Page 22 of Miss Typed

“Do you want me to answer it?”

My jaw clenched. “No. It’s fine.”

Thankfully, it stopped after four rings. I prayed she’d simply leave a voicemail.

“I take it the ex isn’t pleased you didn’t come home for Christmas?”

My lips flattened. “You could say that.”

“I’m happy to answer the call and, you know, say you moved to the other side of the world.”

“Tried it. Hasn’t worked.” Evidently, we’d slid into the world of personal chitchat after yesterday’s mea culpa at her apartment. Yet I wouldn’t have traded the way Chloe laughed.

“I could pretend to be your girlfriend and answer your phone.” Her face turned pink. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have suggested— It was a joke, and it’s not my business.”

No, it wasn’t her business. Nor did she have any clue as to my struggle against my attraction to her. “It’s fine.”

My internal war wasn’t only about her, though. It was about the life I’d been forced to leave behind in the military—a place I hadn’t been ready to leave. About trying to navigate a new life without a roadmap or goal in mind. It was like I was a spectator to my life instead of an active participant.

“Did you get a chance to speak with your family yesterday?” I asked.

“I did. They’d had snow. Quite the difference compared to here. Oh, I have the cookies for you if you want them, but from the looks of it, I doubt you eat much sugar—”

She adorably blushed at the implication she’d seen me half naked. “I meant to say if you don’t want to eat my cookie, I’d understand.” She turned nearly crimson. “Jesus, the cookies.”

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at her latest slipup. “I’d be happy for the cookies.”

“Good. Anything you need me to do today?”

Stop being so tempting and fucking adorable. “I have some expense receipts piling up. I’ll send them along.”

“Great.” She stood up and turned to go.

“One more thing. You should ignore the number calling. Please send it straight to voicemail.”

“Sure thing.”

Chapter Nine

Chloe

It took me an hour to do expense reports, then I was left with nothing else to do. Was it possible to die from boredom? I may find out if my responsibilities didn’t expand soon.

Never one to waste a minute, however, I browsed the Internet for online classes. The luxury of attending school part- or full-time might be out for now, but perhaps I could take one online class and inch toward my degree. It would be a shame to have all this extra time on my hands and not do anything about finishing my few remaining credits.

After I grabbed Aiden’s lunch from downstairs and delivered it to him, I took a seat back at my desk. Without Teagan here, I might as well eat here by myself.

“I thought you were at lunch?” came Aiden’s voice from behind me. I hadn’t heard him come out of his office.

“I decided to eat at my desk since my roommate is out of town.”

His attention lingered on my computer screen. “You were looking into online classes?”

“Yeah. It’s my break.” I didn’t want him to think I’d been using his time to surf the net. Although without much work, I wasn’t sure what else I could do to pass the time.

“What were you studying before you moved?”

“Graphic and web design.” I enjoyed art, putting colors and concepts together. Ultimately, I’d love to freelance and create websites for small businesses; in fact, I’d want to design everything from their logos to their marketing materials.