Anne Ha - Husband Next Door

She sighed. “Just read the list and be done with it, Aaron.”

He ran his eyes down the column, picking out words and phrases. “‘Considerate…respects me…stable.’ Stable? Do you mean emotionally or financially?”

“The first one, of course. That’s what matters most”

“Is he?” asked Aaron, raising an eyebrow.

Shelly crossed her arms. Eric West was a principal lawyer in the legal aid office where she worked. She’d been dating him for several months, and he’d always been calm and dependable—as Aaron well knew.

She gave him a haughty glare. “More stable than you.”

He grinned back at her. “Touchy, touchy. Okay, let’s see what else is on this list. ‘Intelligent…likes helping people…similar interests….’ Not bad, Carpenter.”

His words hung in the air for a moment. It was faint praise, but then, she hadn’t expected Aaron to be impressed by her considered and substantive list. Tucking a lock of blond hair behind her ear, she began, “Thank you—”

“But I take it you haven’t slept with him yet.”

Shelly spluttered. “As if that’s any of your business!”

“Well…” Aaron shrugged. “You have to admit, it’s suspicious to make a list like this and not even mention you’re attracted to him. Is he that unappealing?”

“I wasn’t finished yet.” She sniffed. “Anyway, if all I wanted was physical gratification, I’ve got a whole city of partners to choose from. I need more than that.”

“Well said.” He smiled so warmly she forgave him for his obnoxiousness. “Now let’s see what’s wrong with him. ‘Travels a lot.’ That’s true enough, and a definite drawback.” His eyes met hers. “He’s out of town tonight, isn’t he? It’s the only logical explanation for why he proposed over lunch.”

Shelly nodded.

Aaron looked down at the pad again. “Is that it? Only one thing wrong with him?”

Shelly lifted her chin. “So?”

“So, if you’re going to make a list like this, it’s got to be balanced.” He reached into his breast pocket for a pen. “I can think of a few things right off the top of my head. His parents, for one.” He wrote this down.

“They’re perfectly nice people,” Shelly countered.

“You’ve only met them once,” Aaron returned. “I, on the other hand, have met them twice.”

Eric’s parents, she remembered, were patrons of the non-profit organization Aaron ran, and they’d attended a couple of fundraising events.

Aaron scrawled another word on the pad.

“What’s that?” Shelly asked, craning her head so she could see what he’d written. “Boring? You think he’s boring?”

“Shhh,” he placated. “It’s just something you should consider. Remember, I’m only trying to help.” He reviewed the list again, tapping his pen against the polished wood of her coffee table. “Come to think of it, maybe this bit about him traveling so much belongs on the other side….”

Shelly snatched the pad from him and tore off the top sheet. Crumpling it in her fist, she stared at him through narrowed green eyes. “You don’t think I should marry him, do you?”

He considered her question. “Actually, I wouldn’t go that far. I just believe you shouldn’t marry anyone but your soul mate. If Eric is that person, then by all means rush him to the altar.”

“Soul mate?” Shelly echoed dubiously.

“Sure.” His eyes gleamed. “The person with whom you feel an intense connection and an unmistakable feeling of rightness. Not to mention weak knees and a shiver in your stomach.”

She swallowed. He was making fun of her. “Modern women don’t go weak in the knees,” she said tightly. She tossed the crumpled paper onto the table.

Aaron wagged his finger at her. “You think it’ll never happen to you…. Ah, the confidence of youth.”

“You’re not that old yourself.”

He laced his fingers together. “No. But you have to admit, I’ve got lots of experience.” He said it with a wicked grin.

Shelly made a face. “Yet you haven’t met your soul mate.”

“Not this week,” Aaron agreed. “There was this greatlooking redhead the other day, though….”

She stared at the ceiling and shook her head. The man was hopeless. He possessed equal measures of charm and fickleness, a combination that had broken more than one unwary female heart. But not hers, fortunately. On a regular basis Shelly thanked her stars that she and Aaron were next-door neighbors. Because of that fact she’d been able to observe him in action first— before she could become an unwitting victim.

Aaron was still talking. “Speaking of which, do you happen to have any eggs?”

She blinked. “You’ve lost me, Carpenter.”

He stood and walked into the kitchen. “Eggs. I need some.” Rummaging sounds emanated from around the corner. “Here they are. Mind if I…?”

“Wait a minute,” called Shelly. “What about Eric? What about my major decision?”

She could almost see him shrugging as he said, “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be able to make the right choice…. Can I have these or not?”

Resigning herself to the shift in conversation, Shelly got to her feet and joined Aaron in the kitchen. “All of them?”

“You only have six.” He displayed the open carton.

“Breakfast for an overnight guest?” she asked sweetly. “Well, you’ll have to make do with five. I need at least one for my own breakfast.”

“Dinner for a non overnight guest, actually.” Aaron reached into one of her cupboards for a glass mixing bowl. He put five eggs into the bowl and returned the last solitary egg to the refrigerator, tossing the empty carton into the trash.

Shelly plucked it out of the garbage and carried it across the room to her recycling bin.

Aaron didn’t notice. He pulled out the vegetable drawer and pawed around. “Can I have this purple cabbage, too, Shel?”

“Take whatever you want. Goodness knows I won’t eat it.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “Thanks. Just eggs and the cabbage, then. It’s time for you to go shopping, you know.”

“Yeah,” she said dryly. “I can’t imagine where it all goes.”

Aaron feigned embarrassment. “Tell you what,” he said. “I only need half of this cabbage, so I’ll leave the rest with you.” With easy movements he took a chopping knife from her drawer, cut the cabbage in two and covered both parts in plastic wrap.

Shelly just stood and watched. “What in the world are you going to make with eggs and cabbage?”

“Quiche,” he said, smiling.

“Cabbage quiche? Ick. Your poor girlfriend. Why not just tell her you’ve lost interest in her?”

He stared at Shelly in disbelief. “But that’s not very imaginative, is it? And this—” he held up the purple vegetable “—is so much more interesting.”

“And infinitely more cruel. Have I met the lucky lady?”

He stopped and gave her an earnest look. “Actually, there isn’t one.”

“Right, Aaron.”

“Well, not tonight at least. I’m only practicing. Come on, let’s take these to my place.” Aaron grabbed his half of the cabbage and strode out of the kitchen.

Grumbling, Shelly picked up the bowl of eggs and followed him, almost bumping into his broad back when he stopped abruptly.

Aaron turned to face the wall. He studied a framed black-and-white poster of two Parisian lovers kissing. It was the one romantic touch Shelly had allowed herself in her apartment, but under Aaron’s sudden scrutiny, it seemed much too sentimental.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “What is it? That poster’s been there for months, Aaron.”

He tilted his head to stare at her. “You really haven’t noticed, have you?”