“You better not be,” Bonnie said, getting up and retrieving the blender and filling his glass and hers. They moved to the living room.
Aaron loved the quaintness of Bonnie’s house. It was small but felt more like a home than his parents’ mansion ever did. Bonnie’s place was cozy. He wanted to sit on the couch and take a nap. She had fluffy-looking throw blankets in a basket in the corner of the living room, and her couch was covered in pillows. Framed black-and-white photos hung on the wall above the couch. She had a picture of her and her parents, and one of her standing outside a house with a For Sale sign out front with a big Sold sticker on top of it.
“Is this a shot of your first sale?” he asked, pointing at the photograph.
“It is. It was the best day of my life when it happened. I was so ridiculously proud, like I had accomplished something so momentous, helping someone find their dream home. That’s lame, isn’t it?”
“No,” Aaron said. “Not at all. I understand that completely. Why do you think I changed careers? I don’t think there’s anything more satisfying than giving someone not just a house, but a home.”
She sat next to him on the couch. “I love that.”
“I love spending time with you,” he admitted. He wanted to do more of that, and he didn’t want his fear to keep him from letting her know. “What are you doing Friday night?”
“I don’t know, what am I doing?” She took another sip of her drink and leaned in.
He didn’t have a plan. There were lots of things they could do but only one that he wanted to do. He cupped her face with his hand and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Anything you want, as long as I get to be there with you.”
“Anything?” she asked a bit breathlessly.
“Whatever you’d like.”
She somehow got closer. Their noses were almost touching. “I’d really like to kiss you.”
Heart racing and throat dry, he was falling hard. “That sounds like a great plan. Do we have to wait until Friday to do that?”
She didn’t bother to answer with words. Tipping her head ever so slightly, she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was better than the tacos and the drinks. It was better than any kiss he’d ever had before. He stopped long enough to put their glasses on the coffee table. Taking her face in both hands, he went back to kissing her for as long as she would let him.
Bonnie pulled back with the biggest smile spread across her face. “I can’t believe I’ve made out with Aaron Cole twice.”
The way she said it made it sound like that was something she had been hoping would happen. “I can’t believe I just made out with Bonnie Windsor. Twice.”
“I’m fairly certain you and your friends never put my name on their dream girl lists when we were in high school.”
“You and your friends put me on their dream girl lists?”
“Dream boy.”
“And by friends I hope you mean everyone except for my sister, because that would be awkward.”
Bonnie covered her mouth with her hand and giggled like she was back in high school. “Your sister never put you on her list. But she did put your friend Luke Ellington on there every time.”
“Luke? Seriously? He would have dated Lauren in a heartbeat if he knew she was interested. How come she didn’t say something? She never was shy about telling boys she wanted them to ask her out.”
“I don’t know why she didn’t. Part of me thinks it was because he wasn’t her usual type. She always seemed to think she needed to be with the most popular guy at school. She didn’t give the guys who she actually had things in common with a chance.”
That was so true. Mitch was a perfect example. Aaron had always wondered what Lauren saw in him. They didn’t have any of the same interests. He usually annoyed her more than anything else. The only thing that made sense was that he ticked off all the boxes she imagined were more important.
“Who else had me on their list?”
Bonnie scrunched up her nose in the most adorable way. “I’m not telling. I don’t need any competition.”
“You think I would run off and date someone else who had a crush on me over ten years ago?”
“With my luck, yes.”
Aaron couldn’t let her think he had any interest in anyone but her. He pulled her close again, and this time he initiated the kiss. There wasn’t a single person on this planet he wanted to be kissing other than Bonnie.
He would have kissed her all afternoon long if there hadn’t been a knock at her door.
“Expecting someone?” he asked.
“No.”
“Sasha says sometimes little girls come door to door selling cookies. Maybe we’re about to get dessert. Let me answer it.” He popped up off the couch and went to the door with Bonnie following behind.
“I doubt it’s someone selling cookies. Like I said, I am not that lucky.”
“Probably not the cops. There’s no way they could accuse you of making too much noise.”
“What?”
Aaron forgot he hadn’t told her that story. He hadn’t because he didn’t want her to think that it was because of her.
He swung open the door—and it was worse than anything he could have imagined.
“Aaron? What are you doing here?” Mitch stood on Bonnie’s front porch with an enormous bouquet of flowers in his hands.
Aaron did the only thing he could think of—he slammed the door right in his best friend’s face.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JUST WHEN BONNIE thought things couldn’t get worse, they managed. Her breathing became labored and she felt dizzy. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She leaned against the wall and put her hands on her knees.
“This is not happening,” she said between breaths.
Aaron still had his hand on the doorknob
