"In Wyoming? What the hell does Wyoming have that Miami doesn't?"
"The cold?"
There's the slightest pause, and I know I'm in big trouble.
Shit.
"This is not the time to make jokes, Raffi."
Jack's stiff tone makes me wince. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just need to think things through."
"What's there to think about?" he demands. "We've been going out for two years, for fuck's sake."
It has been two years, that much is true, but Jack and I both know those two years are anything but the usual for any couple.
Before Jack and I became Facebook and Instagram official, I had warned him from the very start that I've been scarred too many times to have sex with just any other guy. Jack, on the other hand, had been just as blunt by telling me that while he wanted our relationship to work, he also didn't think he'd be able to live without sex.
That was basically how we came into an understanding; although we agreed to be each other's exclusive plus-ones, Jack could also have his flings as long as he was discreet while I could still live my life as I pleased and never have to ask his "permission" for anything.
I know it sounds cold-blooded, but I was actually very content in the twenty-plus months Jack and I have been dating. The two of us made sense, but...
"I just need more—-"
Time.
That's all I'm hoping for, but I don't get to say it since Jack's already hung up. Time is clearly not something he thinks I deserve.
AIDAN IS ALREADY WAITING for me in the B&B's living room when I come down, and my heart stumbles and stutters at how his handsome face softens oh so slowly as our eyes meet. I know I'm no stunner, but every time this man looks at me I feel like I can give even Aphrodite a run for her money.
He strides towards me, and I'm no longer surprised when my knees threaten to turn into jelly. It's my first time to see him ditch his bubble jacket for a fancy trench coat, and I'm mesmerized by how sexy he looks in it. And posh. There's just something so exquisitely self-assured about Aidan, with every inch of him just so glossy in its perfection that it's making me want to ask for another look at his badge.
Is he really just your friendly neighborhood police chief?
My breath hitches when he finally reaches me, and I catch a glimpse of the languorous heat lingering in his gaze. It's almost like he's just biding his time, deliberately fanning the flames until—-
Shit.
Aidan blinks in surprise when I suddenly cross my arms over my chest, and I can only smile weakly, absolutely unwilling to tell him that my nipples have actually dared to react to the lustful direction of my thoughts.
"Everything okay?"
"Uh huh."
"You look beautiful."
He says it so very simply that there's just no way for me to doubt him. He really does think I'm beautiful, and I fight to hold on to my smile even as my heart breaks a little at how impossibly dreamy he is.
Beautiful.
Even Jack's never said that. Like everyone else, Jack always compliments me for being classy, and while I know he obviously doesn't mean that to be an insult...
Every girl wants to feel pretty even just once, you know?
And Aidan...
He always says the things I want to hear. Words I wished some other man would tell me.
Any other man but Aidan...
"You're overthinking things again, baby."
Oh.
It's that word again. Baby. I want to tell him I don't suit it, but with Aidan already lacing his fingers with mine, I find it impossible to think straight, much less speak.
Aidan's grip tightens a fraction as he leads me to his pick-up, and even though I know I shouldn't—-
I just can't help it.
I squeeze his hand back.
Just a teensy weensy squeeze.
But he notices it, and my heart flutters when I hear him suck in his breath.
He opens the passenger door for me, and I quickly get in without meeting his gaze. My heart is still fluttering, and my lungs are suddenly working overtime.
I've held Jack's hand countless times, and I've held other guys' hands before. So why is it different with Aidan? Why does it have to be different with Aidan of all people—-
I hear him get in, and I look up.
Aidan pulls his door shut and turns to me.
Oh God.
He hauls me to his lap without a word, and his chair falls back as our mouths meet in a deep, drugging kiss that have both of us panting in seconds.
I've never felt this kind of passion before.
Never craved to be this close to a man before.
Never until Aidan.
And I just wish...
I have to wish it wasn't so.
Chapter Six
Aidan brings me to the town's one and only steakhouse, and I can't help fussing over my hair, having just realized that we're about to be seen by his friends again.
"Are you sure I look okay?" I ask one last time.
"You already know the answer to that."
I can't help making a face at this, and Aidan grins.
"Telling me I'm beautiful over and over can't actually make it true, you know."
But Aidan being Aidan, he only smiles and takes my hand. "Let's go in. I'm starving."
The place is only half full, and while it's obvious everyone knows everyone, it's just as obvious Hartland's townsfolk are keen to give us space, with the way they smile and nod at Aidan and me without attempting to engage us in small talk.
"I feel like something's going on," I tell Aidan as he helps me to my seat.
"There is," Aidan confirms easily as he takes his seat across me. "I put the word out that it's our first date tonight—-"
I nearly choke on my glass of water.
"—-and that I'd appreciate some privacy while I do my wooing and dining."
Okay, make that I'm officially choking now, and Wyoming Keanu here even has the gall to act like a knight coming to my rescue as he asks, "Are you alright?" He leans forward and takes a napkin to gently pat my mouth dry.
He leans back. "All good now."
"It is not all good!" I'm aghast and mortified, but more than anything else, I'm in despair at how my lips are still tingling at his touch. This man has such a gift for driving me crazy and making me want to swoon all at the same time.
"You can't do things like that in public," I hiss under my breath. "You know about Jack—-"
It's my first time to see Aidan's lip curl. "If you feel guilty about him, don't be. He'll get over you—-"
"Thanks a lot." I'm hurt and more than a little stunned that he can say something so crass.
"It's only natural," Aidan says patiently.
And the blows just keep coming. Why does he even bother saying I'm beautiful in one breath—-
"He doesn't need you the way I do."
Only to make me feel like I'm so worthless no man will pine—-what did he just say?
Aidan catches me staring at him. "What is it?"
I hastily shake my head and manage a smile. "I was just lost in my thoughts, sorry."
"As long as it's not another man you're thinking about..."