Phoenix Feather Read Online Free Page B

rush.” Trent glanced at Aidan, and she tried to read the innocent look on his face.
    “I see,” the older man said with a grin. He had a little bit of gray streaking his dark hair like permanent ash. “We may have more gourmet, restaurant-cooked meals for breakfast in our future.”
    “So your plan didn’t go so well last time,” Aidan said to Trent.
    “Maybe not exactly. But something came out of it.” He held her gaze for a moment, as though he was considering saying something else.
    “I’m ready to order,” the second man interrupted. He had already downed his first cup of coffee, which helped improve his posture.
    Trent started, and this time he didn’t comment on Aidan’s lack of pen and paper. She placed their orders with the kitchen and came back with more coffee for the grouchy one, Sam. Frank, the oldest of the three, automatically placed the sugar dispenser next to him.
    “He needs four more cups of coffee,” Trent told Aidan. “Don’t take it personally.”
    She smiled and decided to leave the pot on the table.
    The bell at the counter rang five minutes later, and she went to grab their food.
      “So, Aidan,” Frank said after she had put their plates in front of them. “You still waiting for Mr. Right, or have you already found him?”
    She stiffened. Frank smiled nonchalantly; he hadn’t asked on behalf of himself. She took a moment to casually smooth down her apron, sparing a glance at Trent’s dismayed face.
    “Mr. Right hasn’t found me.”
    The doors opened as the start of the morning crowd trickled in, and Aidan realized she had overstayed on her shift. She had found herself once again attracted to conversation with Trent, but after that last remark, she was glad of the escape. She seated the new arrivals, grabbed her coat, and headed out into the nippy morning air. The sun was glaringly bright in the east.
    “Aidan!”
    She turned around in the parking lot. Trent was hurrying after her. He caught up and opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.
    “I was wondering if I could take you to dinner sometime, or lunch, or coffee even.”
    Aidan stared at him. She didn’t need this in her life right now; she was too busy working to achieve a goal. But she enjoyed talking with him, and she missed the companionship—even though there was also heartache, inevitable heartache.
    Trent stood in the cold air, rubbing his arms and waiting patiently. He had left his jacket inside.
    Aidan thought about it for a moment longer. “I like dancing.”
    “Dancing?” he repeated.
    She nodded and turned to walk away.
    “Alright,” she heard him say, and hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath.
     
    “Why aren’t you more excited?” Phoebe asked. She removed a tray of baked cookies from the oven and put a new batch in. Her kitchen held a mess of eggshells and scattered chocolate chips, and a haze of flour dust hung in the air. They were baking cookies for the high school girl’s soccer team that Phoebe coached to sell at the next game.
    Aidan scooped hot cookies from the tray to plates. “Dating is a complicated process.”
    “Complicated? It’s supposed to be fun. When’s the last time you went on a date?”
    “1930,” she mumbled without thinking.
    “Well, could be worse,” Phoebe continued, having heard her. “Compared to the entire timeline, 1930 isn’t as bad as ancient Roman times.” She shook her head. “Seriously though, you need to get your head out of the past and into the future.”
    Aidan pressed her lips together. She didn’t usually make a slip of the tongue like that, but she had become so comfortable with Phoebe and her brother that it almost seemed as though Aidan could tell them the truth. She had felt this way before: wanting to share her secret with someone she trusted. She knew better though. Aidan took a deep breath. These feelings would pass. Before she would know it, this life would be over and she’d be in the next, having survived once again