“Oh, shit! Really?”
I chuckled. Aaron had obviously made the leap to thinking I’d been out getting some ass. While that wasn’t exactly what had happened, the reality of what had happened left me in the same mood, so I didn’t bother correcting his assumption. “Yep.”
“Good for you, man.” Aaron looked down, consulting Princess. “Guess he’s still got it after all, huh?”
She wagged her tail, swishing it against the concrete floor.
“Hey, listen, I actually came to ask for a favor,” I started. “I was thinking about inviting Holly out here, take her up for a flight up the coast.”
Aaron shrugged. “Sure, man, whatever you need. Just let me know when.”
“Today?” I asked, going to lean against the counter.
“All right,” he replied, chuckling. “So, who is this girl?”
“Her name is Holly Parker. She’s from Irvine, here on vacation.”
“Wait,” Aaron paused, his eyes wide, “this your mystery girl from the beach?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We ran into each other by the market the other day and went up to Sunset Bay, stopped for dinner at Joe’s.”
“Niiice.” He swiped up the tablet and started walking away. Princess looked over at me but then got up to follow after him.
“Player, wait up.” Aaron turned around. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just have to get ready to open.”
“You need any help?”
He shook his head as he looked back down at the pad. “No. I got it. Been doing it for a long time now. Just go call your girl.”
“Player!” I barked. He snapped his attention back to me. “We straight?”
He sighed and dropped his arms to his side. “Yeah, I guess I’m just a little butt hurt that you haven’t been around the past couple of days. I haven’t seen you since you got home from the last tour, and pretty soon, you’re gonna be gone again. I just figured we’d get to hang out.”
A twinge of guilt twisted me up. “I’m sorry, dude. I want to, but you’ve been pretty busy working, and there isn’t much for me to do around here.”
Aaron held up a hand, pressing his eyes closed for a moment. “I get it. It’s cool.”
I groaned. “You were the one telling me to take advantage of my leave and get some action!”
“Yeah, I did, but I meant more like go out with me, get a few drinks, have a one nighter. I didn’t realize you’d go out and start pickin’ out fuckin’ china patterns or whatever.”
I scoffed. “It’s been two days, Rosen. I hardly think that’s the same as planning a wedding.”
Rosen shook his head. “Like I said, you do you. I’m fine.”
He stalked off into the hangar, and this time, I let him go, without bothering to try and convince him to stay and have it out with me. I was eager to meet Holly and didn’t have time for his left field bullshit.
How old was he? Five?
After packing Princess into the Camaro, we hit the road and wound down the hill into town. I made record time through the sleepy beach town and pulled into the spare parking space next to Holly’s SUV just as she and Hunter were making their way down the stairs from the porch. Her face lit up when she saw me sitting behind the wheel and my heart went into a double time beat, flashing back to the previous night, making out like a couple of teenagers in the lifeguard tower.
“Morning,” she said as soon as I got out of the driver’s side. I raced around to open the passenger door, ushering Hunter into the back, before sliding the seat forward and letting her in. Hunter launched himself at Princess, attacking her with all his puppy enthusiasm.
Holly grinned into the backseat. “Sorry, girl. He’s a bit of a handful this time of day.”
I chuckled and rounded the car to get back behind the wheel. “She’ll be just fine.”
Princess shot me a dark look before settling down onto the seat, doing the dog equivalent of an eye roll as Hunter chewed on one of her paws.
I turned away from the four-legged passengers and focused on the two sexy legs in the seat beside me. “Get a good night's sleep?”
Holly looked down and I caught a twinge of pink flood into her cheeks before her thick, blonde hair curtained her away. I smiled to myself and knew that she’d been just as hot and bothered as I’d been.
“I had a good night,” she replied, bringing her eyes back to mine.
I shifted in my seat, wondering if she’d meant to conjure the image of her alone in bed, wearing little—or preferably, no—clothing and taking out her frustration of our all-too-quickly ejected session. I glanced up at the overhead sun and wondered if I was the only one about to melt into the leather seats.
“So, tell me already! Where are we going on this mystery excursion,” Holly insisted, shaking me from my daydreaming.