Page 108 of His to Cherish
Chapter 22
Aidan didn’t start the truck when he slid the key into the ignition.
Instead, he covered his face with his hands and scrubbed, expelling a long and loud, shaky breath.
“Man, that fucking sucked.”
My hand went to his thigh and I squeezed. Any comfort I could give him was minimal.
“It really did, but he seems to be doing okay, too. And it was really nice of you to offer to help him with baseball.”
He dropped his hands to his lap, covering my hand in his and entwining our fingers together. “I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to be able to do that.”
“You will,” I assured him. “You can do anything.”
He turned to face me, a small smile on his lips. “I think you think too much of me.”
“I think you’re everything I say you are and probably more.” I meant it. I had most likely barely scratched the surface of the kind of man he was. But I knew that underneath his typically quiet nature, he was everything I’d ever wanted and more.
“Maybe you just bring out the good in me,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes. He leaned closer to me and cupped my cheek with his palm.
The atmosphere in the cab turned from tense and sad to something warmer. Something that rolled between us and all over my skin like the gentlest of waves.
“I doubt that.” I blinked and found myself leaning forward, our lips inches from each other. Aidan closed the space and our breath mingled. My pulse kicked up and my thighs pressed together. His nose rubbed against the side of mine and his fingers behind my ear tightened.
He smelled like coffee and cologne and I breathed it in, loving the closeness, the tenderness of the moment.
As I inhaled, longing for the kiss I knew was about to come, he dropped his head and rested his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. “I could fall in love with you, Chelsea Dwyer, if it was a different time and I wasn’t such a mess.” My jaw dropped, shocked as the words began to piece together and I understood what he was saying.
That he wouldn’t fall in love with me. My shoulders tensed, but before I could pull back, Aidan lifted his head and pressed his lips against mine.
“I think that came out wrong.”
I swallowed, waiting for him to finish, and just when I thought he wouldn’t, that he was going to leave me wondering what he meant, he gave it to me.
Easily. Without holding anything back. And it shattered me in the best of ways.
“Someday I’m going to tell you how insanely in love with you I am, but when that day comes, I want you to be as certain as I am that it’s not because we’re connected to Derrick’s death. That might have been the catalyst bringing us together, but I’m going to tell you I’m in love with you solely because you’re the loveliest and sexiest and kindest woman I’ve ever met and I want you to know it without reservation.”
Before I could speak, he tugged me toward him and kissed me with an intensity that had the truck’s windows completely fogged over and our breath ragged when he pulled away.
When he did, my head was still spinning from his confession and his magical powers with his tongue. I was still stunned stupid when he started the truck and backed out of the Johnsons’ driveway.
“So. Corn dogs, gyros, or nachos?”
My eyebrows pulled in. “Pardon me?”
“Carnival food. What do you want for dinner?”
It took a moment for the spinning in my head to settle before I smiled. Did he know he’d stolen not only my breath, but my heart as well?
“Corn dogs.”
He gave me a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. “My kinda girl.”
—
Being on display was one of the most uncomfortable things in the world for me. In high school, I had volunteered to be a stagehand in the drama club instead of an actor. In college, I’d always sat in the center of the room so other students would surround me. Even in my relationship with Cory, I had managed to go along with whatever he wanted, because his charisma was so strong he constantly outshined me. It had always been easier to go with the flow than fight against the tide.
