Free Unlucky in Love ( Lucky #1) by Jill Sanders Page A

the past.
    “Hot date?” he said, leaning back on the counter.
    “Worried friend. She’s bringing homemade soup and a movie.”
    He smiled. “Sounds like a good friend.”
    “The best.” She walked over and picked up her coat. “Well, thanks again . . .” She almost squealed when he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her quickly.
    “There, now it’s not so weird.” He held her close. “And you know where we stand.” She swallowed slowly. “Don’t thank me.” He frowned when she opened her mouth again. She shut her mouth quickly. “If you don’t feel up to working tomorrow, make sure to call in sick instead of running yourself down.”
    “I don’t have any meetings tomorrow.”
    “Good. How about dinner this weekend?”
    She frowned. “Like a date?” His hands were on her hips, holding her close to him. For some reason, she was having a hard time thinking straight.
    “I’d very much like to spend some more time with you.”
    She tilted her head and thought about it. “I guess so.”
    He shook his head and smiled at her. “Good, let’s say Friday.”
    “Friday is happy hour. The first Friday of every month the employees go to Reds down the street for drinks after work.”
    “Then Saturday?” he asked.
    She shrugged. “We can always go out after Reds.”
    “Then it’s a date for Friday and Saturday.” He kissed her one more time. “I’ll take you back to the office.”
    He started to get up.
    “You don’t have to.” She pulled on her coat.
    “I know.” He grabbed his coat, which hung above her boots. “But I will, just the same.”
    She walked over to put her boots on.
    When they stepped outside, she was shocked to feel the warm air hit her.
    “Colorado.” He chuckled. “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”
    “I know.” She laughed. “Watch, it will be in the low seventies tomorrow.”
    “Fine with me. It would melt all this stuff away.” He kicked at some of the snow with his boot and then reached over and took her hand. “We can walk, if you’re up to it.”
    She looked around and was surprised to recognize that they weren’t that far from the office. They walked in silence for a while, and she felt completely comfortable holding his hand walking down the crowded street.
    “There’s Amy.” She waved toward Amy’s car, which was parked in a tow-away zone near the back of the building.
    “Well, I’d say that I hope to see you tomorrow, but I really don’t since I think you should spend the day in bed.” He pulled her closer and brushed the hair from her face.
    “Thanks again.” She could feel Amy’s eyes on them from across the street and just knew she’d have a million questions to answer when she got in the car.
    He dipped his head down and placed a kiss on her lips, which warmed her straight to her toes. “Just to make sure there’s no lingering weirdness.”
    “The only weirdness is what I’ll experience in the next few hours explaining that kiss to my friend.”
    She could feel his eyes on her as she dashed across the street and got into her friend’s car.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    The next few days, Aiden tried to stay busy. Not only did he have research to do on R&S, but he had a few of his own projects that were quickly approaching deadlines.
    He was pleased when Kristen hadn’t shown up for work that following day, even though he desperately wished to see her again. When she did finally arrive at work two days later, she looked back to her normal self.
    When he’d bumped into her in the hallway, she hadn’t tried to avoid him or make it weird. Though he didn’t like that she’d acted as if nothing had happened between them.
    He, of course, tried not to remember how hard it had been to sleep in his bed after she’d been in it. When he’d gone to bed that evening, he could smell a subtle hint of her natural scent. He’d tossed and turned the entire night as he dreamed about holding her, kissing her, making love to her