Page 31 of Finding Happily Ever After
She shook her head.
“But why? I think he’d understand.”
“That’s the problem.” Natalie put down her spoon and looked up at her new friend. “I don’t want him to be understanding. I don’t want him to treat me any different. And if I tell him that I’m a”—she leaned forward and whispered the word—“virgin…” She squeezed her eyes against the word that only recently had started to bother her. She’d never before been upset with her virgin status, but now with Aiden, things were different. Very different. “You’re right,” she continued. “If I tell him, he’ll be a perfect gentleman and want to take things slowly and…no.”
“No?”
Natalie shook her head again. “No. I really like him, and I feel like maybe it could turn into something. I don’t want to screw it up.”
Sarah tilted her head. She opened her mouth but closed it again without saying anything. “I really don’t think that you could screw it up by telling him that, Natalie. But I also think you need to do what you feel is best.”
Natalie nodded, satisfied that she’d talked herself into the idea she wasn’t fully sold on earlier. “Right,” she said to herself. “What’s best.”
Less than an hour later, Natalie returned to the fire station to finish up her inspection report—if she could stop thinking about Aiden andwhat was bestlong enough to focus.
“There was a dude here earlier.” Jason, one of the guys Natalie liked hanging out with the most at the station, joined her almost as soon as she sat down. He pulled up a chair across from her and sat backward on it.
“A dude?” She looked up. “Did he have a name?”
Jason shrugged. “Didn’t catch it.”
“Was it Aiden?” There was only onedudewho Natalie could think of who would just stop by. Her heart raced and there was a tightening low in her belly at the mere thought of Aiden. Yup, if her whole body reacted that way at the mention of his name, she was in trouble. And she was totally okay with it.
“Aiden?” Jason scoffed and pulled his shoulders back in such a way that Natalie put her pen down and stared open-mouthed at him. “How would I know?”
“Did you ask?”
He stared at her, and Natalie couldn’t help but laugh.
“So, that’s a no?”
“He brought honey buns.”
Honey buns.
“So it was Aiden?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged again. “Honey buns were good.”
“You ate them? Jason?”
“What? They weren’t for everyone?”
“You know they weren’t, O’Neil.”
Natalie looked up as Jeremy joined them.
“Sorry, Nat.” He shrugged. “You know what happens around here with baked goods.”
She did. There had been a few occasions where donuts or cinnamon buns had come in and they’d been devoured almost at once, as if the crew had never seen a baked good before in their lives. It was actually pretty remarkable. And Natalie would have found this particular time funny, too, if it hadn’t been Aiden who’d brought her honey buns, like the honey buns they’d had in the bakery. Together.
If she hadn’t been sitting in front of two of her co-workers, one of whom was her boss, she might have swooned. And Natalie wasnotthe swooning type. Not even close. In fact, what evenwasswooning?
So instead of reacting the way she wanted to, Natalie swallowed hard and steeled herself. “And?” She looked at Jason. “Were my honey buns delicious?”
Natalie realized a minute too late what she’d just said and how it sounded. “I mean…I…just…”
Jeremy dropped his head with a shake. “I don’t know if I should listen to this. I might have to write up a report.”
