Page 19 of Falling for You Again

“I don’t think you removing yourself from the equation is enough to change the team’s mind, no offense, not with your uncle so willing to sell.”

Does the Savant House want our copyrighted designs that much? Are they that determined to see us out of business? We’re just one shop of many. While we have a reputation with high-end clientele, we have minimal market share compared to the Savant House’s reach.

I pull out the card I’d been saving, the promise he made me in Vegas.

“Do you remember what you said to me on the High Roller?”

The High Roller is a massive Ferris wheel that overlooks the Las Vegas Strip, carrying up to thirty people in each gondola. Aaron bought us tickets for a thirty-minute ride, and as our gondola slowly rotated and we took in the bright lights of Vegas, we talked about our careers. We were stunned to discover we not only worked in similar industries but also in family businesses. That’s where the similarities ended. I was passionate about my craft. He was unenthusiastic about his job. He hadn’t been given a choice about working there. He also envied that I worked with my hands and looked thoroughly entranced as I spoke enthusiastically about what I wanted to do with the shop once Uncle Bear transferred ownership to me. I had a multitude of ideas to expand our reach and broaden our offerings.

Aaron made me a promise, which I wholeheartedly reciprocated in kind.

“If you ever need my help achieving your dreams, come find me. I’ll do whatever is within my power to help you succeed,” Aaron says, repeating what we promised one another five years prior.

“I’m here, Aaron.”

He stares at me for a long moment. Then a solemn nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”

I rest my hand on his. “Thank you.”

He flips his hand and threads his fingers through mine. We sit like that, holding hands as we’d done many times during our short week together.

The band finishes a folk song and launches into a jig. Our burgers arrive, and as we eat, we catch up on the last five years. Aaron has mostly worked, regularly changing departments within the company, going wherever he’s assigned. I tell him about the table I’m working on for Isadora and show him photos of my progress. He compliments my work, and when the check arrives, he insists on paying. We leave the pub and he reaches for my hand as if it’s the most natural thing to do.

“My feet thank you for the rest, and my stomach thanks you for the food.” I pat my full belly.

Aaron chuckles, retrieving his phone to order a ride. It’s almost 1:00 a.m. The air is balmy, the sky clear, the night perfect. Almost. We’re about to part ways again. Goodbyes have always been hard for me. Probably because when my parents left when I was ten, they never truly came back. Not as the same people they’d been before. They’re friendly toward me now, but never loving. They’re more reserved than open, more guarded than trusting.

I should order my own ride, but I’m amped from being with Aaron. I’m not quite ready for the night to be over.

I turn to Aaron. “I’m not tired.”

“I want another twenty-four hours with you,” he says at the same time.

My mouth quirks. “Another dare?”

“No dare. Just you.”

His declaration sends a jolt of heat through me. Warmth sparkles in my fingers. I slide a hand up his arm and over his shoulder. I gently comb my fingers through his hair, desiring him in a way I resisted before because I hadn’t been in the right headspace given the circumstances thatled me to him. Just because I’m not interested in pursuing a relationship doesn’t mean I don’t still crave a connection. And if Aaron and I ever came together that way, I wanted it to be with a clear conscience.

Tonight my conscience is clear.

“Meli,” he whispers roughly. A shiver moves up my arm.

I lift my face just as he lowers his and our lips meet, my eyes fluttering closed. The shock of his mouth on mine slams into me, and I shudder. He groans, and the next thing I know, we’re pressed together like two pages in a book. Somehow, he pockets his phone and finds my hand, holding me against him in a one-arm hug. His other hand cups my jaw and angles my face to deepen our kiss. The kiss quickly turns heated, an open-mouthed clash of teeth and tongues as we cling to each other.

Kissing Aaron feels as good as I remember, better even. But this kiss isn’t a discovery like that first kiss in the back of an Uber. It isn’t playful like it was when we showed off to a plane full of passengers. It’s not a tender goodbye. This kiss is for us. And it’s electrifying, arousing, provocative.

I don’t know who breaks it off first. Maybe we both lift our heads at once. But we’re breathless when our eyes meet. His lips glisten and his gray eyes shimmer like polished silver. My fingers are in his hair.

“Aaron.” His name is a breath across my swollen lips. I want, I want, I want.You.

His hand cradles my face and he draws his thumb along my cheek. “Come home with me.”

Chapter 9

From the Heart

We barely make it through the front door of Aaron’s Beacon Hill town house before we collide in a tangle of mouths and limbs, heartbeats and breaths. This is a first for me, that feeling where I want to climb into someone and bathe in their affection and adoration. And I want to do that with Aaron.

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