Page 16 of Size King

“Shut up,” says Lily, glancing over to Aiden’s booth as inconspicuously as possible. “Your Aiden? That’s him right there? The billionaire in our diner?”

“Apparently,” I say.

“Who’s the other guy with him?” she wonders.

“His best friend, Adam. We saw each other, and he saw me see him. I’m embarrassed and frustrated, among other things.”

Lily smirks. “Then, don’t look at who’s coming over to say hello.”

Sure enough, from the corner of my eye, I see Aiden approaching our table, and he is honing in on me.

“Am I about to meet your future husband?” Lily whispers humorously.

“Hey, Kate,” Aiden greets me.

“Hi!” I say, attempting to sound surprised. “Aiden, what on earth areyoudoing here?”

“I came to eat like everyone else,” he retorts. “They just sat us at our booth. Adam and I haven’t even had time to look over the menu.”

Aiden and Lily look at each other, smiling politely.

“Hi,” Aiden says.

“I’m Lily, Kate’s best friend,” she says, introducing herself.

“Lily and I went to school together,” I explain. “If I could hire my full PR team, I would definitely hire this girl immediately.”

“You couldn’t afford me, fool!” Lily quips to me before presenting to him. “I have a job that pays well, and I’m a pro at many things.”

“Pro of what kinds of things?” Aiden asks, humoring her.

“Come home with us tonight and find out,” Lily says with a wink. “Kate’ll be there, too. Hey, anything can happen, right?”

“Lily!” I exclaim in shock. “Aiden, I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“It’s okay,” he says, while motioning over to his table. “My best friend would probably do similar kinds of things to embarrass me.”

“Seriously, why are you here and not at some fancy restaurant, or in another country eating lobster?” I clumsily wonder.

“I like to keep a low profile during times like this,” he explains. “Peopleexpectme to go to the fancy restaurant and order lobster for all to see. Theydon’texpect to come to a small diner that’s less reasonably priced than some diners in the heart of the city. People that come to places like this keep to themselves mostly, so I don’t have as much of a chance of being spotted.”

I’m impressed with his line of reasoning, just like I’m entranced by the way his beautiful mouth moves when the words come out.

“Anyway,” Aiden concludes. “I saw you two over here and figured I’d stop over and say howdy. You ladies up to anything fun after this?”

“Yes, want to come along?” Lily asks.

“I would love to,” says Aiden. “Unfortunately, I already made plans with my amigo back there, and we can’t just blow it off. Perhaps we’ll have to do something fun together soon.”

“Yes, please.” Lily winks shamelessly.

“Lily,” I say in annoyance. “Why don’t you go over and meet Adam and talk to him? He’s really nice.”

“I’ll leave you two kids alone for a few minutes while I go and powder my nose in the ladies’ room,” Lily says as she takes her momentary leave.

“So, you still doing good?” Aiden asks me.

“I am. Where are you and Adam going after this?”