Chapter 743

“One Sloppy Joe Taco, extra hot sauce,” Lena said, stepping up to the counter. She didn’t bother asking Aaron what he wanted; she assumed he wouldn’t eat tacos anyway. But, of course, Aaron had to surprise her.

“One Ground Beef Taco.”

Lena turned to him. “You’re eating?”

Aaron looked unbothered. “What else? You eat, and I just sit here watching?”

The eatery owner, catching the vibe, laughed and chimed in, “We get couples sharing one large taco all the time!”

Lena’s face burned. Couples? Lady, please. Another misunderstanding. By now, Lena could practically write a memoir about them.

Back in school, when Aaron was still around, people constantly assumed they were a couple. One clueless teacher even accused them of dating and threatened to call their parents. Iconic. Now, as full-grown adults, it was borderline laughable that they still couldn’t dodge the same assumptions.

Lena cast a quick glance at Aaron. Honestly, he barely looked older than her—annoyingly flawless.

“My uncle prefers mild flavors, so no hot sauce,” Lena said, putting extra weight on ‘my uncle.’

The owner blinked, then gave a laugh. “He’s not a blood relative, is he?”

Well, no, he wasn’t. Aaron had been adopted and raised by her grandparents, practically like family. But this wasn’t exactly a fun topic for Lena, so she shut it down quickly. “He is.”

Aaron, as usual, didn’t even react. He just found a seat and sat.

Lena exhaled and followed him. “Do you want something to drink?”

“I already ordered a bubble tea from next door. It’ll be here soon,” Aaron said, totally casual.

Lena froze for half a second. Wait, what? Since when did Aaron, of all people, drink bubble tea? She hadn’t even seen him order it. The more she thought about it, the weirder it got. Aaron used to ban her from touching bubble tea or soda. He wouldn’t even go near casual snacks himself.

Chapter 743

Conclusion? Love. Aaron must have a girlfriend. No way he’d suddenly go soft without one.

“Uncle Aaron, when are you bringing your girlfriend home?” Lena broke the silence.

Aaron looked at her. “What girlfriend? I didn’t even know I had one.”

Lena froze. He let the moment hang for a beat before adding, “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Her lips moved, but no sound came out for a second. “Are you… hiding her from the famil—“ Oh no. She cringed. She’d already spilled this nonsense to her mom.

Aaron asked, “You think I went to your department with a girlfriend last time, don’t you?”

Lena nodded. “Yeah. Why else would a grown man randomly show up at the OB-GYN department?”

“A pregnant client fell during an event. I just helped her get to the hospital,” Aaron said.

Cue the wave of awkwardness crashing over Lena. That’s what happened? Great. She’d played herself.

‘Lena Lane, nice job jumping to conclusions,’ she thought, cringing internally.

“You came to see me today just to scold me, huh? My bad for misunderstanding,” she said, swallowing her pride.

“I’m not trying to scold you. I just wanted to clarify the situation,” Aaron replied.

Lena stuck out her tongue at him, trying to brush it off, but the awkwardness was suffocating. Being around him already made her self-conscious—this misunderstanding just cranked it up a notch.

“Excuse me,” a shy voice interrupted.

Lena turned to see a girl nervously approaching, her cheeks already pink. She was fidgeting, eyes locked on Aaron.

“Hi, I was wondering if I could—”

“No,” Aaron cut in, flat and final.

Her face went from pink to crimson as Aaron—completely unfazed—turned to Lena instead.

“I have a girlfriend,” he said, cool as ice.