Page 61 of Miss Typed

The old Chloe would’ve internalized it all. But I couldn’t. Not with Aiden. “The way you dismissed me in front of Miranda stung.”

He tightened his arms around me. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intent to make you feel dismissed. I was dealing with two people who required a lot of my time. I came over here just as soon as I was done putting Miranda on a plane and Reid to bed. He came off a flight from New Hampshire having polished off way too much liquor.”

“Reid? I wouldn’t have taken him for a heavy drinker.”

“Yeah, well, he’s dealing with a breakup.”

I popped up on Aiden’s chest. “What? He and his fiancée broke up? When? How?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Is this the point where I ask if you have a secret crush on my best friend?”

I could feel my ears turn red. “No. Of course not. I’m not the one with the crush. But I do know someone who will be very happy to hear of Reid’s broken engagement.”

“As much as I disliked Vanessa and would like to see him move on, I don’t believe he’s in any shape to date again anytime soon.”

I couldn’t keep this news from Teagan but wondered what she’d do with it. “For a guy who isn’t big on the personal stuff, I bet you’re maxed out after today.”

“That’s an understatement.”

Yet he’d still come here at the end of the night to declare he wanted to date me. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Me, too. Now sleep. We have work in a few hours.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aiden

I fought my guilt over sneaking out of Chloe’s bedroom at first light, but I didn’t want the awkwardness of her witnessing my pain. If I left her a note, she’d think I’d simply needed to get home before going into the office.

My limp was getting worse. My entire leg was swollen because I hadn’t stayed off of it and allowed the irritation to heal. I recalled the military doctor advising me to get a civilian doctor and have regular checkups to ensure the continued fit and comfort of the prosthesis. To be cautious not to overdo things; otherwise, I could risk infection. But I hadn’t followed instructions. Now I was paying the price.

Once out in the apartment living room, I searched for a pen and paper.

A voice startled me. “Whatcha looking for?”

Turning, I got my first close-up view of Chloe’s roommate. She wore her red hair piled up on her head, leggings, and a sweatshirt with the words, “Cute by Psycho.” This was the handful Reid had told me about. Interesting, especially if she was the friend who’d be happy to know he was now single.

“I was hoping to leave a quick note, but I can send a text instead.”

“Note is better. Hold on.” She disappeared into her room, returning with a pen and sticky pad. “Here. By the way, I’m Teagan.”

“I’m Aiden.”

She made no move to pretend she wasn’t watching what I wrote.

“Just trying to ensure you don’t fuck things up with an asshole note. Unless your intent is to be an asshole. Again.”

Clearly, her sweatshirt wasn’t lying. “It is not.” I was serious about wanting to date Chloe and wanting to make her first time special. I might still be struggling with my demons, but for the first time, I had hope I could move on from them.

After deliberating what to say, I simply wrote, “Dinner tonight?”, signing it with an “A” and then glanced up at Teagan’s scrutiny.

“Mm. Guess that’s okay. FYI, her favorite dish in the world is chicken parmesan. However, she also loves Mexican and Thai food. Oh, and very important, she’s allergic to tree nuts, but not peanuts because those are legumes.”

I couldn’t help my chuckle. “Good to know.”

“Oh, also, extra cheese on the chicken parm. And she prefers white wine like a Pinot Grigio or sparkling like Prosecco. Although your sexy wine tasting definitely has her on the reds now, too.”

Jesus. I was blushing. Just as she’d intended, judging from her grin. “Got it.”