Page 72 of Not As Advertised

More and more, I was realizing I wanted to be the person she came to when she was feeling like this. I knew she had her two best friends, but I wanted her to know that I was firmly in her corner too.

“It is. And you’re totally right to feel that way. Career shit is hard. It doesn’t come easy to any of us.”

“Really? It’s even hard for the youngest VP in Appeal’shistory?” Some of the sadness left her voice when she teased me.

“Absolutely. There is nothing easy about this job. Leaving LA was really hard at first. And I’m still working too many hours of overtime, according to my mom’s weekly reminder.”

“Of course. I shouldn’t have joked about it. You love your family so much.” She tried to apologize, but I waved it away.

“No, don’t worry. I just wanted to say that we all have to make tough choices and sacrifices for what we want. I found someone extra special when I moved to Amado, though.”

“There’s that lethal charm again. Wield it sparingly, or you’re going to have to scoop me up to get me out of this restaurant. I’ll be in a permanent state of swoon.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead for emphasis.

“Noted. I didn’t realize the strength of my powers before now. With great power comes great responsibility and all that.”

“Let’s not go that far. You’re movie-star handsome, but you’re not Spider-Man.”

I was happy to hear the playfulness return to her voice. I didn’t mind being the butt of the joke for her sake.

“I don’t know… I think I’d look pretty good in Lycra.” I winked at her.

“You’d be positively indecent in Lycra. I’d like to keep that view for myself. Thank you very much.” She crossed her arms in mock disapproval.

“Oh. I see now. My Abbie is jealous, hmm? I like it.” Truthfully, I loved it. It made me irrationally happy to hear the possessiveness in her tone. God knows it took everything I had not to glare at every man who looked at her in the office.

“Your Abbieis going to use the restroom while you ponder your future calling to fight crime with charm alone.”

She rose from her seat, catching the attention of our waiter, who came to direct her to the restroom’s location.

I took a moment to finish my meal. We’d spent so much absorbed in our conversation that I’d forgotten to keep eating. I was ready to take her home for the next part of our date, hoping she’d be willing to skip the sweets at the restaurant for something more decadent at my place.

I was occupied looking at my plate, so I didn’t notice anyone coming toward me until I heard the voice right beside me.

“Aiden?”

Bringing my slightly started gaze to the person now standing beside our table, my brain came back online, realizing that Ethan stood there.

“Shit. Ethan? Uh, what are you doing here?”

What was Ethan doing here, of all places? I knew from a couple of casual conversations in the break area that Ethan livedsmack in the middle of Amado, appreciating that he didn’t need a car to get around.

Ethan regarded him strangely. “This is my uncle’s restaurant. My parents always send me here to grab food to bring home with me after I visit them.”

God, I needed to get rid of Ethan before Abbie came back. This was a disaster in the making. I realized I’d taken too long to formulate a response when I heard Ethan’s tone change and Abbie’s sharp intake of breath.

“Abbie. Uh. Hey. Sorry to interrupt your dinner. I was just heading out. See you Monday.” With that, Ethan walked away from the table toward the front of the restaurant.

Needing to do damage control, I looked at Abbie and spoke as calmly as I could muster.

“Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. Ask for the check. I’m going to go talk to him quickly. I’ll be right back.” I pulled out my wallet and handed her my card, knowing that she was probably freaking out.

I had another fire to put out first before I could help her, though. Walking briskly to the front door of the restaurant, I exited the building into the warm August night air. Checking both ways on the sidewalk, I saw Ethan about two shops away and headed in his direction.

“Ethan!” I called.

The other man came to a stop and turned around, a look of concern on his face. Thankful for all my days at the gym, I jogged quickly to catch up with him.

“Listen, Ethan. It’s not what you think…” Aiden began.

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