Page 92 of No More Heartbreakers

He didn’t answer but kept driving and remained silent until we’d arrived in Athens and he’d parked.

Then he turned to me and stared.

Still defiant, I tried to hold his gaze, but the flash-broiling of my skin distracted me. The interior of the car seemed to heat up in seconds, as if we were sitting in a microwave, though the autumn day was cool.

When he finally spoke, Aric’s tone was dipped in molten steel. “Was it just sex for you, Heidi? Because if that’s all it was, then you’re absolutely right. We don’t owe each other anything.”

Then he opened the door and got out of the car. I thought he was going to stalk away, but he leaned back into the doorway and pinned me with a hard look.

“Have a nice dinner.” He said it in the same way you might tell someone tohave a nice life.

And those were the last words we spoke to each other all day aside from technical directions during the story shoots and the live shot.

Uncomfortable to say the least.

As the day went on and I cooled down, I reflected on our argument, cringing at parts of it.

My parts, mostly. Aric had no idea about Janet’s illness, or the disconcerting offer she’d made me right before I’d gotten into the car with him.

Not only must my responses have seemed overblown, but they were totally out of left field.

Ready to make up and move past it, I looked for opportunities to apologize and reconnect, but between our two stories, we were jamming all day long.

And I’d never seen Aric so… unavailable.

At one point during a rare lull in the action, I’d actually started trying to explain. “Listen, Aric, I—”

“Let’s just work, okay?” he’d said in a dull tone, not even looking at me.

And—like that—I was angry with him again. I mean, yes, we’d fought andyes, maybe I’d been bitchy, but couples fought all the time.

Why was he taking this so far? I certainly wasn’t going to find out as long as he was acting like a male deer locking horns with another buck.

Aric held onto the silent scowl all day and right through the newscast. When Hale came to pick me up afterward outside the basketball arena, his friendly face was a welcome break from Aric’s withering gaze.

He lowered his window as the car rolled to a stop. “Hey there, beautiful.”

“Hi.” I walked toward Hale’s car but stopped.

Looking back toward the live truck, I searched for Aric. He was nowhere in sight, probably helping Tony break down the equipment. I couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye to him.

Holding up a finger to Hale, I said, “I’ll be right there.”

Aric couldn’t have already headed back to the news car, could he? He’d stay and help Tony.

Unless he was desperate to get out of there.

To get away from me.

I walked back toward the truck, and as I rounded the corner someone grabbed my arm and crowded me up against the side of the tall vehicle.

Oh—it was Aric.

“I’m glad you came back. There’s something I want to say before you run off for a date with your ex.”

And then he was kissing me. Hard. Hot. Crushing in the best possible way.

All the tension of the day’s angry impasse was expressed in the way I kissed him back, all theI’m sorryandI didn’t mean itandwhat was I so mad about again?

---