in love. “How do you mean?”

“Oh, you know. Only a nutter would propose after a sodding year, am I right? It takes me a year to decide if I even want a second date.”

Chuckling under my breath, I shrugged. “It takes me a year to decide if I even want a first date.”

Thomas’ dark brown eyes flickered with playful flirtation. “Six years, to be precise.”

I blinked, my cheeks flooding with heat.

“You’re a curious bird, Miss Combs,” he said with a wink. “You must know I fancy you by now.”

My heated cheeks began to swelter. I raised a hand to my chest, as if to hide the rosy flush crawling up to my neck. “Oh…” Thomas had always been flirtatious with me. There was a friendly chemistry between us since day one.

But, I had closed my mind off to the idea of men, and Thomas knew that.

Everyone knew that.

“Sod it,” Thomas said. He sniffed, teetering on the balls of his feet. “Go out with me.”

“Oh,” I repeated through a gulp. My mind shut down as I dug my fingernails into my collarbone. I chewed on my bottom lip, my eyes looking anywhere but at Thomas. “I – I don’t know. I’m not good at the dating thing.”

“Bloody hell, woman. You’re far too smashing to die single. Let me take you out on a proper date.”

Smashing.

Thomas was the opposite of Jon in every way. Confident, sexy, tenacious. I felt my resolve begin to weaken beneath his steely gaze, and I was certain he wouldn’t take no for an answer. That intrigued me a little. “Okay,” I agreed. “One date.”

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