Husband Next Door by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2023-02-18T12:35:28+00:00

Chapter Six

Shelly swallowed as a bubble of panic rose in her throat. She’d never even considered the possibility of running into one of Aaron’s old flames. And knowing how many of them there were, she should have expected it to happen!

Especially after that incident with Kate.

Of course, Kate hadn’t been an old flame, Shelly reminded herself—just an old hero worshipper. But still, it should have made her realize the possibility.

She brought her attention back to the bar. Her hands tightened on the edge of the tabletop as Marcia sidled up.

To her surprise, however, a warm smile spread over the woman’s face. She greeted Aaron briefly before addressing Shelly. “Wow, it’s so good to see you!”

Shelly’s mouth fell open.

Marcia chuckled. “I know, I know. I behaved horribly the last time I saw you. Can you ever forgive me?”

Faced with such unexpected friendliness, Shelly could only nod. “Certainly,” she said. “It’s water under the bridge.” Marcia had obviously matured in the months since Aaron had dumped her, and her sincerity put Shelly at ease. She felt the tension ebb from her body. “Will you join us for a moment?” she asked.

“Thank you.” Marcia sank gracefully onto a chair at the table. She smiled wryly at Aaron. “We haven’t seen you here in quite a few months….”

Aaron’s eyes remained on Shelly. “I’ve been staying close to home,” he drawled.

Marcia didn’t seem surprised by his explanation. “Of course you have,” she said. She paused, as if waiting for him to meet her gaze. When he didn’t, a flicker of confusion crossed her face.

“It’s all right, Aaron,” Shelly told him. “You can look.”

He smiled briefly, but his eyes didn’t leave Shelly’s.

“I’m not trying to trick you,” she said in exasperation. “The bet’s off for a while.”

“Bet?” Marcia asked. “What bet?”

“I bet him he couldn’t spend an evening with me without checking out other women.”

Marcia laughed. She glanced briefly at Aaron, then looked back at Shelly with a conspiratorial smile. “And how is it going?”

Shelly frowned. “Not as I expected. It’s been twenty minutes, and nothing’s happened yet. He’s got more self-control than I thought.”

“Oh?” Marcia winked at her. “Well, I always thought if anyone could tame him, you could…. When are you getting married?”

For a moment Shelly just sat there. Could Marcia really still believe they were involved? She glanced over at Aaron, who watched her with one eyebrow raised.

The other woman broke the silence. “Oh, I’m sorry. What a thoughtless question. Knowing Aaron, he probably hasn’t gotten around to asking you yet.”

Shelly didn’t know quite what to say. Should she blurt out that, well, actually, Aaron had asked her, but he’d only been teasing? Or just nod her head and go along with it? “Well…” she began, stalling for time.

Aaron spared her the trouble of answering. “What she means to say is, we haven’t managed to agree on a date.”

Shelly grimaced at the half truth. Sure, they hadn’t agreed on a date—they never would, because they weren’t going to get married! But misleading the once-brokenhearted Marcia into thinking otherwise, well, it was actually kind of cruel.

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