Page 89 of Beautifully Complicated

“How old do I look?”

He gives me an appraising once-over. “Twenty-eight, tops.”

“Thank you?”

“Don’t mention it. So, who’s your team?”

I recall the first time I met Aiden, and his own inquiry about Irish sports. “Not the Bohemians.”

“Good man.” Conor’s mouth morphs into a wide grin.

“I thought you workedforhim,” Aiden’s mother’s voice drifts through the air.

“I did, now I workwithhim. In the new company.”

“He hired you?” she asks.

Conor nudges my side. “They’ll get it eventually. They’re just a little shell-shocked that he’d be starting something without entering the workforce first. But Aiden’s intelligence has always opened unexpected doors, so they just need a bit to catch up.”

“No one hired anyone,” Aiden says.

“If I may—” I pull out the incorporation papers I showed Aiden earlier, which I tucked back into my pocket “—we formed the company jointly. Each of us has fifty percent ownership, so we’re partners and colleagues, not manager and employee.”

Aiden slings his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. “See. Equals.”

“But…” Bonnie sputters. “He… he’s only just graduating today. How can he have a company already?”

“Because he’s too brilliant to work for anyone else,” I reply. “And we make a good team.” I put my arm around his shoulder and kiss his temple.

The gesture seems to make Bonnie relax a little, though Aiden’s dad is tougher to read. I don’t get the sense he’s angry so much as just indifferent. Almost like his wife has the worrying under control so he’ll leave her to it. It’s an interesting dynamic, reminding me slightly of my own parents in the sense that my mom is the bigger worrier, but my dad is never indifferent about anything.

To capitalize on this somewhat calm moment, I offer to take pictures of the family, and once Amanda tempts Isabella with a photo shoot the little princess stops running around long enough to smile for the camera. Aiden insists on a couple with the two of us as well, and I proudly sling my arm around my man’s shoulders and hug him to me for a few snaps.

As we’re wrapping up the photos Bennet and Damien find us, so we take another round of pictures with the three graduates. Aiden’s smile is so bright it makes my heart swell, though by now I know him well enough to tell that despite his happiness, he’s also a little sad this chapter of his life is ending.

Damien and Bennet are headed to New York in a few days—Damien was drafted there in the second round—and Bennet plans to work for his father’s finance company remotely. There’s a chance Aiden and I won’t be too far away since several companies we may consult with are located in that part of the country, but nothing is set, so after today there’s no telling when we’ll see them again.

Nevertheless, everyone is all smiles as they pose, the joy outweighing the melancholy.

“Party at the frat house tonight. You’re coming to the last one, right?” Bennet asks Aiden, who glances at me skeptically.

“It’s your night, Leanbh. We’ll do whatever you want.”

“You mean you’d go to a frat party with me?” He blinks in rapid succession.

“If that’s what you want to do, of course.”

He gives me a wary smile, “It would be nice to stop by long enough to say goodbye.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Think you can stay up late enough for a party?” Bennet elbows my arm.

Aiden and I may not focus on our age difference, but the same can’t be said for his roommates. They like to tease me about going to bed early, having creaky joints—all things that tend to happen when you try to hurl yourself down a hill on a board for the first time—and question whether I can keep up. They also seem determined to believe Aiden calls me daddy in secret.

“I think I’ll give you a run for your money in beer pong,” I tell him.

“You?” Bennet gapes at me.

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