Page 47 of Coming Home Country
“Enough!” came Aspen’s frustrated cry. “You’re in love with him.”
Eyes going wide in panic, she spared the briefest of backward glances before hissing, “Shh, he’ll hear you!”
“Good.”
“Good?! What do you mean good?” Penny’s voice rose in pitch. “That would be terrible!”
Aspen let out a weary sigh. “He’s not going to make the first move, so if you don’t, this thing you two have been dancing around since you were kids isnevergoing to happen. Is that what you want?”
Shaking her head, Penny replied sadly, “Of course not. But he’s my best friend. It would kill me to lose him if he even entertained the idea of us dating and it didn’t work out. I can’t take that risk.”
I gripped Penny’s hand underneath the table, offering her my silent support. Her apprehension was valid. Even though we could all see they loved each other, their relationship wasn’t guaranteed to stand the test oftime. I knew that better than most, given that my soulmate was currently standing across the room, playing nice with my fiancé.
“I’m ready to leave,” a voice hissed in my ear.
Speak of the devil.
Twisting my head to look at Aaron, I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw the fury blazing in his eyes. It took all my willpower not to crane my neck to see if Tucker was sitting smug at the bar, having been the one to rile him up.
I stood, pressing my hands to his chest. “We’ve only been here for an hour. We can’t leave yet.”
With his jaw clenched, he spoke through gritted teeth. “Outside, Rebecca. Now.”
Heat rose up the back of my neck, but I could sense the fuse on his anger had already been lit, and it wouldn’t be long before he exploded in front of my friends.
“Okay. Give me a minute, and I’ll meet you out there.”
“One minute. Not a second longer.” Aaron turned on his heel, shoving through the crowd until he disappeared down the hall toward the back entrance of the bar.
When I spun around to face my friends, their expressions betrayed they’d been eavesdropping. Penny’s eyes were full of pity while Harper wore a look of pure shock. Then there was Aspen. She was fuming, her skin flushed red, lips turned down in a scowl.
Great, just what I wanted. All attention on me and my subpar relationship.
“I, um.” I hitched a thumb over my shoulder in the direction Aaron had stormed off. “I need to—”
Aspen cut me off, “Oh,hellno, Bex. He doesn’t get to talk to you like that. I fuckingdarehim to walk back in here if you are ‘one second late.’ Let him see what happens then.”
She didn’t understand that by following him outside, I was saving myself from being caught up in an even bigger scene than the one they’d already witnessed. Trust me, I was none too pleased that he’d barked at me like a dog, expecting me to obey without question. Though I was coiled tight with tension, I held myself in check, not wanting to misdirect the anger bubbling inside me toward my friends.
“I’ll be right back. Promise.” I didn’t give her any time to argue, practically running for the back door.
The cool night air was a shock to the system, but it did nothing to temper the rage simmering beneath my skin. With my sights set on Aaron, I charged forward.
“You embarrassed me in there,” I yelled, getting up in his face.
Aaron huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “You’reembarrassed? When I was the one who had to sit there while your friend’s fiancé publicly humiliated me?”
For a moment, I was stunned enough that my anger was put on hold. “What?”
“Fucking Blaze.” Aaron began pacing before me, shoving a visibly shaking hand through his perfectly styled blond hair. “I try to do him a favor by offering a partnership with one of my biggest clients, and what does he do? He not only alludes to them being mafia but goes so far as to threaten to burn every bridge I might even think of crossing in the future.”
Go Mac. If he weren’t the one footing the bar tab tonight, I’d buy him a drink.
“So, you thought it was a good idea to take out your frustrations on me?” I pressed a finger to my chest. “Like I’m somehow guilty by association?”
Aaron paused his restless motion, eyes narrowed on where I stood. “I was disrespected, and I will not stand for it. You need to pick a side.”
My fists clenched, and I seethed, “Are you seriously asking me to choose between you and my friends?”
