#Chapter 11: Prey

Aria “I’ve been looking forward to someone like you for a long time, Aria.” Those words kept me up that night, and for many of the nights that week. I knew that he was just being nice, saying things that any decent boss might say to their employees. But at the same time, it felt… different. The way he had wrapped his arm around me, called me his girlfriend, came to my rescue at just the right time—yet again. Still, I kept telling myself that he only did those things out of necessity. I would have drowned without him, and I couldn’t go back to work in sopping wet clothes, which was why he’d let me use his shower. As for Jackson, well… He might not have left me alone if he didn’t think that there was another man in the picture. Necessity; that was all it was. Nothing more, nothing less. That weekend, I was more than happy to spend time with Lucas. I was still walking my usual dogs three times a week, early in the morning before work, but to have two wh