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Oh, my God. I’m rethinking Max’s best friend status. I shake my head, closing the door. My heart is beating so fast that I think I might be having an anxiety attack. I lean back in the seat and breathe in and out slowly, trying to calm myself. Aiden gets in and I can feel his eyes on me, but I can’t look at him yet.
I feel his hand grab mine. “Sweetheart, you okay over there?” I hear humor in his voice. I blow out one last heavy breath before I look over to him.
I narrow my eyes. “Why aren’t you more freaked out? It’s not like we’ve been together very long? And coming from someone who has always run away from relationships, I would think even mentioning marriage and babies would make you sweat.” Hell, it’s making me sweat.
He shrugs. “Addison, I can’t explain how you make me feel because this is all foreign to me. Since I met you, I don’t know which fucking way is up or down. My life has always been pointed in one direction: straight ahead. But now I feel… lost.” He squeezes my hand. “But I want to get lost with you.” If he knew that Travis Stein would be his father-in-law, he might feel a little differently. I start to panic and try to pull my hand from his, but he holds it tighter. “We don’t need to rush this. We’ll let it play out however it does.” He brings my hand to his lips.
I nod. I look away and watch the scenery pass by in a blur as we drive again. Reality sets in. What the heck am I doing? I do want more. Which scares the hell out of me. I’ve never felt this way about someone else, and I do love Aiden. I just don’t know if it’s realistic for him to accept Travis as my father. Sperm donor. Syd’s words echo in my head. I want to believe he’ll be okay with it, but every time I start to bring it up, I chicken out. I run my hand through my hair and let out a sigh. I’m a chicken shit.
“I’m sorry, Addison.” I turn toward Aiden, who peers at me with a look of uneasiness.
I shake my head. “It’s okay. I’m okay. It just caught me off guard,” I say softly.
“I’ll kick Max’s ass next time I see him.” His lips curl.
“So, where are you taking me?” I need a change of subject.
He offers a knowing smile. “Well… I’m taking you to my house.”
My eyebrows rise and I turn my body to face Aiden, putting one leg under the other. “What?” I say. “Your house?”
He drums his fingers against the steering wheel and glances over at me. His beautiful green eyes gleam. My heart melts at his excitement about this house. It’s must really be important to him.
“I bought a house in New Haven when I was in college. A fixer-upper. A few guys from college and I would go there one weekend every month and fix something in it.” He smiles wide. “It was like our getaway from school. We’d work on it during the day and party all night.”
“Wow. It was like your own little fraternity,” I joke.
He laughs loudly. “Something like that.”
“Well, it sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see it.”
Chapter Forty-five
THE HOUSE IS beautiful. It’s a one-story, craftsman-style home, painted gray with white trim. When I get out of the car, the smell of salt water and humidity hits my senses. When we walk into the house, it’s obvious that the entire house has been updated. I’m impressed. The guys did an amazing job. The entire house has tile that looks like dark wood. There are area rugs, which kind of shocks me. The farther we walk into the house; I’m met with the most spectacular view. With the kitchen on my left and the living room on my right, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook a pool with the Atlantic Ocean in the background.
“That’s breathtaking,” I whisper, looking out the windows. Aiden comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.
“Almost as breathtaking as you,” he whispers back into my ear.
“Shut up,” I say, blushing, as I turn in his arms. Stepping out of his hold, I look around the rooms. They’re beautifully decorated. The kitchen has dark cabinets with white granite. Very clean lines. The living room has pillows, rugs, and artwork. A pang of jealousy shoots through me. A man definitely didn’t decorate this house. I look at Aiden with a curious lifted brow. “Um… I’ve seen your apartment, so I know you didn’t decorate this place,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant.
He laughs. “Sweetheart, you can’t hide your jealousy from me.” He smirks as he grabs my hand. “I hired an interior designer. This is actually the first I’ve seen it set up,” he says, looking around the room.
“It’s stunning. They did an amazing job.” I walk around, taking it all in. Aiden takes me on the grand tour, showing me all three bedrooms. Whoever decorated it, I would love for them to decorate my next house.
“Pizza and beer by the pool tonight?” he asks as we make it back to the kitchen. I nod as I pull out a barstool from under the island to sit. I think about the day I’ve had with this perfect man. Thoughts about Travis slowly creep up, but I push them back down. I don’t want to think about that right now. I will give Aiden all of me, even if it’s just for this weekend.
* * *
We’re relaxing by the pool on a doublewide lounger listening to the ocean waves crash against the shore. Can’t we just stay here forever? Aiden’s holding my hand, mindlessly rubbing his thumb against my knuckles. His phone starts playing “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. I bust out laughing as he lunges for the phone quickly.
“Hey, Katie.” I’m assuming by the ringtone, it’s his sister. While he listens to her, he watches me. “No, you weren’t interrupting anything.” He smiles and winks.
I mouth, “Nice ringtone.” He rolls his eyes and mouths back, “It’s her fault.”
“Yes, she’s right here. Remind me to kick Max’s ass next time I see him.” He laughs at her response. Watching him talk to her, I can see how much his sister means to him; his eyes lit up as soon as he answered. “I promise you’ll meet her soon.” My eyebrows shoot up and he nods at me. “Sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you, too.” He presses end and turns to me.
“So, I guess I’m meeting your sister soon?” I question.
