Page 83 of On the Rocks

“It’s been all about the launch party lately, but what if that’s just an excuse?” When we’d finally come together at the reunion, it had felt so right, but maybe that was only on my part. Maybe for him, it was just nostalgia or old memories getting the better of him. Itseemedlike he wanted me—the grown-up me that I was now—but maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see.

Jennifer added the clip to my hair, making adjustments until she was satisfied with the placement. “What if he’s just stressed about the launch?”

“He could be,” I said. I’d love to believe that—but it really felt like there was something more going on.

“You think you’re being paranoid because of what happened with Levi? Or because of what happened with Aiden the last time?”

“Maybe.” Perhaps Iwasa little hypersensitive when it came to the idea of being left behind—especially since I still didn’t know why he ended things back then. But just because we broke up when we were kids didn’t mean it was going to happen now. Hehadn’t said anything about wanting to end things. Maybe he was just struggling to juggle a relationship, a multi-million-dollar company, and a new product launch. He’d said himself that he hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since he launched Elixir. It could be that he just didn’tknowhow to be a good boyfriend when he had so much else going on.

Jennifer rubbed her hands up and down my arms. “Hair’s done. You look amazing. How about you try not to stress about the Aiden stuff tonight and enjoy the evening? You’ve worked as hard as anyone on this line. Actually, there wouldn’t even be a line if it wasn’t for you. So go have a good time, let people fawn over you, and we’ll figure out what’s got Aiden out of sorts tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “Okay.” I could work with that. I would focus on one thing at a time. Tonight was the launch. Tomorrow, I would tackle everything else.

There was a knock at the door.

“That’ll be Aiden,” I said, getting to my feet and adjusting my dress once more.

Jennifer pecked me on the cheek. “I’m gonna go get ready for work. You two have fun. Don’t stress.”

“Don’t stress,” I repeated on my way to answer the door. I sucked in a big breath, letting it out in a rush as I swung the door open. My jaw dropped, my pulse skipping a couple beats as I took in Aiden clad in a fitted black tux, his curls slicked back, adjusting his sleeves like some sort of dashing James Bond character.

He was…

Fuck.

He looked so damn good my mouth went dry.

He smiled at me—a real, sweet smile—and the concern I’d felt moments ago shifted into giddy butterflies. “I think you were born to wear this tux,” I said.

He laughed softly, reaching for my hand. “Only so I could deserve to have someone so beautiful on my arm. You look stunning.”

“Thank you.”

“I mean it, Cora. Drop-dead gorgeous.”

A flush washed over me, and all my concerns from before felt silly. I had to relax and give Aiden a break. Of course he’d been distracted and busy working up to this night. But now here we were, about to bask in the triumph together.

It was perfect.

Tonight would be wonderful.

I let Aiden lead me down to the black limo he had waiting for us outside.

“No Ferrari?” I teased. “No Mercedes? No chariot?”

“Thought I’d let someone else worry about the driving tonight,” he said. “But if I knew you’d finally go for a chariot, I might have considered otherwise.” He pulled the door open for me, and I slid across the leather seats. He joined me a moment later, laying his hand on my knee. It sent a shiver up my spine, and I tried to shake off the thought of climbing into his lap. As tempting as it was to fool around a little, it would mean we’d be late for the launch—a very bad idea.

“Nervous?” he asked as the driver pulled away from the curb.

“Not really,” I said. “Mostly excited. You?”

He squeezed my leg, which made me realize I’d been bouncing it. “You’re jumpy.”

“Guess I’m just looking forward to seeing all the hard work pay off.”

He leaned over and kissed my shoulder. “I’m really glad you came on board, Cora.”

“Me too.” For a moment, I thought he might lift his head and kiss my lips, but he pulled back, turning to look out the window. He spent the rest of the thirty-minute drive on his phone.

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