Aidan snorted. “I wish.”
“Piper’s got a friend I could hook you up with. Her name’s Bunny, and she’s not bad.”
“I’m too old for chicks named Bunny.”
Scott shrugged. “I don’t think that’s her real name. At least I hope it’s not. But whatever, man. Your loss.”
Aidan didn’t exactly wallow in regret. He was tired of it. He was tired of women who saw his face and didn’t look any further. He was sick of women who got off on banging firefighters and the women who saw him outside the rink with his bag and wanted to spend a little time with a hockey player.
He didn’t mind at all if a woman wanted to use him for hot, dirty sex. But he also wanted her to laugh with him and enjoy a quiet evening on the couch. And he needed her to stroke his hair when the day was shitty and to hold him when the nightmares came.
Lydia’s laughter rose above the noise of the bar, but Aidan didn’t turn to look. He just knocked back the rest of his beer and kept his eyes on the television.
* * *
THEOVERLYCHIPPERchime sound that indicated an incoming text made Lydia very reluctantly open her eyes the next morning. Ashley’s guest room mattress had seen better days and it had taken her forever to fall asleep.
With a groan, she reached over to the nightstand and felt around until she found her phone. She had just enough charger cord to read the message without picking her head up off the pillow.
What the hell,girl?
She had no idea what the hell, since she wasn’t even awake yet. But then she realized it was a group text, the group being her two best friends, Becca Shepard and Courtney Richmond. With Ashley as their fourth, they’d been inseparable growing up, and there was a group text going on more often than not.
This time it was Becca, and Lydia wondered which of them the message was aimed at. Probably her.
Before she could respond, another text from Becca came through.
Heard you were at KP last night.Ninja visit?
Lydia didn’t have time to compose a reply before a response from her sister popped up.
I’m taking some time off.L’s home to cover for me.
How long?
Don’t know.
Since Ashley was not only awake, but able to type coherently, Lydia dropped the phone onto the blanket and closed her eyes again. Kincaid’s didn’t open until eleven, so she didn’t have to jump out of bed.
But when the phone chimed again she realized that, even if she didn’t join in the conversation, the alerts would drive her crazy. After a big stretch, she picked up the phone again.
GNO!
That was Courtney, and Lydia rolled her eyes. While a girls’ night out was appealing, she barely had her feet under her. She hadn’t even worked a shift at the bar yet, so trying to get time off would be tough.
Soon.Stop at KP&say hi if you can.
That might hold them off for a while. Long enough to get coffee into her system, at least.
That turned out to be the end of the messages, but Lydia knew she’d tipped past the mostly awake point and wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now. After unplugging her phone, she made a quick stop in the bathroom and then headed downstairs.
Once she reached the top of the stairs, she could smell the coffee and followed the aroma to the kitchen. Ashley was sitting at the table, her phone in hand, and she looked up when Lydia walked in.
“Hey, how did you sleep?”
“Like a baby.” It was a lie, but Ashley already felt bad about asking her to come home. No sense in piling on guilt about it. And even a crappy mattress was better than staying at her dad’s.
Once she’d made her coffee, she sat down across from her sister and sipped it. If it wasn’t so hot, she’d guzzle the stuff. Lydia was a better cook than Ashley, but her sister was definitely better at making coffee.
