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After dinner, we cleared the plates and settled back with the rest of the bottle of wine we’d opened. Also her choice—a rich, surprisingly good blend considering the dusty bottle came from the market. The ruby-colored wine complemented the lingering flavors of our meal. As the stars above us glinted, we reclined on the blanket, the bottle passing smoothly between us as we refilled our glasses. Every brush of her fingers against mine sent a current through my body, and I fought to keep my longing in check. Her hands were both strong and feminine—an incredibly sexy combination that only made me want to discover the rest of her even more.
Rediscover her.
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Stella’s gaze followed the path of a shooting star, exposing the length of her supple neck.
“Stunning,” I replied softly.
My eyes lifted to study her profile, the way her lips curved ever so slightly, the gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath. She turned to stare at me, her eyes dark pools of desire, and I didn’t drop my gaze. As her full lips parted slightly, I leaned closer, helpless to resist her magnetic pull. Her breath caught audibly as I reached out, my fingertips softly grazing her flushed cheek. Desire roared through me, pent-up longing that had been building for over a decade.
I closed the distance between us, my lips hovering a hairsbreadth from hers. Her soft, warm breaths danced tantalizingly over my mouth. When our lips finally met, our kiss was a joining of past regrets and present desire. Her hand came to rest against my chest, fingers splaying over my pounding heart as she stroked in long, sweeping motions. And the control I’d been fighting so hard to maintain crumbled. With a deep groan, I finally reached up and pulled out her hairband, sending that glossy dark mane tumbling over her shoulders.
“Yes, Stella.”
My words came out deep and gruff, hoarse with passion. I slanted my mouth to capture her lips more fully. Our mouths melded together seamlessly, hungrily. Her plump lips were impossibly soft yet insistent against mine, and I coaxed them open. She breathed a soft moan as our tongues met, tasting, exploring, stoking the flames higher. The electrifying heat was overwhelming, she was far more intoxicating than the wine we’d shared.
We kissed under the starlit sky, lost in the moment, and in each other, until there was only the avalanche of sensations. It was a remembrance of deep, pure intimacy from another lifetime, and a discovery of something entirely new. This was what I’d been missing. What I’d let go of and spent years regretting with every fiber of my being.
Then, with a gentle sigh, Stella’s lips stilled, remaining against mine as she pressed a single word against them. “Why?”
I knew what she was asking, and my heart plunged. She had every right to ask that question. The inevitable one. And looking back with the benefit of experience, my answer seemed so childish, so… ordinary.
So unworthy of the love we’d thought would last forever.
I pulled back to look her in the eye. “Because my parents were hell-bent on me being with the daughter of their friends. And I was too young and too scared to stand up to them. They moved back to Michigan for the sole reason of me attending college there, then medical school. I owed them everything.” The admission came out more vulnerable than I intended, but this was not the time for pride. I sat back and took another sip of wine. “I was afraid. Afraid of their expectations, of failing them. But in the end, I failed you.”
Her gaze held mine, unwavering and intense.
I rubbed a hand through my hair, trying to ground myself. “Mom and her best friend started pushing Ainsley and me together right away. At first, I was resistant. Of course I was. But Mom kept pointing out that a relationship between you and me couldn’t work. Our lives were going in such different directions. I read every one of your texts, your emails. But I was such a mess I couldn’t respond. And eventually, you stopped sending them.”
Stella shifted her position on the blanket but didn’t interrupt me. So I continued. “Ainsley and I began dating when I started college. We were in the same dorm.” I took a deep breath, not sure how she’d take this part. “We got married our senior year. I felt like I was on a train, but it was moving too fast to get off. Then I was consumed by medical school. During my second year, she told me she wanted to have a baby. I was flabbergasted—we could barely make ends meet, and she wanted to add another mouth? Things only grew more acrimonious as I continued through med school, then residency. We got divorced as soon as I started my internal medicine residency. The strife our marriage created caused a rift between me and my parents, my mother especially. I went two years without speaking to them. It’s only been in the past year or so that we’ve made up.”
I dared a glance at Stella, and her eyes held something I wasn’t expecting—compassion. “That’s not a happy story. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“You’re not the one who needs to apologize. I’m sorry for being a coward.” The words spilled from my mouth in a rush now. “I just felt like I was… trapped. Trapped by obligation to my parents who sacrificed so much. And obligation to Ainsley too, once we were together. That period after we moved seems so stupid now, and it caused so much pain. All because I didn’t have the balls to stand up for myself. You didn’t deserve that. Ending our relationship how I did is the biggest regret of my life.”
She took a deep breath, the seriousness etching deeper lines around her eyes. “It’s the biggest regret of mine too, Aiden.” Her voice was steady, but I could hear the tremor of old wounds beneath it. “I thought we were on the same page, were looking toward the same future. But all I got back was silence. You nearly destroyed me.”
Guilt twisted in my gut. Carefully, I reached out and took her hand, my thumb tracing the lines of her bandage. “I know I did. And I want to earn your forgiveness. Can we move forward?”
Stella stared at our entwined hands, her expression unreadable. “I’m not sure. I don’t have time for a serious relationship. My career comes first. It always has, and now I’ve finally got what I’ve spent years working for. Orchid. And you don’t exactly have a casual job either.”
I nodded, understanding the gravity of her words, but desperate to make a chink in that armor of hers. “No, but that doesn’t have to stop us.”
“I can see that you’re not the same boy who left. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forgive and forget, Aiden.”
“I understand. Whatever you’re willing to give, I’ll take. I want… No, I need to make it up to you.” I cupped her cheek, and she didn’t pull back. “I need you to understand this. Whatever we do together, it will be on your terms. I owe you that. But I want you to know, I’m not giving up on us. Not this time. I will win you back, Stella.”
Chapter Fourteen
Stella
Orchid was bustling with the dinner crowd, plates clinking and glasses chiming in a way that was like a beautiful melody to me. I stood at the pass, my mood buoyant. Last night’s date had wrapped me in a rather unexpected cocoon of bliss that not even the busy evening rush could penetrate.
“Stella, table five loved your dorado catch of the day,” chirped Lucy, our ever-energetic server, as she whizzed past me with two empty plates.
“Thanks! Glad to hear it.” My lips curved into a smile. I’d completely revamped the menu, putting my own signature stamp on it, and my feet wanted to dance at how well it was going over with diners.
I continued to check orders, my hands moving unconsciously, even as my mind wandered. The gentle rock of Aiden’s boat, the salt in the air mixing with his scent, and the moonlight, all taking me back to that kiss—it was all etched in my memory.
