Page 104 of Third Time Lucky

ASHER

‘I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve got a problem, and I need your help.’

What in the fuck? Why is he here?

‘Nice to know you have no respect for personal space,’ I mutter, irritated that he’s shown up during a date that was going perfectly. ‘How in the hell did you find me?’

‘GPS,’ Aaron says, his fingers curled through the fence he’s on the outside of like I’m in jail. He’s lucky the fence is there because I just discovered he’s probably got a fucking apple tag in my truck, and I’m holding an axe.

‘WhatGPS?’

‘Life 360. Remember? The time I disappeared for two days with that girl? You and Lyssa made us all download it so we could track each other’s locations in case we go missing again.’

I shake my head. ‘Only one of us has ever gone missing…’ I remind him.

Disappeared – or run off like a rambunctious, horny puppy? It’s a tale as old as time in Aaron’s world. He met a girl in a bar, and she invited him home. Of course, he said yes. But it turned out her home was in Seattle. Once he was there – he had no way back – had lost his wallet and phone somewhere along the way (I suspect she robbed him, but he insists otherwise). I called the police for advice on what to do when a grown-ass man has gone missing. After asking a few questions about Aaron’s lifestyle, they advised me to give him a couple of days. He’d probably surface, they’d said.

Forty-eight hours later, he called me from a number I didn’t recognize, and once again, I had to make that phone call to update the police on the actual situation (he followed a woman home) and let them know that I had found him. Then, I had to drop everything to bring him home.

‘You’re about to go missing right now,’ I mutter quietly so Lucy doesn’t hear me.

I hear the thud of her axe hitting its target, then falling to the ground below.

‘Thank God you’re in jail then, eh?’ he laughs. ‘Listen, I see I’ve pissed you off and that you’re busy. In my defense, I thought you were just here blowing off some sexual tension.’

Jesus, please don’t let Lucy have heard that.

‘I’ll make this quick. I pushed the boundaries with Madi and she’s mad, and I don’t handle mad women well, so I’m cutting her off,’ he says, that last part under his breath.

‘What?’

‘I wanted to see how serious she was so I may have hit on someone else in front of her. It didn’t go well, she wants forever or exclusive or some lovey dovey shit I’m not cut out for, so I’m ghosting her.’

‘Can I ghost you?’ I ask, running a hand through my hair nervously.

‘Nope, you’re stuck with me for life ’cause we’re brothers.’

‘People cut off family all the time nowadays.’

‘You’d never,’ he says, calling me out.

Holy shit, this moron. He is going to fuck this up for me. Deep breath. ‘You are an idiot,’ I growl through clenched teeth.

His shoulders tense as he spits out the words. ‘Things were getting too real, and I couldn’t handle it.’

‘This is one of those ridiculous conversations that should have been a phone call or a text I could ignore until I’ve got time.’ I shake my head in exasperation at Aaron’s typical behavior. It’s always the same cycle with him – getting too close, feeling suffocated, and then running away.

‘Tried that, you didn’t answer.’

‘Because I’m busy.’

‘Well, I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what to do because now she’s blowing up my phone,’ he says, flashing me a glimpse at the screen, notifications filling it. ‘I don’t want to hurt her by blocking her, but love was not our deal.’

I glance over at Lucy, who has retrieved her axe and is now eyeing Aaron with curiosity and suspicion. At this point, I should just tell her what’s going on and let her hurt him for Madi.

‘You’re unbelievable,’ I moan. ‘How do you chase a girl for weeks and then decide, nope, I like her too much, she might be in love with me, she’s got to go.’

He shrugs. ‘I’m a complex fella,’ he says, arguing back.

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