She scoffs, her pretty pink lips form a pout. “There’s no way I could ever pick just one,” she says. She lists several things I’m unfamiliar with.
“Lie,” I say. “There has to be one thing you love the most.”
Magnolia stays silent in thought. “I’ll need more time for that one,” she finally replies. “Too hard.” When she stops at a red light, she turns to look at me. “All these questions for me. Can I ask you some?”
“That’s generally how a conversation works,” I tease, even as my whole body tenses. This is where I lack experience. Leif said I need to be open to Magnolia if I wanted to build a solid foundation for a relationship to thrive.
She clears her throat. “I want to know about your family. Not the SEALs that you call brothers. Your parents. Why don’t you talk to them? Is it really that bad?”
“Cutthroat,” I say, coughing a bit. How do I explain this best? Giving her something without giving her too much. Magnolia rubs one hand over her tan thigh, a nervous gesture. One that makes me hard. I shift myself as discreetly as I can. “Official couples talk about this stuff, huh?”
She shrugs. “We can do whatever we want, I guess. Whatever official means to us. I want to know because you turned out to be pretty great.” She runs her hands over the steering wheel. “I’m not a prying person, you know? Not like a lot of the people in Bronze Bay, I care about you, Aidan, and I’m trying to know more about you.”
Leif’s words ricochet in my mind. Honesty. I have to be honest. She’s not prying. I’m confident I have Magnolia pinpointed—know her weaknesses, flaws, high lights, and quirks, even though we have only been dating for a little while. “I confess, I’m a bit of a mystery,” I say. Magnolia nods and drums her fingers on the wheel to the low beat of a country song, patiently waiting for whatever I’ll give her. “My parents aren’t good people,” I say, my heart racing as I think about the last time I saw them. The day I turned eighteen. My breathing speeds. “You could say I’m one of those people who rise from the situation they were born into. The reason for my drive is because they were not nice folks. My mom wasn’t very hands-on and unfortunately, my father was very hands on.” I find myself rubbing my arm, the one my father broke when I came home late one night in high school.
Magnolia looks thoughtful. “I assumed right then,” she says. “That’s why you never settled down. Are you afraid of having a family? Don’t think I’m insinuating with me, we’re just speaking in generalities here. You’re opposed to it because of how bad your childhood was?” She swallows, and I can tell she feels bad for me. Rather, the child version of me. I don’t want her sympathy. That’s one thing I’ve never wanted. I didn’t want anyone to view me as any different than my peers who came from fully functional home lives. An advantage isn’t needed. Work is. I’ve proven myself a man.
Clearing my throat, I look out the window. “The opposite. I know I’ll do it better than they ever could have imagined. I had a prime example of how not to be, how to act. I’m not afraid of settling down. That’s an unfair label placed on all men who date around a lot. Can’t it ever be we haven’t met the right woman?” She stiffens, her shoulders ramrod straight.
“Of course,” Magnolia says, voice quiet. “I’ve never thought about it that way.”
Reaching over, I grab the hand working over her thigh. “Women say it all the time. Oh, I haven’t met the right man. A bit of a double standard to say I date around a lot because I’m afraid of commitment isn’t it?”
Her throat works as she swallows. “It’s just that you look like that, and you can have anyone you want. I can’t imagine having that kind of power. I can’t say I wouldn’t date around just because I can if I looked as attractive as you if my circumstances were different.”
“Power? That’s what you think my looks are?”
“What is it if not power?”
I squeeze her hand. “You have more power in your pinky finger than I have in my whole body then. You have no idea how appealing you are. Not to just me, but to every man in a thousand mile radius. That’s what makes you so hot.”
Scoffing she fires back, “I have a teenaged daughter and a divorce under my belt. That’s not appealing, Aidan, but thank you for the compliment, I think.”
When she pulls into a parking spot, I pull her over to my side so I can have her nearer, smell that scent that is only Magnolia Sager. She tucks wayward strands of hair behind her ear. I kiss her head. “It was a compliment. There were multiple compliments tucked in there. One about you being hot. One about you being so awesome I want to keep you.”
Saying the words out loud feel right. Honest. She stays silent, but she does lean her head into my chest. “I’m sorry you have awful parents.”
“Don’t apologize, you didn’t make them beat me half to death.”
She winces.
I’ve said too much. The line was crossed.
“I can’t imagine.”
“You don’t have to. Don’t think about it. Let’s go paddle each other.”
“I need to ask you something,” Magnolia says. “Things seem to be going well between us, right?”
“I’d like more sex, but yes, they are going well. Why do you ask?”
She sighs. “Kendall. I’m debating whether or not to introduce her to you. Do we wait a while to make sure it’s going to work out? Will she be upset I didn’t introduce you two sooner?”
The kid. It’s easy to forget she has a kid because she had her at such a young age. Other than the casual mentions of her daughter, I don’t think about it at all. It never bothered me, but I can see how this is a big decision for Magnolia. Honestly, it’s one she needs to make on her own. “I don’t know Kendall, so I’m going to say I think you need to figure that out on your own. I’m happy to meet her when you’re ready…when you think she’s ready. From what you’ve told me she’s been through a lot and I wouldn’t want to add to her stress.”
“Yeah,” Magnolia replies, lost in thought. “You don’t mind either way?”
“You’ll make the right decision,” I say, pulling her in tighter. “I’ll sneak around for as long as you want, Magnolia. There’s no pressure. I’ll never put ultimatums on you like that. If you think I’ll be offended, I won’t. The relationship stuff is so new to me, that learning the ropes and keeping this just to ourselves for a while is appealing. Meeting your daughter and getting to see the person you raised is appealing too. Don’t sweat it. Make sure it’s on your terms. No surprises.” Like having her walk in on us fucking like animals with paddles.
