“Is he always that potent?”

“What?” Ariana knew exactly what her BFF Shira meant, but she wanted to hear her say it.

“You’re freakin’ kidding me? You don’t smell the stank that’s coming from that fuzzy menace?”

“Are you referring to Mr. Darcy?”

“You know Jane Austin is spinning in her grave, right? Seriously, Sir Fartsalot is more appropriate. How do you live with him? I swear it’s been one silent but deadly cloud after another since I got here.”

The scrunched-up expression on Shira’s face as she tried to avoid sucking in the contaminated air was priceless. If Ari had more guts, she’d snap a picture and put it on Instagram, but she’d be dead if she tried. 

“He’s not usually this bad. I think it’s the flea meds the vet gave him or maybe the new food.”

As if he knew what they were talking about, Mr. Darcy stood up from where he’d been lying next to Ari and spun around and released another silent bomb in Shira’s direction. It was all she could do not to bust out laughing as Shira’s eyes almost bugged out of her face.

“You need to do something about that. It’s horrible. How the hell are you going to hook a guy if you have this fart factory living with you? Tell me again why you felt the need to adopt a dog?”

Ari sighed. They had this conversation every time Shira visited her apartment. She was a cat person and no matter how adorable Mr. Darcy was she’d never like him, stink or not. “I love him. He needed me, and I needed him.”

“Ugh. You should have adopted a cat.”

“I didn’t want a cat. They won’t cuddle with you or share popcorn.”

“See, this is what I’ve been telling you. You need to start dating again, find a man, and get rid of the fuzzy fart machine. The dirtbag who shall not be named has been out of your life for over a year. It’s time to move on.”

“I know.”

“Yeah that’s what you keep telling me, but you always find an excuse not to come out with us.”

“Because you go to the SEAL bar. I’m thirty years old, I don’t want a one-night stand. I’ll want a relationship, someday, but not yet, and I’m not sure it’s even possible.”

“Of course, it’s possible. But you have to put yourself out there.”

Ari took a sip of her coffee as Shira’s words sank in. Subconsciously, she reached down slid her fingers through the soft-kinky fur on Mr. Darcy’s head, and he nuzzled against her hand.

“You know I’m right.”

“I guess.”

Shira rolled her eyes, and Ari knew what was coming, but she was saved by the knock on the door.

“Who’s that?”

“Umm, last I checked I didn’t have x-ray vision,” Ari said and laughed as she walked toward the door. It had to be one of her neighbors. A keycard was required to access the building. Knowing that, she didn’t bother to check before she pulled open the door.

“Woman, I can’t believe you just opened the door without looking. What did I tell you about checking first?”

“Hi, John. Nice to see you too.” Ari stepped back so she could look up into the face of the man she’d secretly had a crush on for the last six months. He’d moved in shortly after she did and lived just down the hall.

“Don’t you watch the news? Read the papers? The internet? You need to check before you open it, anyone could be waiting for you on the other side.”

“But you have to have a key to get in the building or know the code.”

“Yeah, and no one ever could get around that, right? Promise me you’ll check before you open the door from now on.”

“How did you even know I didn’t?”

“I heard you. It’s what I do, remember?” he said with a smile. God, he was gorgeous, too bad he was a SEAL and had no intention of settling down. If she’d needed proof, she’d gotten it watching the parade of women coming and going since he lived there.

“Welcome back. I’m sure Miss Jade has missed you.”

“Thanks. Yup, I’m here for my plant, although it spends a lot more time at your place than mine, maybe I should just leave her here.”

“Hi, I’m Shira. Ari’s best friend. Apparently, she’s been holding out on me. She never mentioned you before.” Why couldn’t a hole open in the floor and suck her in? She was so engrossed in John’s emerald-green eyes she forgot all about Shira and Mr. Darcy, who decided at that moment to let out another stink bomb.

With cheeks the color of a ripe tomato, Ari apologized for her fuzzy companion’s lack of decorum. But John just laughed.  “You finally got to bring him home, huh?”

“Yeah, they approved the adoption after you left for your last mission.” Ari didn’t need to look at Shira to know what she was thinking, and she needed to put the brakes on that as soon as possible. “Shira, this is John. He lives down the hall, and I babysit his plant when he goes out of town.”

“I see.”

“Hi, Shira. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here. Why don’t you come in, we’re having coffee, and I brought some delicious cookies? Unless the fuzzy gasbag over there is too much.”

“Are you kidding? I just spent the last month on a mission with a bunch of guys, there is nothing that dog can do to top that. I appreciate the invite, but I have to take a raincheck on the coffee. I’m beat.”

