Teagan stared at the request. Aaron was on Facebook. He’d searched for her. And he’d sent her a friend request.

Now what?

She wasn’t sure whether to feel excited or confused. He’d had his way with her, so why would he friend her? Then again, it was only a friend request. A friend request, not a date request, a relationship request, or even a request to strip her bare and let him pound her into oblivion. He lived nine hundred miles away, for crying out loud. Just how much damage could they do by being friends on social media? Finally, Teagan took a deep breath and accepted the request.

She got on Facebook and looked over Aaron’s posts. There weren’t many. Most of them had him checking in somewhere—a trailhead, a brewery, or some other place in Tucson. No cute doggy videos, no political rants, no pics of him looking irritatingly good in a t-shirt. Seeing his posts reminded her of Tucson and how much fun she’d had. Then her phone rang. It was Diana.

“Hey, D!”

“Hey, sweetie! My brother and the gang decided to go see that new Pixar movie tonight, so I’m free. Do you want to meet for a drink?”

“As long as it’s in my neighborhood. My truck’s in the shop.”

“Oh no. Let’s meet at Castillo’s and you can tell me all about it.”

Teagan changed into her cutest shorts and her ankle sandals, along with a shoulder-baring top. When she arrived at Castillo’s, an upscale Mexican restaurant, she looked for a patio table. They were all full, but she spotted two people leaving the patio bar and snagged their barstools. A minute later, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Diana looked gorgeous as ever, her olive skin smooth as butter and her toned hourglass curves wedged into a black knit dress. Teagan hugged her.

“Look how fit you are,” Diana said, looking Teagan over. “And I love, love, love the pink, even more than the purple! It makes your eyes look really blue.”

Teagan smiled. “Thank you. I like it better too.”

They sat down and ordered two silver margaritas, while Diana looked over the dinner menu. “Did you want to order dinner?”

“I’d love to, but I can’t afford it. My finances are a total shit show right now.”

“Book sales aren’t great?”

“They’re okay, but not enough. And I just found out I need a rebuilt transmission.”

Diana grimaced. “Shit. I don’t know a lot about cars, but that sounds very expensive. You’re not teaching this summer?”

“No. I had just enough saved to focus on writing. By the time my tranny went out, it was too late to get a class or two.”

Diana’s dark eyes filled with compassion. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Let me buy you dinner. That’s what friends do.”

Teagan shook her head. “You can’t be making that much either, Diana, not at Junction’s schools.”

She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Tell you what. We’ll finish our margaritas and I’ll buy you a burrito at Tio’s afterward.” They raised their glasses to that. “So. Any interesting guys? Didn’t you meet some guy from Wyoming?”

“Montana. That didn’t go anywhere. Besides, I’m clearly an asshole magnet, so I’m off men.”

“Hannah hold me about running into Shawn.” When Teagan nodded, she added, “He shouldn’t be allowed in this ‘hood anymore. He forfeited that right when he left.”

“No disagreement there.”

“Did he have Harry with him?”

“Yes,” Teagan muttered, taking a big swig of her margarita.

“What a douche. After what he did, you should get the house and the dog. You were too easy on him, letting him have Harry and buying him out like that. Especially when he makes more money than you!”

“Maybe. I just… it was bad enough. Going all drama queen only makes me look like an idiot.”

“Sure, but letting a selfish asshole take advantage of you isn’t good for your soul, sweetie. Trust me on that.”

Teagan sighed. “You’re right again, Doctor Fiorelli.”

Diana smiled. “So that’s it? You’re off men?”

“Definitely.” Teagan didn’t mention Aaron, not wanting to explain her night of sweaty passion with a guy she barely knew. Diana was a good friend who gave sage advice, but she was old-fashioned and didn’t believe in casual sex. “Are you still seeing that guy from the winery?”

Diana shook her head. “We broke up.”

“How come?”

“He drank too much. And he’s totally anti-marriage. He just kept saying that half of marriages fail, and that he didn’t know anyone who had a marriage he admired, and blah fucking blah.”

“Maybe he’s right.”

Diana gave her a look. “You don’t mean that, do you? Do you really think marriage is a farce?”

Teagan sighed. “No. Mine was, but I know there are good ones out there. This winery guy—has he been burned?”

“Nope.”

Teagan rolled her eyes.

“Exactly!” Diana cried, pointing a finger at Teagan, her Mediterranean passion coming through. “Eye roll, right? I mean, look at you. Your marriage blew up. Mine did too. But underneath your ‘no more men’ thing, I know there’s a woman who would remarry if she met the right guy. And I’m willing to try again too, even after what I went through.”

Teagan smiled. It was true. Despite all that had happened, and despite having crappy instincts when it came to men, some tiny part of her still believed in love. “Well, D, you’re too beautiful and too amazing to stay single for too long. And me? It might take ten or twenty years, but maybe there’s still a chance for me.”

Diana grinned. After they finished their drinks, they headed over to Tio’s.

A week later, her truck back in her possession and her debt increased by $3600, Teagan pulled into her parking spot after an evening hike. She’d hiked with a local meetup group she’d been part of for years, and even ran into Hannah on one of Hannah’s after-work training runs. Teagan took a selfie of them, which she posted on Facebook when she got home. After perusing her feed, she heard a bleep. Someone had instant-messaged her. It was Aaron.

Teagan couldn’t help but smile.

No response.

Teagan stared at Aaron’s comment, unsure what to make of it. He was hard enough to read in person, much less over messaging.

