Still the One

Darcy came back in the door with a three-legged dog on a leash at her side. She crouched down—with more effort than he liked to see—to love up on the dog. Her head was bent; her beautiful hair fell over her arms and into her own face.

AJ could remember that happening to him, the soft silky curls brushing against the heated skin of his abs and thighs when she’d—

“I’ll schedule Evan for you,” Ariana said.

Evan offered a fist for Raisin to sniff, which the dog did delicately, her tail mopping the floor as she wagged it with enthusiasm.

“Her name’s Raisin,” Darcy told the marine, struggling back to her feet.

AJ knew better than to offer a hand but Evan didn’t. He helped her up and Darcy smiled at him.

“You need to ice,” AJ told her. “I’ve got a few minutes, I could—”

“I’m fine.”

Right. As Ariana made Evan’s next appointment, AJ answered some questions for Evan, doing his best to focus while also taking in the tension between Darcy and Ariana.

If Ariana felt it, she didn’t let on. She smiled and stroked Raisin, who soaked up the love with more floor sweeping. “I didn’t see you on the schedule today,” she said to Darcy.

“I don’t have a PT appointment.”

“You decided to take me up on a yoga class?” Ariana asked. “I’ve got one starting in twenty minutes. Long, slow, deep stretching. It’d be perfect for you.”

“Sorry,” Darcy said, “but perfect would be a cold, tall beer and a hot beach.”

“The class would quiet your mind,” Ariana said. “And help you get centered.”

“Hmm,” Darcy said, which AJ interpreted as her thinking she’d never been particularly centered and didn’t see herself starting now.

She glanced at him and then back to Ariana. “So you said Tyson was here?”

She’d done a good job of ignoring AJ. He was impressed. But he raised a brow at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I’m his least favorite person, blah blah. Old news. I’ve got something for him.”

Everyone looked down at Raisin. Ariana slid a look at AJ. She was surprised, he could tell. Surprised at Darcy’s giving nature.

AJ wasn’t surprised in the least.

“You got him a therapy dog,” Ariana said, her voice much warmer now.

Darcy looked uncomfortable. “It’s not a big deal. And it’s a surprise. Where is he?”

“It’s a beautiful surprise,” Ariana said. “And he’s out back.”

“On the basketball court,” AJ added. He handed Evan his exit papers and waited until he’d walked out. “I was with him for an hour,” he told her. “And then he and Xander stuck around. They’re out there trying to kill each other.”

He wasn’t surprised when she gave him a barely there nod and walked off, Raisin at her side, the both of them limping in tandem, heads high.

Ariana waited until Darcy was out of hearing range before giving AJ a long look.

“What?”

“You tell me what,” she said.

“Nothing to tell.”

She laughed at him. “Oh you big, beautiful, stupid man.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.

Ariana made a sound like her head just got a flat tire. “Okay, look, you’re my boss and also one of my best friends. And once upon a time you were my lover. So I feel like I’ve got a right to say this to you—we’re never going to sleep together again.”

He blinked. “That wasn’t what I expected.”

“I was good for you,” she said. “I know it and you know it. But Darcy’s better.”

“Also not what I expected.”

“I know,” she said. “But I do like being unpredictable. And let me just say, I don’t know for sure what’s going on between the two of you, but I’ve seen it coming for a long time.”

“You could’ve warned me,” he muttered.

She smiled. “Some things are much more fun to watch. And man, last weekend must have been a doozy. But whatever happened, you’re different and so is she. So the question is, are you going to do yourself a favor and keep her … or let her go like everyone else in your life since Kayla?”

“Ariana—”

“No, let me get this out because I’m only going to be this gracious once. If I can’t have you, then I want this for you. She makes you laugh, AJ. She gives you light. Yes, I’m stupid in lust with you, and yes, I’ve been hoping we’d have another go at each other sometime, but you’re not free, not really. Just do me a favor?”

“What?”

“First, mourn the loss of me just a little bit?” she asked with a smile, making him smile back. “And second—once you mourn me and maybe also lie to me and tell me I ruined you for all other women—then let yourself go for it.”

“Go for what exactly?”

“Happiness.”

Twenty-four

Darcy found Xander and Tyson indeed in the middle of a vicious game of wheelchair basketball. Xander was greatly handicapped because he sat in Tyson’s old chair, not to mention he had no experience in a wheelchair and sucked at it.

Tyson was a pro, of course. A pro who shoved Xander practically into next week to take a shot.

Nothing but net.

Tyson raised his hands in victory and then jabbed his pointer finger at Xander, who’d tipped over in his borrowed chair and lay sprawled on the asphalt. “You suck, bro.”