Page 108 of One Time in Paris
And if this was how they were starting, wouldn’t it only get worse?
What hope did they have?
Yes, they had chemistry. The sex was incredible.
But new love couldn’t withstand so much opposition, could it?
Drawing a shaky breath, she hopped down from the counter, then scooted away from him.
She headed straight for the bedroom, where she’d left her clothes scattered, and started to gather them from the floor.
Aiden followed her. “You’re leaving?”
Isla didn’t look at him. She could barely think straight, let alone respond yet.
I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.
Aiden was supposed to be a soft place to land.
I love him.But would that be enough? The last they’d discussed it, they were getting their marriage annulled, he was always going to be busy...and our lives don’t naturally intersect.
“Take it or leave it.”The blunt way he’d just said that sliced through her heart. No room for the communication he claimed he wanted.
“Isla.”
“Look at us, Aiden,” she said in a strangled voice. “We’re already fighting. How can you draw a line in the sand like that and expect menotto leave?”
She straightened and started unbuttoning his shirt, not particularly wanting to get naked around him now. But she also didn’t want to be in his shirt for one second longer.
Aiden crossed the room toward her, then scooped her into his arms.
She struggled against him as he lifted her. “What in the hell are you doing?”
“You can’t leave in the middle of an argument like this.” He set her down on the bed gently.
As he sat beside her, tears formed in her eyes. She blinked rapidly, not wanting him to see her crying, but he was already there, cupping her face in his hand with an aching tenderness, swiping just below her wet lashes with his fingertips. “I don’t want to do this. I can’t stand seeing you cry.”
His forehead pressed softly to her own. “I’m sorry, Isla. I’m sorry I wasn’t available to talk to,andthat you felt alone in deciding all this with the production. God, darling, I’m sorry for all of it. You make me want to leave everything behind for you.”
Her heart ached so deeply at his words that she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on to him as though he was a tether keeping her steady.
“No, you’re right,” she said with a sniffle. “I’ve made everything so much worse for you with Callum. We’ll do it your way and tell him tomorrow. About everything—being together, the marriage in Vegas. What you want is more important that the production.”
A soft, sad smile crossed his lips. “It’s almost ironic that Callum always joked I’d never marry. I doubt he’d ever expect my wife to be his sister, either.”
He cupped her face. “You’re the only woman I want, Isla. And I don’t know what you want anymore, but you need to understand that. You’re it for me.”
Her throat clenched and she lifted her mouth, kissing his neck softly. “Keep calling me wife and I’m going to think you want it to be real,husband.”
Aiden released her face, setting his hands on either side of her on the bed as he stared down at her. He searched her eyes for a moment. “I do want that.”
Isla’s mouth opened with a gasp and she held his gaze.
Is he serious?
“I don’t know what happened in Vegas, Isla, but I know that something brought us together that night. Maybe something deep within both our subconscious. And at that moment, we picked lifetime commitment, of all things. To each other.”
She swallowed, trying to process his words.
