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He pinched his thumb and index together. ‘A little bit. For a good cause, though.’

‘Well, that is kinda cute.’ She sighed and grabbed her drink from the bar, a tall, thin glass garnished with a slice of lime. ‘Fine. You’ve caught me in a curious mood.’

Aiden jumped off the stool and then motioned politely for Coco to go ahead, silently cheering once her back was turned. However, it didn’t last: he caught Juniper approaching with the redhead at exactly the same time, and he could do nothing short of pushing Coco into the table to win the battle – which, as a gentleman, he obviously did not consider doing. At all.

Juniper was quick to put her hands on her hips, blocking their path. ‘Hello, Aiden. Who might this be?’

‘I’m Coco?’ She said it as though it was a question.

‘Coco is very impressive at… the thing she does, which is…’ Aiden realised he probably should have asked for some details before dragging her over here.

‘I’m a small business owner,’ Coco supplied.

‘Well, my girl here is a waitress, like me!’ Juniper beamed. ‘You did say you wanted a Juniper, Tilly.’

‘And what is your girl’s name?’ Aiden lifted his brows expectantly, enjoying the way Juniper grew flustered. ‘Terrible wingwoman, really, not even asking her name. I’d never do such a thing.’

Tilly rolled her eyes and stood up. ‘This was a big, big mistake.’ She looked at both suitors. ‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I didn’t predict that my friends would turn this into a disaster.’

‘Yeah, I’m not really into this, so… bye.’ The autumnal goddess marched off before anybody could stop her, and Aiden couldn’t blame her. Still, a flare of something warm brightened inside him.Friends. Plural. He was one of them now.

‘That means I’ve won.’ He clapped like a giddy kid, then gave Coco a high-five, which was accepted reluctantly.

‘I’m walking away now.’ Tilly locked eyes with Coco, a small smile dimpling her face. ‘Could I maybe buy you a drink to say sorry for all this?’

‘Don’t forget my sundae,’ Aiden reminded, grinning when Juniper stuck his tongue out at him. As soon as their backs were turned, he flashed the shape of an L with his thumb and finger. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll share with the loser.’

‘You’re intolerable. I can’t stand you.’ But she was trying not to laugh as she collapsed back down next to Luc. A stark contrast to the way she used to say it, chest puffed out and mouth twisted in disgust.

So, when Tilly slammed a chocolate sundae down onto the table soon after, he grabbed two extra spoons for her and Luc, and they all dipped into the ice cream. Luc took a few bites and then called it a night, claiming their social battery was officially drained. Aiden would have to make extra effort not to bother them back in their room tonight.

‘And then there were two.’ Aiden clanked his spoon against hers, forcing her away from the soft squares of fudge. ‘Oi! Don’t pinch the best pieces!’

It was too late. Juniper gathered a big heap of them, moaning smugly. He might have reprimanded her, but he was too busy watching her tongue swirl around the fudge-coated spoon.She must have noticed, because one of her brows arched. ‘Who’s the loser now, Whittaker? Look at you, getting all hot and bothered over me licking a spoon.’

He rolled his eyes, twisting the stem of the bowl around so she had better access to the fudge. He’d meant what he’d said, that he’d do anything for her, even if he usually hated to share good food. ‘You have to admit, I was good at that. Might drop out of RACA to pursue matchmaking duties full time.’

‘It surprises me,’ she said, then paused when instinct drove him to reach out. The pad of his thumb swiped gently at the sticky blob of chocolate on the corner of her mouth, lips parting as though she’d forgotten how it felt for him to touch her. Maybe she had. Maybe he wanted to fix that: but there was no chance tonight. He was sharing with Luc, she with Tilly.

So he showed her instead, bringing his thumb to his mouth and watching as her chest fluttered just a little big higher than the breath before.

‘What surprises you?’ he asked, sticky sweetness dissolving on his tongue.

‘That it mattered so much to you. If you would have told me I was battling with Aiden Whittaker for the sake of our mutual friend’s dating life in high school, I would have thrown a fit.’

‘Oh, did you not like me back then, or something? I don’t think you’ve mentioned it before,’ he retorted sarcastically.

She chuckled, the sound light and melodic with just a hint of huskiness. It was the first time he’d heard it that way since before Christmas,and he hadn’t realised how badly he’d missed it.

That was why he decided to offer her the truth, even if he didn’t realise that was what it was until he said it aloud. ‘This is the first time I’ve ever had the chance to actually have friends.Properfriends who don’t give a shit about the superficial stuff. So, yeah, it matters.’

She propped her chin in her palms, eyes glittering. In the yellow light, she’d never looked so beautiful, irises a warm, whisky-brown and lips a deep pink from the cold sundae. He imagined this was their life, their every evening: coming to the pub and laughing, because she didn’t hate him anymore, and because they cared about each other. He could see it, almost. Beyond the ever-growing line of hurdles, there were flashes of something better for them.

‘Where d’you think Chris will take us tomorrow?’ she mused.

And there it was. One of the many obstacles in his way. His stomach plummeted all over again at the thought of seeing his dad, but he tried not to let it show. ‘I need to ask you a favour, actually.’

‘Yeah? What kind of favour?’