Page 75 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

I would welcome that complication, but Aria might not have such an easy time of it. She'd just been through hell, courtesy of Chase, and I could understand why she would hesitate to jump into bed with me or anyone for that matter.

For the rest of the night out, Aria seemed distracted, like her body was there, still dancing with me, but her mind was elsewhere, and I knew she was thinking about it. All I could do was hope she'd come up with the right answer... which was yes of course.

Driving home, she was still quiet, the look on her face thoughtful, her eyes studying the passing buildings as the car approached her place. I helped her out, holding on to her hand, wondering if tonight could be the night.

The car took off, leaving us all alone on the eerily silent street, something unusual in this city. She turned to me in the darkness, the nearest street lamp a good distance away.

"Well, good night," she said.

Some weird lost feeling gripped my chest at this very obvious goodbye. Apparently, Aria had decided against fake dating with benefits, and it hit me harder than I would have thought.

A couple walked past us, the woman's heels clicking on the pavement with every step, leaving behind a strong whiff of her sweet, floral perfume.

Aria stood before me, her face suddenly brightening. "The flower in your desk," she said with a gasp. "It was from Paris."

As soon as the words escaped her lips, she clamped a hand over her mouth, her sudden exclamation sinking into my brain, not at all the turn of conversation I'd been hoping for.

So Aria had gone through my desk. A flare of anger pulsed through me at the thought of her rifling through my personalbelongings, the realization that she must have stumbled on the thing I held most dear in this life, the last tangible connection I had to my parents.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, her eyes reflecting the utter remorse in her voice. "I am so sorry, Ethan. So, so sorry."

That was only the beginning of her apologies as she went on and on, clearly upset that she had violated my trust like that, invading my privacy like no one had dared to do before.

A strange vulnerability hit me, something I hadn't felt in ages since Chase had also discovered the same exact thing. It struck me in the same old wound, one I'd tried desperately to seal off, to never think about, to completely eradicate from my life.

But it was still there apparently, just shoved down deeply, lurking in the hidden shadows and waiting to come up when I'd least expected it.

Aria seemed almost on the verge of tears, making me realize I hadn't answered her, lost in the recesses of my mind, probably appearing beyond angry in her eyes.

As quickly as my anger had risen, it vanished at the sight of her forlorn expression. So she'd satisfied a bit of curiosity about me. I'd done the same with her, hadn't I?

She just didn't know the extent of it, how much research I'd done about her, how I knew the name of the guinea pigs she'd had in third grade, that she'd briefly wanted to be a stylist, and that she'd taken an online course in ethical fashion last year using a pseudonym.

I reached for her hand, the coolness of her fingers surprising me. "Aria..." I said. "It's fine."

Hope flickered across her features as my eyes captured hers.

"Really," I assured her, grabbing her other hand, rubbing them both in mine as I tried to warm her. "No big deal."

To my surprise, I meant it. That brief taste of vulnerability had dimmed, and I didn't quite know what to make of that. Icouldn't muster even a crumb of anger at this woman standing before me, her simple presence, her sincerity, disarming me in a way I couldn't comprehend.

"Are you sure?" she asked, killing me with the fragility in her voice.

"I'm sure."

A lone siren erupted to life on a nearby street, and we waited it out, looking into each other's eyes, something new passing between us, something I had no words for. When it was silent once again, Aria stood up on tiptoe and leaned in, pressing her cool lips to my cheek.

"Good night, Ethan," she said softly.

Fuck. So this was it. "Good night."

And then she was off, disappearing inside her building, leaving me all alone on the sidewalk, along with this weird tangle of emotions and pent-up sexual frustration.

With a resigned sigh, I turned away, the weight of the night and its unanswered questions settling heavily on my shoulders as I walked along the empty street, the usual comfort of my aloneness not so comforting anymore.

Twenty-Four

Aria

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