Page 70 of Almost True
I took a bite of my own as his jaw flexed and I marveled at how attractive I found everything about him, even, evidently, the way he chewed a piece of cake. Butwow.It really was good. Rich, but not so rich it felt like eating clay. Fluffy cake with layers of frosting that was somehow creamy and darkly chocolate at the same time.
I sighed an “Mmm” and felt his gaze on me. We’d turned off the porch lights since the fireworks were due to start in a few minutes, but the moon and stars were bright enough that we could clearly see each other.
When I turned to him, his eyes were on my lips. Before I could speak, he took my mouth with his and utterly devoured me. The kiss ignited every cell in my body and in the minutes we indulged in the pleasureful press and slide, nip and pull, lick and taste, I lost all sense of up and down. It wasn’t until the loud pop and spray sound of the first firework that we pulled apart.
“Better than I remember,” he said, a dark chocolate-style richness to his voice that made my toes curl.
We watched an impressive display of fireworks in the distance snuggled together, leaning on the banister. My chest felt like it might burst with eachpop!as the reality of my feelings for Aidan swelled in time with the explosions.
By the time the night was dark, we’d finished our glasses of champagne and the cake. We stayed out under the summer sky pricked with stars I’d never seen in New York, legs twined together on a chaise lounge, and talked until close to midnight. After cleaning up, I slipped off to the bathroom, and when I emerged, Aidan held his keys in his hands and my heart sank.
I wasn’t ready for our time to be over—not tonight, not ever…
“I should probably go.” His gaze slipped over me, then shifted to my eyes.
I grabbed his hand and walked him to the front entryway. I didn’t want him to go, but I certainly didn’t want him feeling like he couldn’t tell me no, either. I stopped next to the stairs before we reached the doorway.
“You can go. But you could also stay.” My hands gripped both of his, and I hoped he could see I wouldn’t be upset if he left, but I wanted him to stay. I couldn’t say I loved him. The knowledge that I would leave and that would only hurt him stopped me short of that. I wasn’t sure I could handle telling him and then leaving. Plus, I didn’t want it to seem like a manipulation or a line. I just wanted him close.
The air charged like it so often did when our gazes locked. He swallowed, his throat bobbing, and nodded. “I’d like that.”
A grin split my face, and I let go of one hand and guided him upstairs with me. He’d been upstairs, been in my room, even sat on the side of my bed. Had that really only been last weekend?
But he’d never been there like this.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
Aidan
Surreal. That was the feeling that’d hung around my shoulders all day. I wished I could’ve stayed with Maddie and lived out the sensation with her, but instead, I’d left her bed, her house, and had been thrust back into the stark reality of the rest of my life.
It wasn’t exactly that Maddie was sectioned off from the rest of my life. It was more that I’d attempted to cordon off everything having to do with my in-laws and the tree farm in my mind so I didn’t have a panic attack over the frustration and worry. But as Rich nodded thoughtfully, I could tell what he was going to say.
I’d known the man for over twenty years, and I could see the rejection coming long before his lips shaped the words.
So here it was. The surreal feeling of going from what had been one of the best nights of my life and a perfect morning to this crashing, burning pile of frustration and disappointment.
“I think this is an offer you should really consider taking some more time with,” Sandra, our very patient agent, said.
Rich’s frown deepened. “I just don’t know.”
He’d already delayed this moment. We’d taken far too long, considering it’d been weeks since these offers had come in. We’d had one meeting with Sandra and, bless the woman, had gotten nowhere. He’d claimed he needed time to consider all the angles, whatever that meant, and now here we were. Stuck again.
My blood pressure spiked, and I crushed the exasperation as best I could. “She’s right, Rich. This is an incredible offer, and the guy seems great.” We’d talked with him on the phone last week. He’d been enthusiastic, assured us he’d always wanted a tree farm. He had no plans to “bulldoze and build a strip mall,” which was Rich’s ultimate nightmare. But still, Rich couldn’t get behind it now, and it was a reality of my own making.
If I’d been honest from the beginning with Rich and simply told him that Viv had always planned on suggesting they sellorthat I didn’t want to buy it or take it over, this would have all been solved.
“I’m sorry, Aidan. Sandra.” He stood, hat in hand. “I’m just not ready to move forward.”
And with that, he left out the back. Sandra was still sitting there, so I couldn’t very well run after him. But I did owe her an apology because she’d come in on what might’ve been a holiday for her otherwise and it’d all been for nothing.Again.
“I apologize. I didn’t expect him to dig in his heels like this so late in the process.”
She gathered her things and slipped her bag over one shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m not sure if he’ll get there, though. Maybe this isn’t the right time?”
Her compassionate expression made my heart twist. Was she thinking about Viv? She’d been in this town as long as any of us, so she knew our family’s history. Could she be thinking eight years wasn’t enough time before making a big change like this?
I thanked her as she departed, but my mind circled back to the thought that it had been long enough. Certainly for me, anyway, and I wanted it to be enough for them. Viv wasn’t here, and what they didn’t know was that if she was, she’d be pushing them to sell. For that matter, they would’ve sold it years ago if she’d had her say.
