"Is that doctor's orders?" she asked, but he could hear the amusement in her voice.
"It is. Now listen to your doctor and go eat, babydoll."
She laughed. "Fine. Dinner first. Goodnight, Dr. McHottie."
Daniel laughed. "Goodnight, babydoll. Get some rest."
Chapter 14
Aurelia
Three weeks had gone by excruciatingly slowly for Aurelia. She'd seen the man, the private investigator several times, lingering outside of her house, and her work. Finally, she'd had enough. "That's it!" she huffed as she stepped out of the office building to walk to her bus stop. The man was there again, taking her picture as she stormed toward him.
However, seeing her, and the look of fury on her face, he just tucked his camera away, and climbed into a rental car before she could reach him. He sped away as Aurelia stomped her foot and shook her fist at him like a lunatic.
"Damn it!" she muttered in frustration as she turned back toward the bus stop. Her eyes widened as she realized the bus was already there and she took off running as the doors closed and it started to pull away from the curb. "No! Wait! Wait for me!" she gasped out as she ran, but it was too late. The bus was gone. "Damn it!" She felt tears start to well in her eyes as she dropped to the bench, completely spent.
"Hey, Aurelia, do you need a ride?"
She looked up to see Melissa pulled up to the curb. "Oh, God, Melissa, yes, please?"
"Hop in." She smiled.
"Thank you so much, I am having the worst week."
"You have seemed pretty down, not your usual self, I mean."
Aurelia gave her the address to her house and Melissa plugged it into her GPS. She wasn't sure what to say to explain her depression over what was going on with Daniel, so she just sighed.
"You know, we should go get a drink. It's a Friday, we don't have to work tomorrow, it would be fun, right?"
"Oh, um, yeah, okay." Aurelia nodded. It would be nice to go out, do something with someone. "Are we dressed okay for that?"
Melissa laughed. "For the place I'm thinking of, it's perfect. Just one drink though, something tells me you're a lightweight."
Aurelia grinned. "What gave me away?"
"You just don't seem like the type to go out partying, you know?" Melissa smiled. "You strike me more of the curl up with a good book type."
Aurelia laughed. "You have me pegged. But it will be good to get out of my comfort zone for once."
She spent an enjoyable evening with Melissa, drinking her non-alcoholic daquiri because she wasn't sure of the effects of her medication and alcohol. After an hour, a figure caught her eye and all her anger returned. He was there again, camera poised, capturing her evening with Melissa. How had he found her? Had he somehow followed them to the bar? Gritting her teeth, she excused herself and started toward him again, but he just smirked and took off out of the bar. Shaking her head, she returned to the table and gathered her things.
"This has been so much fun, but I'm starting to get a headache, do you mind if I take off?"
"Oh, yeah, hey, I'll take you home, just a sec." Melissa stood and waved to their cocktail waitress. "Hey, can I get our tab? We need to jet."
"Sure, here you go."
Melissa paid her for the drinks, and they headed back out to her car. "Guess you're still recovering, huh?"
"Yeah. I get tired so quickly it seems. And if I don't get enough sleep, like last night, I get a headache the next day. So, it's always better to just go to bed when it starts, or it turns into a migraine."
"Oh, that sucks."
"Yeah. Hey, what do I owe you for the drinks?"
"Nah, it's on me this time." She grinned. "Next time you can get them."
Aurelia nodded, grinning, happy there would be a next time. She really liked Melissa and was glad they were getting to know each other.
Melissa pulled into Aurelia's driveway and she hopped out. "Thanks so much for the ride and for the drink and just being a friend."
She laughed. "You don't have to thank me for that. I'll see you Monday. Bye!" She waved and pulled out of the driveway.
Aurelia headed back inside and set her things down. A minute later her phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at it. The number was unknown, so she didn't answer it. But it rang again. And again. Always stopping right before it would go to voicemail. Finally on the next call, she answered.
"Who is this?" she demanded.
"Miss me?"
"Marcus. How the hell did you get this number? You know what, nevermind, because now that I know it's you, I'm blocking it. Goodbye!" She pulled the phone away from her ear and was just about to end the call when his words stopped her.