Husband Next Door. Anne Ha

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      “Is Eric going to be there?”

      Shelly shook her head. “No. He had to fly to Sacramento this afternoon—to lobby for that grant again. He won’t be back till next week.”

      “So you have plenty of time to make up your mind.”

      She nodded. She would have at least five days to think about her decision, and she knew Eric wouldn’t ask for her answer the moment he returned. He’d told her to take as much time as needed, and she would. Shelly was determined to make the right choice because, when she married, she wanted to be married forever. She didn’t want to fall into the same trap her mother had, rushing into matrimony with heedless passion only to realize, too late, that she’d made a mistake.

      Of course, Eric wasn’t anything like Shelly’s father. But she was going to be careful nonetheless.

      “You know,” Aaron said, startling her from her reverie, “I was thinking of asking you the same question.”

      Shelly frowned, trying to pick up the thread of the conversation. “What are you talking about?”

      He sipped his coffee. “I was thinking of asking you to marry me.”

      Caught by surprise, Shelly felt her heart speed up. Finally she managed a laugh.

      Aaron brought all four legs of his chair back to the floor with a thud. “I guess that means no,” he said, his tone ironic.

      “You haven’t asked me the question.” Only when the words were out of her mouth did she realize she’d given him the perfect opening.

      Aaron pushed aside his coffee cup and leaned across the table. Before Shelly could pull away, he grasped her hands in his and gazed soulfully into her eyes. His touch was warm and firm, and she could feel the slight roughness of his fingers against her palms.

      “Shelly,” he said, “will you marry me?”

      She gulped. Even though she knew he was kidding— and knew she’d never want to marry him—hearing Aaron say those words made her feel unaccountably shaky. She withdrew her hands from his grasp and said, as casually as she could, “Very funny, Aaron. You’d run screaming if I answered yes.”

      “Probably.” He shrugged.

      Shelly frowned. Had there been the briefest flicker of something in his eyes just then? She examined his features. No, she told herself, of course not. He leaned negligently back in his chair, his expression bland. He was the same unconcerned Aaron as usual.

      His next words, spoken in a musing tone, confirmed her assessment

      “It’s too bad, though, since there are tons of advantages. We could get a house together and never have to ring a doorbell to talk. I could cook for you every night. We know each other well, so there wouldn’t be any surprises—not to mention you’d be spared the heartache of deciding whether or not to take my name.”

      “There’s no heartache involved,” she said, recovering her composure. She was used to this sort of nonsense from him. “No matter what happens, I’m keeping my name.”

      Aaron drummed his fingers on the table. His eyes took on a mischievous sparkle, and he said in a stuffy voice, “For your professional life, certainly, dear. But I really think you should use mine in our social life. It’s so much simpler that way.”

      Shelly shook her head, smiling.

      “Of course, if you really wanted to be fair, we could hyphenate. Both of us. We’d be Shelly and Aaron Carpenter-Carpenter. How’s that?”

      “Please, Aaron. Give me a break already. You’re only doing this to tease me.”

      He didn’t deny it, she noticed.

      She sighed. “Not to mention the fact that it makes you seem desperate when you ask a woman to marry you right after another man has proposed. Desperation is not attractive.”

      Aaron shrugged again. “So I’m desperate.”

      “Right.” The idea of Aaron being desperate was ludicrous. Even if he could bring himself to commit—which was highly improbable—it wouldn’t be to a plain old security seeker like her. “What happened to all that soul mate business?” she challenged. “Somehow I can’t believe your knees went weak and your stomach tied itself in knots the first time you saw me.”

      Aaron didn’t say anything.

      “Anyway,” she couldn’t help adding, “if we were soul mates, you’d have proposed to me a long time ago. Soul mates don’t wait until the last minute.”

      “How was I supposed to know it was the last minute?” Aaron got up and poured himself another cup of coffee. “If you’re not going to marry me, will you at least do the dishes?”

      Obviously, she thought, he’d grown tired of the conversation. Which only proved how lightly he’d taken it. He always took everything lightly.

      “Of course,” she said. “You cook, I clean. Sometimes I think that’s the only reason you invite me over.” She pushed back her chair and went to the sink.

      Shelly told herself to forget his talk of marriage. After all, it had only been another of his jokes. What would Aaron want with her when he could have any woman he chose?

      After the past year, it was clear he had no interest in her. Sure, he’d asked to kiss her the first day they’d met, but since then, even in the most romantic situations— candlelight dinners, walks along the beach, intimate evenings watching movies together on her sofa—he’d never done anything more than smile at her in that charming way of his. In all the hours they’d spent together, he’d always been a perfect gentleman. It would be absurd to assume she’d suddenly become irresistible to him.

      Shelly knew that. Yet, on the other hand, she couldn’t help wondering if Aaron was truly happy with his constant stream of girlfriends. Maybe, she thought, he did long for someone special in his life, even though it wasn’t her. Maybe he longed for someone who’d be more than a casual date, a person who could give him the deeper satisfaction of trust and commitment….

      But if that was the case, would he ever admit it?

      Probably not. Unchallenged, he’d probably continue with his womanizing ways forever, unable to face the fact that something was missing.

      She couldn’t let him do it—couldn’t let him ruin his life like that.

      Shelly finished loading the dishwasher, then cleaned and dried Aaron’s cookware. Finally she faced him with a damp towel in her hands.

      She had to save him.

       Chapter Two

      Shelly twisted the towel around her fingers. Aaron wasn’t going to like what she had to say, but she couldn’t let that stop her. His future happiness was at stake, and she had to get him to see the seriousness of his situation.

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