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Me:No.
Then I added a weak excuse.
Me:I have an early day tomorrow.
I saw the text markedread, and the dots were moving. Then they disappeared. I kept staring at the phone, but nothing else came through.
“Home,” I stressed, rubbing my eyes as I clicked off my phone. Like I said before, I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. I was thoroughly screwed. Philosophically speaking only. Because I would not fuck her.
It was Christmas Eve, and I was at the grocery store. No, I wasn’t buying all the trimmings for a Christmas dinner. My parents were still in Italy, and my brother was spending the holidays with his girlfriend’s family in Florida.
The truth was… had nothing to eat in my apartment. Only a box of stale cereal and milk that had expired a week ago. Pathetic, right?
I pulled a carton of 2 percent from the milk section and put it into my basket, along with the frozen dinners I’d snagged and a cheap bottle of cabernet sauvignon.
Aimlessly pushing my cart through the store, I was envious of the crowd of couples and families scrambling to find those last-minute items for Christmas gatherings. They had somewhere to go. They wouldn’t be alone for the holidays.
I passed by the dessert section. Maybe I needed some fudge to eat with my wine as I parked my pathetic ass on the couch and pondered my life while watching sappy Christmas movies. That sounded depressing, even to my ears.
This fudge probably sucked. My mom’s homemade fudge was the best. I thought about all the past Christmases when I helped my mother in the kitchen, making desserts.You could go the extra mile and make Mom’s fudge.
It wasn’t too difficult to make, but I didn’t have the energy to cook. Shrugging, I dropped the package of fudge into my cart and maneuvered around the display table.
Crash! I jolted as I hit another cart.
“Sorry,” I rushed out and glanced up, pausing in surprise.
Aaron stood before me, his brown eyes piercing mine under the shadow of the baseball cap he wore. His jaw was covered in several days’ worth of growth. He looked as sexy as ever in his long-sleeved gray Henley shirt and black joggers showcasing his trim, muscular body. “Are you entertaining tonight?” he asked.
“And if I was?” Why even engage in another conversation with him? He would just tease me and then push me away.
He raised a brow mildly. “Looks like a pretty sad gathering, if that’s what you’re serving.” He pointed to the random items in my cart.
“What are you doing here? I would’ve never pictured you stepping foot into a grocery store. Don’t you have your personal chef handle this?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and ducked his chin. “I had to get a few last-minute items.”
I peered down at his cart. “Ah, chicken nuggets and chocolate chip cookie dough. The Christmas dinner of champions.”
He leveled me with a serious look and said gravely, “Best I could do since I gave my personal chef time off for the holidays.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
He said nothing but gave a small nod, still watching me.
A few awkward moments of silence passed. If I stood here much longer, I might embarrass myself by asking why he hadn’t contacted me since the other night. I couldn’t take another rejection.
After the gala, it’d taken a shot of courage as well as still flying high from what we’d done to take a sexy picture and send it to him. I’d never done anything like that before in my life. Texted someone a naked photo. Then, he rejected me.
I clenched the handle on my cart, willing myself to move on. “Well, I have to run. Have a Merry Christmas.”
He didn’t pull his cart back to allow space. In fact, he didn’t move at all. “You didn’t answer my question.”
I threw a hand on my hip and peered up at him. “Which one?”
“Are you entertaining tonight?” he said lowly. “I know Bill and Johana are still in Italy.”
It really wasn’t any of his business what I did, especially when he sent me away after every interaction we had. But something in me wanted to push his buttons. If he had any buttons to push. “Yes. I am. So, if you’ll excuse me, I need to hurry home and prepare toentertain.” I shifted the cart to my left and pushed past, glancing back at him. “Enjoy your evening.”
