Page 120 of Phishing for Love
“You look really pretty today.”
“Thanks, Mev.” I clear my throat and smile at her. “Can I get you anything?”
“Yes, please.” Mevia props her chin up in one pink-tipped hand. “I’d like all the details of your fling with Hot Guy.”
I briefly bow my head. “You know.”
“I do. I’m frankly insulted you think I wouldn’t know.” She taps her fingers on the table’s surface. “You suck at deception, Tess.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Anyway, I’m happy for you both,” she says briskly. “Although I am surprised Aaron’s managed to move past everything that happened to him. There was talk he wouldn’t, but for your sake I’m glad he did.”
Her words stir a sinking feeling inside me. Hesitantly, I ask, “Move past what?”
For the first time since I’ve known her, Mevia is thrown. Recovering, she waves away my question. “Oh, don’t mind me. No brakes on my mouth or my brain.” She glances over my shoulder. “Hey, HG!”
There’s a hitch in Aaron’s stride when he spots me standing at the reception desk with Mevia. He attempts a casual wave and a step in the direction of the elevator, but Mevia shakes her head and crooks acome herefinger at him.
With a resigned set to his shoulders, he heads over to us.
“I take it she knows.”
“Of course, she knows,” Mevia responds archly. “Never doubt it.”
“I can’t help feeling I should hire you.”
“Not a good idea. I’m brilliant, but I’m also super lazy.” Turning serious, she skewers Aaron with a look. “I have to warn you, HG, that I expect you to treat Tess right.”
“I plan to.”
“Good, because I have a friend of a cousin I’ll unleash on you if you hurt her in any way.” She gives us a wide, happy smile. “Now you two lovebirds enjoy your lunch!”
That evening, Aaron pays me a surprise visit at my house after work. “I know we hadn’t planned on seeing each other tonight,” he tells me, stepping into the entrance hall and pulling me into his arms, “but I miss you already.”
I slide my arms over his shirt and entwine them around his neck. I notice he’s wearing his glasses. He must have been looking at his phone outside my house and forgotten to take them off. They match the whole office vibe he’s got going for him.
“I know why you wear a suit to work every day,” I murmur against his lips.
“This should be interesting.”
“It’s your armor,” I tell him. “Your way of keeping people at arm’s length.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Shall I lie on your couch, Doctor Tess?”
“Now you’re hiding behind sarcasm,” I say. “Poor, scared Aaron with all his walls.”
He nips my bottom lip. “Neither my sarcasm nor my suit seem to be working at keeping you away.”
“Your sarcasm I can match. And your suit.” I offer him a sly smile. “That’s easy enough to dispose of.”
I loosen the knot on his tie.
A flush rises on his cheeks. “Uh, we’re in the entryway.”
“Sshh, it’s okay, you’re safe with me,” says Mischievous Tess who’s come out to play.
“I don’t feel very safe.”
