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‘Thanks. I think I feel a bit better knowing that.’

‘You’re welcome. Although, in the interests of total honesty… what I just said about not overlapping? Not completely true.’

‘No?’

‘No. There was one very memorable exception. But they knew about it. In fact, it was their idea.’

Mia laughed and rolled her eyes. ‘You really are dreadful.’

‘I know.’ He chuckled. ‘Completely beyond reform. Can I ask a “weird” question of my own?’

‘Only fair.’

‘When you meet your Triple D, or even just someone you think might be him… If it’s soon, you will tell me, won’t you? I adore you, Mia – and I want you to have your dream come true. So if you meet someone you think might make that happen, I wouldn’t want you to hesitate for a single moment just because we’ve been having fun together. OK?’

‘This is a very unusual conversation.’

‘Unusual situations sometimes need unusual conversations, I suppose.’ Aiden grinned. ‘Will you promise to tell me?’

‘Yeah, I will.’

‘Good. I want to see you happy, Mia.’

‘Thank you. I want that for you too.’

‘Heck, I just had great sex with a seriously hot woman who’s still half-naked and half in my lap. I’m good.’ He grinned. ‘Plus, if I’m around when you meet him I can make sure he’s good enough for you.’

‘Aww, that’s really sweet.’

‘And if, for any reason, he hurt you in any way, it’d be easier for me to knock his block off.’

‘Aww, you’d commit violence for me. That might be even sweeter.’ She laughed.

‘It’s entirely meant.’

‘Still sweet, but I can’t support it. For one, it’s a healthcare professional thing, and two, I’d hate to see you get into trouble.’

‘How about scaring them half to death?’

‘That I can live with.’ She giggled. ‘Although, if it came to it, you’re probably not the one he’d need to worry about most.’

‘I can be pretty scary when I want to.’

‘Scarier than Katie?’

He chuckled. ‘She can be pretty fierce.’

‘And she knows where Ophelia and Rayenne keep spell books.’

‘Yeah, but they don’t curse people. It’s against their beliefs.’

‘I know. But does that mean Katie couldn’t? That they don’t have some of the tools or ingredients? I’ve seen some pretty weird things in Glimmers. Are you sure none of them could be used in that way?’

‘From what I understand there’s a lot of crossover… That’s a scary thought.’

‘Terrifying,’ Mia agreed.

‘We probably shouldn’t think too hard on it.’