Teagan blinked in surprise. Aaron was actually reading one of her books. And he liked it.

She noticed that Aaron didn’t apostrophize “its.” She always noticed such things. Many writers would have thought less of him for it, but she didn’t. It annoyed her when people nitpicked trivial flaws, as if everyone had to be perfect, as if there weren’t more substantive qualities to care about. Plus, Aaron had admitted to having dyslexia. Compared to the reading-disabled students she’d had, he wrote quite well.

They chatted a bit longer until Teagan’s hunger finally kicked in.

And he signed off.

Message sent.

Teagan smiled, glad to have her manuscript off to her editor and out of her hair for a while. She grabbed her purse and ventured out for some dinner. Ben was on the porch, relaxing in his hammock. She’d heard him arguing with Beth earlier.

“I’m going to get a bite at Tio’s. Hungry?”

“Definitely.”

Teagan and Ben walked to Tio’s and ordered their usual fare before they sat down.

“Did you finish the book?” Ben asked.

She nodded. “It’s with the editor now.”

“Did you make that murder scene more violent? And fix that part about the methamphetamine?”

“Yes on both counts. Thanks again for beta reading.”

He shrugged. “It’s fun.” He frowned a little, looking distracted.

“You okay? I heard you arguing with Beth earlier.”

He sighed. “Yeah. Same old shit. I don’t get it. It’s not like I’m seeing other women. Why does she keep wanting more from me?”

“Because she cares about you and wants to take it to the next level. And because she knows there’s some reason you’re keeping her at arm’s length.”

Ben gave her a surly look. “Great. Now I have to take shit from you too?”

Teagan eyed him right back. “I’m not giving you shit, Benjamin. You’re keeping her at arm’s length. Maybe you have your reasons, but you can’t expect her to stop wanting what she wants.”

Before Ben could reply, a beep sounded. She looked at Ben; it was probably a text from Beth.

“That’s you,” he said. “I didn’t bring my phone.”

Teagan dug out her phone. She stared, hardly believing her eyes. It was a text from Aaron.

“Who is it?”

“The guy from Arizona.”

He made a face. “He’s got your number?”

“I forgot. He gave me his card when he invited me hiking. We texted to make plans.”

“Wait. You went hiking together? I thought you just hooked up.”

“We did. I don’t know why he’s texting.”

“What does it say?”

She peeked at the message. “To call him tonight.”

Ben gave an evil laugh. “He’s pregnant. You’re going to be a mommy. Or he’s hoping you’ll come back for round two.”

Teagan rolled her eyes. “He is not.”

She stared at the brief message. Why did he want her to call him? Had she left something at his house? No, he would have mentioned that by now. Maybe he’d found some military or weapons error in her book. That had to be it.

When their burritos arrived, Teagan put her phone away and they dug in.

“Hello?” said Aaron’s familiar deep voice.

“Hey Aaron. It’s Teagan.”

“Hey. Thanks for calling.”

“How’s desert life?”

“Hot.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Aaron got to business.

“So, the reason I’m calling. I think I mentioned that a good friend of mine lives in Colorado Springs…”

“Yes. He’s in the Air Force, right?”

“Right. I’m coming up to visit him for a couple days in July, and… I was wondering if you’d be around. Maybe we could get dinner or something.”

Teagan stood there for several moments, hardly believing what she’d just heard. He wanted to see her? “Umm… which days?”

“The second weekend in July.”

She checked her calendar. “Yeah. I’m around. Are you flying or driving?”

“Flying. I don’t have enough time to drive. I can probably come up to Denver on Sunday afternoon. Will that work?”

“That should work.”

“I’ll let you know more after I finalize everything.”

“Sounds good.”

After they hung up, Teagan sat there for a moment. One brief phone call and the guy she’d hooked up with was coming to town to see her. Ben’s quip accusing Aaron of hoping to get laid again was beginning to seem pretty accurate. But was that a bad thing?

She had no idea. She was in uncharted territory.

A couple of weeks later, Teagan got a text from Aaron.

Teagan had spent those weeks writing and trying not to think about Aaron and why he wanted to see her. She’d even considered getting back online to meet some guys, but the thought of it still disgusted her.

When Sunday rolled around, Teagan’s phone rang. 520 area code.

“Good afternoon, Major.”

“Hey. How are you?”

“Oh, just up to my neck in alien politics. You?”

“We’re up in the mountains and heading to get some lunch after two full days in the backcountry.”

“Nice! How was it?”

“It was great. I’m ready for a shower and some real food, though.”

She laughed. “I believe it.”

“How does six sound for tonight?”

“Six is good. Do you want to meet halfway?”

“No. I’ll drive to Denver.”

Teagan fell silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s only an hour. I haven’t been to Denver in… I can’t remember the last time.”

“Okay. I’ll text you my address.”

After they hung up, Teagan felt a bit guilty about Aaron driving all the way to Denver. Then she wondered if she should feel offended instead, that maybe he hoped coming to her home would increase his chances of sleeping with her.

Stop worrying. It’s dinner, for crying out loud.

That evening, Teagan searched her closet for something to wear. She wanted to look attractive—they’d be on her turf and she needed to represent—but she didn’t want to dress in a way that would send the wrong message. Not that she knew what message that was. She threw on a sundress and some sandals.

Just before 6:00 p.m., there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, Aaron stood on her porch. Muscular, blond, handsome Aaron in shorts and a white t-shirt. He looked gorgeous.

Damn him.