Ari tried to hide her sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was Shira grilling John. Her interrogation would be bad enough without him there. “Let me get Miss Jade.” Grabbing his plant, she handed it to him.

“I watered her this morning, so she should be good for a few days.”

“Great, thank you. I really appreciate you taking care of her while I’m gone. It was nice meeting you, Shira. Have fun. I’ll catch you later, Ariana.” 

Then he was gone, and the sunshine dimmed a bit as she shut the door and turned to face her smirking friend. Oh yeah, she had it bad. He was part of the reason Ari didn’t date. No one could compare to John Dillon. She’d been drawn to him since the first time they spoke. He was so down to earth it was hard to believe he was a big bad SEAL. Over the last few months, they’d gotten to know each other better, but he’d never made a move. In all fairness, she’d never done anything to further the relationship either. After the disaster with her ex, Paul, she didn’t know if she wanted to take another chance. Besides, as far as she could tell he considered her his plant sitter.

“John, huh? You’ve been holding out on me.”

“Nope.”

“Mr. tall dark and handsome lives down the hall and you never told me about him? And you babysit his plant?”

“There’s nothing to tell.  We met at the gym, and he gave me some pointers.”

“He gave you some pointers?”

“Stop that. You make everything sound dirty. He was showing me how to lift without hurting myself.”

“Lift? Since when did you start lifting weights? Girl, is this why you won’t go out with us? You’re too busy ‘working out’ with the Mr. Six-pack down the hall?”

“See, this is exactly why I didn’t tell you about him. We’re friends. That’s it. Got it?”

“Uh huh, sure. Just friends. So, have you and your new friend been out for coffee yet?”

“No. No coffee, no dinner, no dating. I told you, I have no desire to get involved again. Paul was enough to last me a lifetime.”

“Your lips are saying one thing, but I saw your face when you were talking to him. Uh huh, girlfriend, you have it bad.” This was exactly why Ari hadn’t mentioned John to Shira. She was her best friend, but once she got an idea in her head she latched onto it like a vice grip, and it was game over. Except John was no game. Ari couldn’t imagine any scenario where it would work out, so she wasn’t going to take the chance.

“Can we change the subject? I really, really don’t want to talk about John.”

“Fine, but this conversation isn’t closed. I want to know all about him, and umm what’s the deal with the plant?”

“If I tell you about the plant can we drop the subject?”

“Sure, for today. There’s no way I’m letting you blow off that gorgeous hunk of manhood. Unless of course, you’re really not interested, because then I’ll take a shot at him.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Uh huh, I thought so. Okay, what’s the deal with the plant?” 

As if to add his two cents, Mr. Darcy got up and released a gaseous cloud in Shira’s direction before heading into the kitchen. Maybe that was the solution, if Ari could get Mr. Darcy to fart on command, she could end countless conversations she didn’t want to have. Just thinking about it made her giggle which didn’t go unnoticed by Shira who had her face half buried in her shirt to avoid the smell.

“C’mon, it’s not that bad.”

“You’re shitting me, right? It’s horrific. How do you live like this?”

Now Ari did giggle. It was pretty bad, but she’d never admit it to Shira. It was worse than usual. Maybe Mr. Darcy had gotten into something he shouldn’t have.

“Do you want to go onto the balcony?”

“If you leave Mr. Farty inside.”

“It’s Mr. Darcy. You’re going to hurt his feelings.”

“Now I know you’ve lost it,” Shira said as she grabbed her coffee mug and the plate of cookies. Ari followed with her coffee. “Ahh, fresh air. I can breathe again.”

“You act like cats don’t smell up the place. What about the litter box?”

“I have that automated one. It never stinks, and you know it.”

“If you say so.” Shira was right, her apartment never smelled like a litter box, but she had to do something to defend her precious Mr. Darcy. It wasn’t his fault.

“Okay, you’ve stalled long enough. What’s the deal with the plant? You called it what? Miss Jade? He named his plant? And since he’s away all the time, why get a plant anyway?”

“No, not exactly. I named her. And don’t give me that look, you know I always name everything. I figured if I was going to watch her she should have a name.”

“But it’s a plant. And that still doesn’t explain why someone who knows he’s going to be away more than home would get a plant. I think he did it to meet you.”

“Oh my God, you’re such a brat. Do you hear yourself? He didn’t get the plant to meet me. And it’s not a big deal I talk to them. It helps them thrive. Don’t you talk to yours?”

“No. And why didn’t I know you do? You were never like this until you moved in with ‘he who must not be named.’ I blame him.”

