Page 142 of The Worst Best Man

“Oscar, we’re going for coffee. Do you want us to bring anything back for you?” Frankie offered.

“Double espresso with soy,” Oscar rattled off without looking up from his blank word document where he was typing gibberish. “Please.”

Frankie wasn’t sure if she or Ferris had scared Oscar more.

They took the elevator in silence, and Frankie let Aiden lead her through the lobby and out into the frigid first day of March.

He held her hand but remained silent on the half block walk to a café. Frankie’s nerves all but crackled. Was he ushering her off site to politely explain that things wouldn’t work between them anymore? That they’d had a good run, but family came first?

She swallowed hard. She couldn’t blame him exactly. She’d been a disaster from the start. In the time since Barbados, she had assaulted his brother, insulted his stepmother, embarrassed his entire family with a public brawl, and now was to blame for Aiden using the company coffers to get even with someone who dared act like an asshole in her presence.

Maybe she should just do it first.Thanks for all the amazing sex and being a really great, smart, funny, protective boyfriend, Aiden, but it’s time to move on…

Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears, she didn’t hear him ask her what she wanted the first time.

“Franchesca?”

“Oh, sorry. Tea. Ginger?” She needed something to calm her stomach that was currently turning somersaults.

He ordered for them and led her to a small table in the corner. Solicitously, he helped her out of her coat. If he was letting her take her coat off, was he settling in for a long-winded break up? She’d rather he just rip off the bandage and let it weep pus in the open air.

Gross.

“Franchesca,” he began.

She squeezed her eyes closed, bracing for the brush off.

But no brush off came. No words at all. She opened one eye to peek. He was watching her with amusement.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m bracing myself.”

“For what?”

“For the ‘it’s been nice knowing you’ speech.”

“That’s what you think?” he laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to beat me to the punch and dump me in the lobby.”

She blushed.

“You thought about it?” he asked, somewhere between astonished and amused.

“I didn’t know what this was. I thought you were mad. I—just shut up. Okay?”

The barista called Aiden’s name, and still chuckling, he picked up their order.

He handed her the tea and sank back down in his chair.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I’ve done nothing but create disasters since we met.”

“For doing what no one else in my entire life has had the balls to do. You stood up to my father.”

“What about your mother?” Frankie asked, blowing on the steam rising from her cup.

“Mom convinced, cajoled. She never yelled at him. Never called him on his bullshit.”