Page 41 of Heating Up (Nugget)
“Good, I’m starved. And then, after we eat, we can go.”
“Relax! We just got here.”
Aidan grabbed two plates and piled them with individual pizzas. Brady gave him an inquisitive look, the question clear:WTF is going on between you and Dana?There was nothing going on, but people should mind their own business. For some crazy reason, his entire family believed that at the eleventh hour Sue would come running back. Aidan knew differently, and a part of him was relieved. It was done between them. Her choice, not his. He wasn’t the bad guy. But now he could move on.
“Tri-tip and chicken should be up soon,” Brady said and pointed to a table loaded with platters and serving bowls. “Salads, beans, chips, and guacamole are over there.”
“You need any help?” he asked Brady.
“Nah, I’m good here.” He moved a few pieces of chicken away from the flame.
“Nice ring you got my sister, by the way.”
Brady gazed over at Sloane, his face splitting into a big grin. “I like that it’s official. There was a time when the idea of commitment. . . marriage . . . it sent me running for the woods. Not with your sister, though. So maybe it’s all about being with the right person.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Aidan lifted his plate. “I better get this to Dana before the pizza gets cold.”
He grabbed a wad of napkins and some silverware and brought the pizza back to the table. Dana passed him his bottle of beer and methodically cut her pizza into six perfect slices. Aidan just ate his whole, using his hands.
Dana took a bite. “Wow, this is good. I think it’s the best Margherita pizza I’ve ever had.”
Aidan fanned the roof of his mouth. “Good but hot.”
“What did Brady say to you?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Bull. He and everyone else now thinks I’m your rebound woman.”
“Because we kissed? Nah, we were just goofing around. No one thinks that.” Except for Sloane, who definitely did.
She took another bite of pizza. “Of course they do. Obviously you’ve never lived in a small town before.”
He flashed a flirtatious smile, enjoying working her up, then pulled her into his lap. “Should we give them something to talk about?”
She quickly scrambled away, dragging that round rear end of hers across his groin, leaving him stiff as a rod. To hide the evidence of his arousal, Aidan tucked his lap under the table.
“Knock it off, Aidan. I’m not your rebound girl, your consolation prize, or a good-time distraction.”
“I never said you were. You’re my friend.”
She glared at him. “You always kiss and hold your friends in your lap?”
“Not my firefighter ones, that’s for sure. They’re hairy and don’t smell as good as you.”
The truth was, he didn’t flirt with his female friends either, but he really hadn’t meant anything by the kiss. Dana was just fun to antagonize. And he liked seeing her go from uptight, cookie-cutter suits to sexy, low-cut sundresses. He liked watching her convert from stickup-her-ass real estate agent to out-of-her-shell hot chick. Most of all, he liked being the one to provoke the transformation.
“Looks like our main course is ready.” Aidan watched Brady take the beef and chicken off the grill. “Let’s fix ourselves a plate.”
“I’m stuffed from the pizza, but I don’t want to pass up a chance to taste Brady’s cooking. I’ve only had it one time before. I was meeting a client at the Lumber Baron when he was the chef there. It was only breakfast, but it was fantastic.”
“According to Sloane, he caters every wedding, party, and event around here. Haven’t you been to any of those?”
“Nope. This is my first Brady Benson party.”
He wondered why. This wasn’t the kind of town to leave people out, yet she hadn’t gotten an invite to Tawny and Lucky’s wedding. She might not be outgoing, but there was nothing dislikable about Dana. If there was, and he didn’t know about it, Sloane would’ve told him. It seemed to him that she’d intentionally turned herself into the town wallflower.
“Well, let’s do it.” He got to his feet and helped her to hers.
