Page 54 of Almost True
“It is gorgeous. I had no idea what to expect and I’m just amazed. I hope there’s a fair amount of press here tonight?” I asked.
Dahlia nodded. “Of course. Quite a few people came earlier to photograph in the daylight, but we’ve got all the local channels here and the committee funded hiring someone for future publicity shots, too.”
“That was smart,” John put in, like he’d suddenly remembered how to speak.
Dahlia glanced at him sideways. “Yeah. Thanks.” Turning to me, she gave me a small hug and whispered, “I love this dress. Thank you.”
“It’s perfect.”
She turned without another word, certainly nothing to John, and left. The second she stepped away, Aidan glared at his cousin.
“You need to get it together, man.”
John just scowled and stomped away.
And then, it was just us. Nerves fizzed awake again, but Aidan spoke before I could overthink it.
“Do you want to get a drink? I’ll have to circulate a bit later on, but for now I’m all yours.”
I inched closer. “That sounds good.”
“I agree.”
“Thank you for agreeing to come tonight. I know it’s not a very conventional first date,” he said, reaching for my hand.
His warm, calloused hand in mine made my heart flutter wildly. “Firstdate? You think we’ll do this again?”
One side of his mouth slid up in what I was quickly learning was a Wallace man trait. “I certainly hope so.”
Little cheerleaders in my head mentally threw pom-poms and did tumbling passes at that. But since I didn’t want to seem as relieved as I did considering I’d pushed for more with him from the very beginning, I shrugged. “You don’t even know how the night will go. It could be awful.”
And then he squinted like he needed to in order to see me better and bit his lip, studying me. I’d never seen something so aggressively sexy from him, but there was nothing rehearsed about it. The man was smoldering at point-blank range, and I had zero defenses against it. Especially not when he said, “It’s already a better night than any I’ve had since the night I met you. Anything else is gravy.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Aidan
The miscalculation I’d made when I invited Maddie to be my date tonight could not be overstated. While the bulk of my obligations had been fulfilled before the official event ever started, I still had a few things to do. And doing anything other than look at, touch, and ideally taste Maddie was akin to torture.
But of course, I hadn’t anticipated how distracting she’d be. I’d never felt like this. I’d never had this animal-level attraction that was multiplied by my genuine like of someone. And every minute I spent talking to her or texting only reeled me in more. I was firmly on her hook, and in truth, I always had been. Whatever meager effort I’d made to stay away from her in the beginning had failed so handily, I was now praying I hadn’t missed the window with her.
She’d come here tonight. She’d been at my side, charming people, handling their surprise when they realized she was with me, and generally being blindingly beautiful and appealing. After recognizing the volunteers with Dahlia before the auction began, I slipped off to the side of the garden, where I’d seen her chatting with Callaway Rice-Saint, Sadie Miller, and Sarah James.
“There he is now. Great job with everything tonight,” Calla said, smiling broadly. She was somewhere around six months pregnant, and I’d never seen Wyatt more elated. They made a beautiful couple, and it was good to see him so happy.
“Thanks for all of your help. And Sadie, I hear congratulations are in order.”
The tiny, quiet woman beamed. “Thank you,” she said, glancing down at the diamond on her left ring finger. Her boyfriend Warrick’s proposal had come early in the night, and the celebratory feeling had permeated the entire event.
Last year—the event’s first—had been surreal and the culmination of planning and collaboration for months. Tonight felt surreal for different reasons, and part of that was because the woman I’d been wishing to see last year was here. Standing next to me. Slipping her hand into mine and sending little bursts of heat through me whenever we made eye contact.
“You and Dahlia outdid yourselves this year. I can’t imagine what you’ll do next year.” Sarah smiled and leaned to the side when Wilder approached and set a hand on her hip.
The simple action made standing in the group suddenly intolerable. Something about the possession—the freedom to touch another person like that. It had been so long since I’d had that. I wouldn’t have thought I missed it—not such a simple gesture, and yet here I was aching for it. Here I stood holding Maddie’s hand, but only because she’d taken mine.
I had norightto her. And the desire to have that—her permission, her trust, her adoring gaze as she leaned into me like my nearness made everything right—gripped me by the collar.
“Thank you all for coming, and for all of your help. Maddie, could I have a moment?” If I was speaking too fast, so be it. These people wouldn’t judge me too harshly.