Ari shrugged. She was right, she’d changed after the mess with Paul. She still had nightmares over what went down with the FBI and dealing with the US Marshalls wasn’t much better. But at least they knew she wasn’t guilty of anything. After he was arrested, she’d moved into this apartment to get a new start. It was a nice place, but it was also the first time she’d lived alone and even after ten months it was taking some getting used to. “Does it matter?”

“Are you losing your mind?”

“No, I’m as sane as you are.”

“If you say so.” But she softened her words with a grin. They’d been friends forever, but this last year Ari had become a hermit, staying home and avoiding everyone. It’s no wonder Shira was worried about her.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s been weird. But after all the crap with you know who, I figured I’d give myself a chance to get over it. Lick my wounds. You know?”

“Girl, I do know. The rat bastard put you through hell. You need to remember that you’re not alone, I love you and worry about you. I want my old Ari back. You’ve changed so much, we used to share everything. Now I don’t even know that you talk to plants, and have a super-hottie who has you babysitting it. I guess I should be happy you told me you were adopting the four-legged gasbag before you did.”

“Yes, you should.”

“I still think you need to get out more. Being cooped up isn’t good for you. You used to love going dancing. I’m lucky you even agree to have coffee lately. I think you’ve actually gotten worse the longer it’s been. Is it because of Mr. Hottie Tottie?”

Ari rolled her eyes. Shira wasn’t going to let up on John no matter how hard she tried to get her to drop it. “No, I don’t like to leave Mr. Darcy. He’s alone all day while I’m at work. And I still like to dance.”

“First of all, you’ve only had the dog a few weeks. What’s your excuse for the eight months before that?”

“I guess I don’t have one.” Ari hadn’t been ready to face anyone after how stupid she’d been when she fell for the dirtbag’s story. Then to top it all off, he’d used her as cover, tried to implicate her, and escape the country. She’d almost lost everything. But as bad as that was, it wasn’t the main reason she’d kept to herself so much. Colin, the US Marshall who’d been assigned to her, had warned her that anyone in her life could be a target. He’d also tried to convince her she would be better off in Witness Protection. No way was she giving up her life, but she didn’t want to be responsible for anything happening to her friends either. Shira had no clue about any of this other than what happened when the dirtbag was arrested. She hated keeping stuff from her, but there were some things it was better not to share.

“Come out with us on Friday night. There’s a new band playing at the club.”

“Which club?

Shira rolled her eyes. “You know which one.”

“I told you I don’t want to hang around and be SEAL-bait.”

“Why don’t you bring John? No one would dream of hitting on you with the hunk there.”

“And subject him to all of you? Are you crazy? He’d never talk to me again. Besides, I told you, we’re just friends, more like acquaintances actually.”

“Whatever. Just ask him, what could it hurt? I bet he says yes.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You’re a stubborn woman, do you know that?”

“Yup. You tell me at least once a week.” Ari grinned. It was true too. But she’d rather be stubborn and stand up for herself than be a doormat like some of the women they used to try to help in college.

“I’ve got to get going. Promise me you’ll think about Friday night?”

“I promise.” Ari hugged Shira as they got to the front door. “Thanks for coming and bringing the yummy cookies.”

“Too bad they were contaminated by Mr. Stink Bomb.”

“You need to let that go.”

“No, you need to figure out what his problem is or put a bag on his ass to catch the stink.”

Ari burst out laughing. Just the thought of that was too much. Soon they were both laughing like they used to, and all the other stuff was forgotten. With one last hug, Shira was out the door, and it was just her and Mr. Darcy.

After gathering the dirty dishes and putting the cookies away, Ari went to her desk to do her journaling. Another thing she hadn’t shared with Shira yet. She’d started it when the FBI recommended writing everything about Paul in as much detail as she could remember. Since it would be awhile before they had his trial, they knew details faded. That had morphed into a brain dump, then a confessional, and now it was part of her daily life.

A notification ding from her phone pulled her attention away from the journal. Clicking on the screen, she had a new email. She recognized the name and the room started spinning. How had he sent her an email from prison? Unless it wasn’t him? If she hadn’t been sitting, she’d have been on the floor. Blind panic set in. On her phone was a photo of her and Shira sitting on the balcony with a big red “X” over Shira’s face. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what was implied. If her heart beat any faster, it would have jumped out of her chest. She couldn’t have been any more freaked out if she tried. Were they following Shira now? Was anyone in her life safe? With no clue what to do, she called the US Marshall assigned to her case. Hopefully, he’d have some answers.