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“And it does.” Jay straightened, bracing his hands on his hips as he directed his gaze Aria’s way. “Has she made work horrible for you?”
“Not… horrible,” Aria said. “Just uncomfortable, sometimes.”
“If that changes or things get worse, you be sure to tell one of us.”
“I’m pretty sure it will be my word against hers.” And Aria was also pretty sure they wouldn’t choose to keep a receptionist over a doctor.
“You let us decide that,” Gareth said. “Just let us know what she’s done, and we’ll discuss the situation and make a decision.”
“I know you wouldn’t fake something just to get rid of her.” Janessa gave her a smile. “We trust you to be honest about what’s going on. Just keep this.” Janessa gestured between Aria and Gareth. “Out of the office or it will be a hostile workplace forallof us.”
“What’s this?” Jay asked, a frown furrowing his brow.
Aria froze, not wanting to be the one to answer Jay’s question. That was mainly because she wasn’t surehowto.
“I asked Aria out on a date,” Gareth said without hesitation.
Well, that answered her question on whether or not his invitation to dinner was a date. Warmth swirled through her at the thought that Gareth—the man she had feelings for—actually liked her enough to want to go on a date with her.
“Oh.” Jay glanced between them. He didn’t seem upset, so that was a good thing. “Well, then I definitely second what Nessa said. Keep it out of the office for sure. And please, if it doesn’t work out, stay friends so things don’t get messy.”
“You mean like you do with your exes?” Janessa asked.
“Exactly.”
Given how badly her relationship with her fiancé had ended, there had been no possibility of remaining friends. It had never really entered Aria’s mind that a couple could remain friends after breaking up. She wasn’t sure how a person could have feelings for someone and then go on to be friends when things didn’t work out romantically.
If that was actually possible—and from what Jay indicated, it was—maybe she didn’t have to worry as much about losing her job if this attempt at dating Gareth fizzled out. Though she had a hard time believing that if she still had feelings for Gareth and he broke up with her, that she’d be able to handle seeing him day in and day out, possibly moving on with another woman.
But she was borrowing trouble from the future, so Aria set those thoughts aside for the time being.
“We were just discussing where to go for dinner,” Gareth said.
“Are you going tonight?” Janessa asked.
“I was thinking tomorrow or Wednesday. I have Bible study on Thursday, and we have another of Cole’s games on Friday night.” Gareth looked at Aria. “Would either day work for you?”
“Yes. I don’t have any plans.” Aria glanced at Janessa in time to catch her smirk.
“Don’t go anywhere in Serenity,” Jay said. “Not unless you want everyone to be talking about you by the next day.”
“Yeah. That’s true. Do you have any suggestions, Jay?” Gareth asked. “You’ve been on the most dates.”
Aria listened as the three siblings debated the restaurant options for the surrounding towns. Since she hadn’t explored much beyond the town of Serenity, she had no opinion. The furthest she’d gone was to the nearby town for Cole’s basketball game.
“Is Indian cuisine okay with you?” Gareth asked. “Do you like spicier food?”
“Not super spicy,” Aria said. “But I like butter chicken and rice.”
“That restaurant has the best Indian food,” Jay said. “You’ll enjoy it.”
Janessa hummed. “Now I want to go there.”
“Find a guy to tag along with you, and we can double-date,” Gareth said.
That suggestion made Janessa groan. “I just want the food. Not a guy.”
“Sorry.” Gareth grinned at her as he shifted his chair back and forth lightly. “Date night only.”
