Anne Ha - Husband Next Door

On Monday Chloe arrived. The two women had been roommates in college and best friends ever since. After graduation Chloe had gone on to pursue an engineering career in Boston. But a recently ended relationship—as well as a job offer from one of San Francisco’s best engineering firms—had finally induced her to move to the West Coast. She would be staying with Shelly until she could find her own apartment.

They were carrying her luggage up the front steps of the Victorian when Aaron appeared on the porch, looking cool and sophisticated in a finely cut Italian suit, with a bold tie that brought out the blue of his eyes.

Chloe halted at the sight of him. Her brows shot up, her mouth gaped open, and she seemed to forget her surroundings. Then, as Shelly watched, her expression shifted from outright amazement to an almost crafty, calculating look.

Aaron returned Chloe’s gaze. Their eyes seemed to dance in silent communication, making Shelly feel oddly left out. Just when she was about to cough to break the moment, Chloe spoke.

“You’re Aaron, aren’t you?” she said, as if she’d discovered the key to the world’s problems.

“And you must be Chloe,” he returned silkily.

Shelly couldn’t stop herself from snorting. “I guess you two don’t need to be introduced.” She climbed the rest of the steps and glared at Aaron. It was obnoxious of him to put the moves on her closest friend. Especially after his lesson on self-restraint!

He blinked back at her innocently, which only annoyed her more. Didn’t he realize what a player he was? Wasn’t he able to stop himself, even for a few minutes?

Chloe set her suitcase down and glanced from one of them to the other. Her smile widened, and she winked at Aaron. “Some things,” she said in a self-satisfied tone, “are obvious.”

For heaven’s sake, Chloe was acting like a prospector who’d struck gold! Stifling a peevish reply, Shelly turned to unlock her door. She rummaged in her purse, but came out empty-handed.

“Uh-oh.” She must have left her keys at work again. But of all the days to do it….

Before she could ask, Aaron dangled his own set of keys over her shoulder. Shelly had no choice but to take them and unlock her door. She deposited Chloe’s carryon bag in the living room with a thud, and Aaron followed with the rest of the luggage. He gave Chloe a dazzling smile, like a puppy who’d learned a new trick.

“I see you have keys to each other’s apartments,” Chloe said.

“It’s purely practical,” Shelly replied. “If we get boxes in the mail or the plumber comes, then the other one can let them in. Aaron’s home more than I am during the day, and I’m—”

“Home more than I am at night,” Aaron finished for her. He said it as if he’d made a telling point.

Shelly grimaced at him. “Stop bragging.”

“Bragging?” echoed Chloe.

“Shelly thinks I’m a man of loose morals,” he explained.

“I don’t just think you’re a man of loose morals, I know you are. What I can’t understand is why you’re so smug about it.” She addressed her friend. “He never stops talking about his conquests.”

Aaron grinned at Chloe. “She likes it. I.think it gives her a vicarious thrill to hear of my indiscretions. Her own life is so quiet, you know.”

“Just ignore him, Chloe.”

Aaron laughed and leaned comfortably against the wall, his hands in his pockets.

Shelly approached him with her head held high. “Were you just leaving for a date, Aaron?” she inquired. “Don’t let us keep you.”

He didn’t move. “At this point I’m running so late I might as well stay home.”

Obviously he wanted to stick around and ingratiate himself with Chloe. But Shelly wasn’t going to let him. She took his arm and escorted him out the door. “I disagree,” she said. “You’ve just given her a little extra time to get ready.”

“She’s meeting me at the restaurant.”

“So she’s been sitting over a drink for twenty minutes. No big deal.”

Aaron looked sheepish. “An hour and twenty minutes,” he said.

Shelly was speechless for a moment. “Bad move, Aaron.”

“I know.” He stood on the porch and faced her. “It wasn’t until I started cooking dinner that I remembered our date. I had to call the restaurant to make sure she was still there.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You’d better get going before she grows a brain and takes off.”

“Ouch.”

She looked him over, her green eyes narrowed appraisingly. “Wait Your tie’s crooked.”

Aaron raised a hand to check, then lifted his chin with a long-suffering look.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shelly put her hands to the brightly colored silk. Her knuckles grazed his chest, distracting her with unwelcome sparks of awareness. Fleetingly, she remembered the sight of him shaving the other day, then quickly suppressed the image.

She struggled in vain for a few moments, before untying the knot completely.

Aaron tapped his foot.

“Unappreciative fool,” she said, tugging the tie through his collar to realign it. She took a fortifying breath and suppressed her physical response to his tall, lean body. “Just be glad I’m here to save your evening.”

Shelly tied a beautifully proportioned knot and slid it snug against his collar. Then she straightened his lapels, brushed a speck of lint from his sleeve and patted him on the cheek. “Now get going.” She watched him descend the stairs, then turned back to her apartment to join Chloe.

Her best friend stared at her. “Wow…”

Shelly closed the door and fastened the bolt. “I can’t believe he’s already got you under his spell,” she muttered.

“ Me under his spell?”

“Oh, never mind. Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.” She walked Chloe through the small apartment, ending at the sleeper sofa and the Japanese folding screen she’d borrowed from Aaron in order to give her house guest more privacy.

Chloe’s gaze kept wandering to the wall.

“What’s wrong?” asked Shelly.

“You mean you can’t tell?” She approached the blackand-white, framed poster that Aaron had examined the week before. “Use your eyes, girl. This picture’s totally crooked.”

“Oh.” The thing did seem to be a few inches out of alignment, now that she looked a little closer. It was natural that Chloe, with her engineer’s mind, would notice the discrepancy at once.

Chloe reached out to right the frame. “You always did have a knack for missing what’s right in front of your nose, Shelly. I bet it’s been like that for months. Nice poster, though.”

Shelly barely heard the compliment. She crossed over to the sofa, shaking her head. “I can’t believe him sometimes….”

“Who?”

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