Perfect Night (Mason Creek)

I backed away and left silently. I didn’t want to be caught for reasons unknown. I had a fiancé. Aiden was single and free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted.

Just because it felt like he was sending me signals, clearly my addled brain had read more into it than there really was. For the millionth time, I thought I might cry. I sucked it up and used anger to stop that foolishness.

If Aiden wanted to hook up with the former homecoming queen, his ex, that was totally up to him. Just because he didn’t know what she’d been up to since he left town didn’t make it my business to tell him.

I drove to Java Jitters hoping to convince Jessie to commiserate with me. Only Miles was there sitting at a booth likely waiting for her to finish her shift.

I waited in line.

“Is everything okay?” Jessie asked when I reached the counter.

“Yeah. Just need my coffee fix.” I kept the rest to myself. If I’d told her, she would have come with me. But the good doc looked like he’d waited all day just to spend some time with her.

“To go?” she asked.

“Yes, please.” Coffee for one, I thought miserably.

When I stepped to the side so the next person could place their order, I caught sight of Alana. I moved in her direction.

“Taking a break?” I asked. Like me, she was taking online classes.

“Yeah. I need the caffeine to keep my eyes open.”

I gave her a conspiratorial smile because I had an exam coming up in my accounting class I should be studying for. “Me too. How about some chili to go with it?”

“You made chili?”

“I did and I need someone to share it with.”

“Sounds like heaven and I won’t have to cook. I can’t stay all night. I’ve got a paper due.”

After we got our coffees, I asked, “Your place or mine?”

“A break means a change of scenery. Besides, you cooked.”

“It’s in the car. I’ll explain.”

I waited until we were back at my place before I did. I got the pot from the backseat where I’d placed it to give Alana room. She followed me into the house. “Sit here,” I said, waving toward the sofa. I needed a change of scene too. I wasn’t ready to eat at the table or the kitchen island like I’d done with Dad. I set the pot down and went to grab us bowls.

“So who’s the unlucky person who didn’t get your chili? Jessie?”

I walked back in with bowls, spoons, and a couple of beers. The coffee had been an excuse. “Not exactly. Don’t get mad, but I made it for your brother.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you and Aiden a thing?”

“No. Just friends. He’s helped me out with a few things. I went to give it to him as a thank you, but he wasn’t alone.”

Her brows rose even higher. “Damn, he works quick.”

“I don’t think he had to.”

She laughed. “Darcy?”

“Exactly.”

“Stupid boys. They’re like dogs wanting to be leashed. But something tells me there’s more. Are you and Evan on the outs?”

Alana and I didn’t talk every day. She didn’t know the latest. “I sent him home. He was being an insensitive jerk. Jury is still out on if that’s a character flaw or foolishness.”

“A little bit of both, I gather. He’s easy on the eyes, but…”

“But what? You’ve never said a but before.”

“It’s your business. I don’t know. There’s just something not right about him. He’s a little too cocky. A little too city slick for me.”

“You like your men a little rough around the edges like Cory.”

She let her head fall back. “Don’t mention his name. For all his promises, he broke every single one of them.”

“Does Aiden know?”

She shrugged. “Maybe some, not all or he would have kicked his ass. Last I heard, Cory still considers him a friend.”

“Would you ever go back to Cory?”

“No. Do you still have a crush on my brother?”

Boy, she’d spun that table fast, leaving me a little dizzy. “If I did, that would give me my answer as to what to do about Evan.” I glanced at the two-carat diamond ring on my finger.

“Not that I don’t think it’s gross that you like my brother, but Aiden couldn’t put a ring like that on your finger.”

“I wouldn’t want him to. Hungry?”

She nodded and we dove in. Alana caught me up with rumors around town she’d heard. I filled in with the little I knew because that’s what you did in Mason Creek. You speculated on other peoples’ lives. There was nothing else to do. Then, I drove her back home.

This was one of those times I wished l lived in the city. There would be places I could go, like the mall or the movies. Instead, I went to the bar and hung out in Dad’s office working on a final paper for my business law class I needed for my business degree.