Page 145 of Wicked Grumpy Heart Doc

Ouch.

The bartender set their drinks down in front of them and with glasses in hand, they walked a few feet away, out of earshot of anyone standing at the bar.

“What does that mean?”

She didn’t like the idea that he thought he was “taking her shit”. That both emasculated him and made her look like a bitch.

He shrugged, which pissed her off.

“Passive-aggressive much?”

“Emotionally unavailable much?”

That felt like a punch to her gut.

“That’s not fair, Aiden.”

“What would you call it then?”

What would she call it?

“I care about you...”

He snorted as he stared straight ahead and took a pull of the amber liquid.

Dakota noticed Steven and Whitney headed toward them and nodded in their direction. “You really want to do this now?”

His eyes tracked where she’d nodded, and she noticed his shoulders visibly sag.

“No, I don’t.”

She gripped his elbow and said through smiling teeth, “Good. Act happy for them.”

His face lit up with a genuine smile as the happy couple approached, and she forced herself to do the same.

****

Aiden

Okay, so maybe he hadn’tmasteredignoring the elephant in the room; she was right to call him on being passive-aggressive.

And maybe it was unfair of him to call her emotionally unavailable, but being here—surrounded by people obviously in love and planning their lives together—made him wonder what the hell he was doing if she didn’t see a future with him.

He’d hoped she’d see he was a good man and wasn’t going to hurt her—that helovedher—but none of that seemed to matter.

Thank fuck she didn’t reply with “thank you” when he’d told her earlier that he loved her. But her silence had hurt just as much.

It felt like a knife twisted in his heart when later that evening, Hope ordered her brother to spend the night away from his bride-to-be. His friend had balked, but when his sister didn’t back down, Steven had turned to Whitney and stared lovingly into her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, my future wife.”

Whitney stared back and cupped his cheek. “I love you.”

Then, after kissing her gently, he said softly, “I can’t wait to marry you.”

Aiden had to look away as the pangs of envy hit him square in the chest. He was elated for his friend; if anyone deserved a happily ever after, it was Steven and Whitney. But Aiden wanted that with Dakota, obviously not tomorrow, but someday. Or to at least know it was a possibility in the future.

Instead, it constantly felt he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Something needed to change.

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