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I ran a hand over its silver swirls. “It’s worn in several spots.”
Aiden walked down the aisle and hopped onto the stage in one smooth motion. “Heath might need to fix a few weak spots on the stage. Hopefully we can salvage it though.”
I loved that he was strong and built from his time in the military. He obviously took care of his body.
I joined him using the stairs on the side of the stage.
Aiden gestured at the seats. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing. I love that it’s here. I love the history. What movies were shown here? Did people dress up to go to them?” I tapped my chin. “That gives me an idea. When we do the private showing, we should make it old Hollywood glam.”
Aiden chuckled. “I’ll let you handle those details.”
“What’s the first movie we should show?”
Aiden pursed his lips. “It’s a Wonderful Life? Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street?”
“Something black-and-white for sure.”
Aiden reached for my hand. “When I retired from the military, I thought I’d come home and help Marley. I’d reconnect with the sister I’d left behind. But she’s a woman who can take care of herself.”
“That’s for sure.”
“She has this crazy successful business where she keeps making more and more money. She has Heath. The inn.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Are you worried that you don’t have everything figured out yet? You should be proud of your military career. You did something amazing and completely selfless.”
“There’s some collateral damage to that decision. You. Marley. Gram.”
I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “Your grandmother knew why you did it. She only wanted the best for you.” I may not have spent any time with Aiden’s parents, but I drank tea with his grandmother and talked to her. She was a special person.
My biggest regret was that when Aiden broke things off, I never came back to see her. She wrote me in school, and I’d written back, talking about my courses and the friends I was making. She never asked about Aiden, and I never said anything.
“She wanted me to get out of here. When I told her about enlisting, she told me to go. That I should do whatever I needed to do. She’d take care of Marley.”
I rested a hand over my heart. “I love that woman. Did she say anything about us?”
“She just said, I hope you know what you’re doing. That was it. Cryptic and not much guidance for a stupid nineteen-year-old.”
“You weren’t stupid. You were running on a deep desire to get away from your parents. No one blames you for leaving.” It was more about him not taking me with him. Or we could have dated long distance. But he’d shut down every possibility. He’d made me think he didn’t want me.
Aiden hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me forward so that I rested against his chest. “I wish Gram were here to see this. She would have loved it.”
“I think so too.” The warmth of his body seeped through the thin material of his shirt, and he smelled of man, that cedar scent that I’d come to love. My fingers curled in his shirt. If I kept my body rigid, I wouldn’t melt into him. I wouldn’t feel every hard plane of his body against my curves.
Aiden’s mouth was on my hair. “Relax. I remember how much you loved hugs when we dated.”
I sighed at the memory, allowing my body to relax inch by inch until my eyes closed and my palms pressed flat against his chest. I felt the steady thud of his heart beneath my cheek.
“You ever think we’d be working together like this?”
“Never.” I never thought I’d see him again. In fact, I’d hoped to avoid him.
Aiden eased back slightly. “I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone but you.”
Warmth spread through my chest. It was dangerous because he was standing so close to me; all he had to do was dip his head slightly and our lips would meet.
I let out a shaky breath and stepped back. I couldn’t get involved with him again. He’d been clear about his feelings when he was nineteen, and I wouldn’t let him hurt me twice. “We should get back to ridding this place of dust. I keep sneezing.”
