I’m just going to have to hold my tongue and do my best to refrain from making any caustic remarks. The number one goal is to not do anything that would ruin Clarke’s night, given it will be one of her happiest ever.
“I’m glad Riggs is coming,” Clarke says out of the blue as she stirs a homemade ranch dressing to go with the vegetables. When I was married to Jace, our personal chefs made homemade dressings all the time. These days I’m a convenience, buy-the-bottle type, so I had to learn to adjust to those little things after the divorce.
I try to sound breezy about Riggs coming. “Really?”
She nods with a gorgeous smile, setting the bowl down. “Aaron said he’s opening up and is actually a pretty funny guy. They went out after the game night before last and had a lot of fun with him.”
I can imagine he might be fun after being plied with alcohol. In a sober state, though, he seems quite dour.
“You know,” Clarke drawls mischievously, “he’s single.”
My eyes snap up to her. “So what?”
“You’re single,” she points out.
“Well, aren’t you Miss Observant,” I reply with every bit of sarcasm I can manage. I focus my attention back on the vegetable tray because there’s nothing more to talk about on this subject.
“I’m only saying,” Clarke continues, not willing to give up, “he’s hot, and apparently now that people are getting to know him, by all accounts, a good guy. Then we have you, and you’re an amazing woman, so… you can fill in the blanks.”
I give a mirthless laugh. “Oh, I filled in the blanks when you first opened your mouth about this. Not interested.”
“Why not?” she asks curiously.
I can’t tell her the real reason.
Because I haven’t told her about how our first meeting went nor about our little exchange at the bookstore the other day. I have purposely withheld this information from my best friend because I don’t want to put her in an awkward position.
I don’t like Riggs, and he doesn’t like me. Riggs is Aaron’s teammate, and there is an unspoken loyalty. If I let Clarke know that I don’t like the man, then by virtue of being my best friend, I know she will automatically not like him either. That will, in turn, put her and Aaron at odds, and I am never going to do that to them. So I have to keep my dislike of Riggs to myself, and that is where it shall remain.
“I’m not ready to date,” I say while looking her dead in the eye. And that’s a fairly legitimate excuse. I don’t have any interest in a relationship, although I do miss sex.
Like, a lot.
And Riggs looks like he’d be really, really good in bed—
Oh my God… stop thinking like that, I chastise myself.
The doorbell rings, and I’m grateful since it prevents Clarke from lecturing me on my love life. She is of the firm opinion that I have let my bad experience with Jace turn me off true love. But that’s easy for her to say—she’s found it and is deep within its throes. I’m so very happy for her, and I see that what she and Aaron have is the real thing.
Just as in hindsight, I see that marrying Jace was a monumental mistake, and I never saw the bad when I did it, even when it was staring me in the face. I had poor judgment, and I missed so many things. Not going to allow that to happen again.
Aaron and Clarke are living in her house, which is modest by professional hockey player standards. Aaron has a condo downtown, not far from the bookstore, and Riggs lives in the same building. Aaron is subleasing his place now but will be putting it on the market. You’d think they would have made the choice to live together at his place since it’s closer to both the arena and her store, but she loves the burbs, and so Aaron, without hesitation, came here. I think it’s sweet, but I suspect he’ll lobby for a bigger house once they get married.
Aaron stands from the couch and wipes his palms on his jeans. Clarke doesn’t notice but I do, and I can tell he’s nervous as hell. I’ve tried to reassure him via a volley of text messages throughout the day that she’s going to say yes, and it’s hilarious to me that he’s worried.
Also sweet.
What they have is the real deal.
I watch from the kitchen pass-through as Aaron opens the door, and I get a glimpse of Riggs.
Yeah… attraction-wise, the man pushes all my buttons. He’s got on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt that fits his chest exceptionally well, and his dark hair is mussed, as if he just ran his fingers through it rather than a brush. He didn’t shave today, and I really do love the rugged look. Jace would never have a hair out of place, nor stubble, nor be caught in anything less than designer jeans, and that was only on rare occasions he’d stoop to wear denim.