Role Playing(47)

He shook his head. “I’m just . . .”

But before he could finish, there was a knock on his door. He frowned.

“Expecting anyone?” Maggie asked.

He felt a ball of ice in the pit of his stomach. “Oh, please God, no,” he whispered.

She grinned. “You just sit there,” she instructed, then went to the door and opened it. From his place at the dining room table, Aiden watched in horror as Deb emerged on the other side of the door.

“Maggie?” she said, eyes comically wide. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping Aiden.” Maggie sounded matter of fact, like it was something she did all the time. “We just went grocery shopping.”

“Oh. I . . . um, brought a lasagna?”

“That’s really nice, thanks,” Aiden called, and Maggie threw a look over her shoulder that pretty much said shut up if you want to live, but he would hate being rude.

“I’ll take it and put it in the fridge,” Maggie said, relieving her of the burden.

“Is there anything else I can do?” Deb asked. “Because I’ve got plenty of time. I know how much you hate being around people, Maggie, and you’re working so hard. I’m happy to stay, help Aiden with whatever he might need . . .”

“No, no, I’m fine,” he tried to reassure her.

“C’mon, men never admit they need help,” Deb insisted, her super-cheerful, super-efficient, just-this-side-of-pushy demeanor returning full force. She turned back to Maggie. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it from here, Maggie. Maybe we can catch up some other time . . . ?”

“Actually,” Maggie said, overpowering Deb’s runaway-train monologue, “we were just about to watch a movie and hang out before dinner.”

Deb’s words screeched to a halt, and her mouth fell open a little. She looked at Aiden.

“You two are . . .”

“Just gonna talk about guild stuff,” Maggie said firmly. “That’s how we know each other: video games. He’s a good friend, so if he needs me, I’m on it. Don’t worry. He’s okay.”

Deb looked stunned, like none of what she was witnessing computed.

“Uh . . . okay. Well, if you need me, Aiden, you know how to reach me,” she finished, her tone weak. She nodded at Maggie. “Good seeing you,” she added.

“Great seeing you too,” Maggie said, then shut the door behind her. She shook her head. “Awkward. But hey, over with.”

He looked at her. “Am I keeping you from work?” he asked. He hated the thought.

She arched an eyebrow at him. “If you were, I’d say: I have to work, I’ll take you shopping later.”

He chuckled. Then he looked at her hopefully. “Do you have to go do work later?”

She stared back at him. “Oh my God. You’re like six feet and you’re built like a tank, and you have the audacity to try puppy dog eyes at me?”

He added a comically exaggerated lower lip.

She cracked up. “Lucky for you I’m waiting on some client stuff and I got up early to do billing,” she grumbled, but laughter still hinted around her eyes and lips. “Besides, I ought to probably watch something with you, just in case Deb is waiting around the corner for me to leave or something.”

“Movie?” he pleaded, then sighed. “We could even watch something old in black and white.”

She shot him an indulgent smile. “You know I like cartoons and anime too. How about something animated?”

He grinned broadly. “Now we’re talking.”





CHAPTER 20


MUNDANE MADE AWESOME


She’d been at Aiden’s all damned day, and now well into night. And she really ought to go. But she . . . well, didn’t.

It was ten o’clock, and they’d just knocked out a bunch of Jujutsu Kaisen episodes while eating Deb’s lasagna, which was quite good. She supposed she ought to feel sorrier about cockblocking the woman (or whatever the female equivalent of cockblocking was—clam slamming? cunt shunting?—she’d have to ask Mac) but frankly, she hated it when people got invasive. Sure, Aiden needed help, but he was also a grown-ass man. If he didn’t want to accept Deb’s help, she couldn’t just politely and passive-aggressively nudge her way into his life and his living room because she thought it was best. The fact that Deb was also apparently interested in Aiden, romantically speaking, made it a big no-go for Maggie. Like she’d taught Kit: consent was crucial. That was across the board, and it applied to men as well as women.

He hit pause, stretching, and she couldn’t help but be a teeny bit drawn to the way his broad chest looked. He had some cushioning. Her ex-husband, Trev, had been whipcord thin, like he was carved out of wood, like a young Clint Eastwood. Aiden was, as Rosita had noted, more like a bear. Or possibly a sofa. He was squishy, and with his russet beard and wild hair, he was furry as well.

He also smelled good, although she couldn’t pin down any of the scents. A little woodsy? And clean. And . . . warm? Also, he gave off heat like a furnace, which, for someone who was usually cold enough to burrito herself in blankets at any opportunity, felt like a bonus. Between his heat and his overall sofa-esque comfy vibe, she wondered absently what it’d be like to snuggle up against him.