Page 62 of When in December

Luckily, it wasn’t long before Hannah dropped her purse into the seat and hopped up in front of me.

“Look at you, branching out. Is that an actual drink in your hand?” Hannah swiveled in her chair as if she could see better that way. Her lips parted in shock. “Oh dear. Have I rubbed off on you once and for all?”

I shook my head at her antics.

Compared to being with Aaron all week, quiet and rough around all the edges, Hannah was a hit of fresh air. Vibrant and sharp.

“I’m older than you.”

“Exactly. You go to a bar, and I am praising you over ordering a glass of white wine in winter. You need to be corrupted a little.”

“What’s wrong with white wine in winter?”

“Nothing if you don’t understand that white wine is chilled and automatically tastes better in the summer.”

“I think that’s personal taste,” I said.

She shook her head. “No. Pretty sure it’s universal understanding.”

I shook my head.

I couldn’t remember the last time Hannah had convinced me to go out with her. I was too busy, and to be honest, I usually sat at home in the evenings with my mom and Simon while theywatched reruns before they declared how they were beat and went upstairs to bed for the evening.

Over the past two weeks, I hadn’t been home as often. From the late hours in the office, to spending all my work time and spare time at the cabin or eating dinner with Aaron from the few groceries he picked up or had delivered, the only time I had been home to catch up with my parents like I used to were in the brief moments after waking up in the morning. Even that was sparse so that I could attempt to beat traffic.

I hardly remembered the in-between.

Sleep. Drive. Work.

And it was all coming together, oddly enough. I didn’t mind it.

The person I was spending the most time with now was the man who, days ago, I’d insisted was my most insufferable enemy. The boy who didn’t know of my crush on him years ago and likely never would. But it felt nice. Perhaps it was meant to happen. Maybe I still had unfinished business with the man who might not have known me or remembered me.

But I remembered, all too well.

He wasn’t quite the same. But then again, neither was I.

So, we focused on what we could do to complete the cabin. This would be my final business with Aaron Hayes, and I couldn’t help the way I watched him work alongside me.

Because who would’ve thought?

Of course, the more time we spent together, the more I noticed how warm his eyes were. When they collided with mine, the way I remembered them years ago, I felt my breath catch in chest no matter what we were doing. I questioned whether it was time that maybe I hinted to him that we’d known each other before, years ago.

I blushed with the embarrassment of what would happen now, if he ever realized.

Hannah’s soft hazel eyes widened in apparent outrage.

“What?”

“I just asked you a question and you were looking off into la la land over there. Oh my god. Is this why you need girl talk?” She gasped. “You slept with your high school crush. I knew it! Ha.”

I attempted to shush her as I forced myself back out of my head. A few heads behind her at the bar were starting to glance in our direction.

“You didn’t know anything because I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now,” I said.

“My work wife has been corrupted.”

I had not been corrupted.