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He glanced over at me, and his expression was more serious than I expected. “Would you be upset if it was? I just want you to be happy.”
I let out a breath. “No.”
“Good,” Aiden said as he parked and we got out, meeting everyone behind the house by the fire pit. Knox and Emmett threw wood on the fire, and Lori went inside with Sarah and Ireland to grab the fixings for s’mores.
When Aiden returned to my side, I asked, “Are you sure that Emmett doesn’t mind that I’m here?”
“He might, but he won’t say anything. From what Heath has said to me, they’ve talked to him about accepting Daphne and her family.”
I tipped my head to the side. “He’s still not okay with it?”
“Probably not. But he’ll get over it, and if he says anything to you, I have your back.” Aiden threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. It could have been construed as a friendly gesture, but it felt like a claiming. My hand touched his chest to steady myself, and I felt his heart beating under my palm.
“You see what you do to me? What you still do to me?” Aiden’s voice was low and husky. I wanted to suggest that we get out of here, but we’d only just arrived, and maybe I’d misconstrued his statement.
“What are you two doing over here by yourselves?” Heath held out beers for us.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I accepted the bottle.
“Fiona’s worried that Emmett is having an issue with her being here, seeing that she’s a Calloway.” Aiden tipped his head in Emmett’s direction.
Heath frowned, then looked across the fire at Emmett, who’d picked up Ember and was tickling her. When Heath turned back to us, he said, “Honestly? He has more of an issue with your brothers. We’ll handle him if he gets out of line. Marley works with you, so you’re here as our friends.”
Interesting that he hadn’t said I was here as Aiden’s date or guest. He had to be wondering if working together was changing things between us. I spent more time thinking about it than I wanted to.
Heath dipped his chin. “The offer stands if you want to chill here instead of at the inn.”
Aiden cleared his throat. “I need to clear the snow and make sure things are running smoothly. There aren’t any power outages, that kind of thing.”
“We can keep working on the shelves in the bowling alley too,” I added.
Heath raised his bottle slightly. “I have the bowling alley mechanic coming out at the end of the week. Hopefully, the snow’s cleared out by then.”
“Should be.”
Heath looked around the group. “Let me know if you need help.”
“You have enough to keep up with here,” Aiden gestured around at the farm.
Heath turned his attention to Aiden. “Yeah, but I have four brothers. You just have yourself.”
“That’s what I’m used to. I’ll get it done.”
I wondered if Aiden was used to relying solely on himself. Surely, he relied on his fellow soldiers in the military. But at home, he went back to his old ways, doing everything himself.
“We’ll let you know if we need anything.”
“Enjoy your evening.” Heath winked. “And the storm.”
“Does he think something’s going on between us?” I asked Aiden.
“I think he wants everyone to be paired off. He fixed things with Marley. He thinks we can do the same.”
“Things are different with us. I live in Chicago, and you live here. Neither one of us wants to move.” Except I wasn’t so sure about that anymore.
“Marley lived in California. But she had an online business that could be run from anywhere, and she fell in love with the farm, Heath, and his family. I don’t have that kind of pull. I just own an inn and have a sister. No parents I’d want to introduce you to, and my grandmother already passed away.”
“I had a great relationship with your grandmother. Did you know she wrote me when I was in school?”
