Underneath my hand where it laid on his jacket, his heart was pounding. It was unbelievable how much peace that fed into me, knowing he was just as nervous about this as I used to be around him.
Aiden and I, this entire time, had been sitting on an invisible teeter-totter, and eventually, we’d even out into perfect balance. I had a feeling it would be tonight.
His hand smoothed along my face, and I turned my head to kiss his palm.
“I knew Beth for years,” he started quietly. I willed myself not to react as he spoke, simply kept my hand over his heart and my body pressed close to his. “We were friends. She moved in down the street, and the first day I met her, she brought us a plate of gingersnap cookies to introduce herself.”
I gave him a tiny smile. “Anya’s nickname.”
He nodded. “And my favorite food. It felt … impossible to explain that to you when you were in my bed,” he said, voice rough with emotion.
My eyes closed for a moment. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
“When we were eighteen, she announced to me that she was going to kiss me, and I would be her first boyfriend because she saw how I looked at her, and she was sick of waiting.”
My smile widened. I had a feeling I would’ve liked Beth.
“She was my best friend,” Aiden continued. “And I knew everything about her. Loving her, falling in love with her, was something slow and steady and gradual, until suddenly it was … everything.”
My eyes filled with tears as he spoke. “I’m so sorry you lost her,” I told him.
His own eyes were bright when he leaned down to kiss my forehead. “I am too.” When he pulled back, he studied my face. “She was my first love, and when I came here, I was not looking to replace that, Isabel.”
My fingers fidgeted restlessly, but I refused to look away. “I know.”
“You,” he continued, eyes locked in on my lips, “did not come into my life slow or steady.”
I smiled.
“Because of that,” Aiden whispered, “it became something I felt like I needed to resist. Something too intense for what I was capable of in this second chance of my life.”
Slowly, I nodded. All of that made sense. And my heart, it breathed just a bit easier understanding it.
We were on borrowed time in this conversation, and I didn’t know how much longer I’d have. My fingers trailed the edge of his jaw and followed the line of his lips.
“My sister must’ve given one hell of a pep talk,” I said lightly.
Those lips curled up at the edges, and Aiden kissed the tips of my fingers as he drew my hand away. “She just affirmed what I was a little slow in figuring out for myself.”
“What’s that?”
His eyes held mine, the intensity in them making my stomach weightless. All the butterflies from the first day I met him whooshed back into place. “That if I could see you in my future, I needed to take my chance.”
The way he said it sounded so simple, so sure.
“She’s very smart,” I answered seriously.
Aiden wrapped his arms around me, and I did the same around his waist.
“Just making sure she didn’t make this a pity date,” I spoke into his chest. “Because if you are here because of my mommy issues, I will kick you in the balls.”
Aiden pulled back in laughter. With a grin still playing over his lips, he slid his hand over my cheek, weaving his fingers through my hair until he cupped the back of my head. He lowered his mouth, his lips brushing mine in tantalizing slowness when he spoke. “The very last thing I feel for you is pity.”
I might’ve said something like, hey, that’s wonderful. But it was all I could do to keep from falling as he deepened the kiss into something brimming with unspent tension. His lips moved harder, and my breathing picked up when his hands slid over my body. He and I, we’d need a week locked in a hotel room to feel like the need was sated. It was all I could do to keep my feet planted, my legs holding me up as his tongue swirled around mine.
And right now, all I wanted to do was wrap those around his waist.
One of the twins called my name from the other garden, and I whimpered. Aiden pressed a hard kiss against my lips, then another one.
“Family pictures and then I’m done.” I slid my hand under his jacket and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. His fingers curled around my hip, and the hot press of him against my stomach had my toes curling up in my shoes.
“Okay.” He pulled back and smiled.
“Don’t smile at me like that,” I said, staring at his mouth.
“Why not?”
My hand curled into his belt, the heat of his hard stomach coming through the material of his shirt when I pulled him closer and spoke against his neck. “Because I’ll end up missing from my family pictures when I start ripping your clothes off.”
Aiden hissed out a slow breath. “You are dangerous, woman.”
I kissed the edge of his jaw. “Just wait.”
“Go,” he said in a rough voice.
Without a backward glance, I did. Because whoo, okay, I thought we were potent in that utility closet or in his bedroom. Apparently, we really found our stride at garden weddings.
Lia smirked as I approached. I gave her a look right back.
Jude was bouncing Gabriel in his arms, and I picked up his chubby hands and kissed each of them.
“How’s my boy?” I cooed. His big blue eyes and shock of dark hair had me grinning as did his gummy little squeals. Dropping a kiss onto his cheek, I laughed when he yanked on a chunk of my hair. “A little help, please.”
Jude carefully extricated Gabriel’s fist from my hair. “Savage little child we’ve got.”
“Then he fits right in,” Bauer interjected as he approached. He kissed Claire on the top of the head.
“Hi,” she said with a smile. “You were almost late to the wedding.”
He grinned. “I was exactly on time, thank you very much. Traffic was a little heavy coming down from Vancouver. I got to sit next to Isabel’s new boyfriend.” Bauer paused thoughtfully. “He’s huge and intimidating, and I find that I approve of him wholeheartedly on the basis that he could probably snap me in half.”
The twins laughed, Jude smiled, and Bauer held out his fist for me to tap.
“Nice work, Iz,” he said. “I think you finally found one who can keep up with you.”
The photographer called us over, and I was saved from having to respond. Jude and Bauer stood off to the side while the four girls gathered around the couple, and we were shifted around Logan, Paige, and Emmett.
I found myself tapping my foot in anticipation while the photographer worked.
Gabriel cried and squawked in Jude’s arms once the guys joined us, which made all of us laugh, but through all of it, I felt a push, an urgency to be by Aiden. The wedding planner pulled us out of the frame so she could set up some shots for Molly, Noah, Logan, and Paige.
Logan appeared next to me while the photographer’s assistant fixed the back of Molly’s dress. At first, he didn’t say anything, and we watched together in silence.
“Looks like we had a surprise guest after all,” he commented.
I smiled. “Looks like.”
He glanced over at me. “Do I need to pull him aside and have a talk with him?”
A hysterical laugh almost burst out of me. If my big brother—the most protective man I’d ever known—knew that my first date with my older-by-a-decade boss would (fingers friggin crossed) end up with me losing my virginity, he’d have a coronary.
“Not to warn him off,” Logan amended.
Turning slightly, I raised an eyebrow. “No?”
He wrapped an arm around me, and I let my head rest on his shoulder. “If you want this one, there’s a reason.”
That had my heart going all warm and gooey, and I tried to smother my pleased smile. “No I can’t believe another one of you picked an athlete sermon?”
“Nope.”
“Did Paige yell at y
ou about that after you said it to Lia?”
“Yup.”
I laughed. “What would you tell him in your little talk then?”
Logan took a deep breath and tightened his grip on me for a moment before turning me gently so we faced each other. “For better or worse, you’re a lot like me, kid. You always have been.” He smiled. “We hold back until we don’t have a choice. Paige is the exact right person for me because she ripped through that reserve like a battering ram.”
I laughed.
His face went serious. “But you, Isabel, you are braver than I ever was at your age. I hope he knows that you choosing him means he’s getting one of the best gifts in the world because the way you love the people in your life …” His voice trailed off. He cupped my face. “It’s a privilege to be one of them.”
My eyes burned hot, and the bridge of my nose tingled. “Thank you.”
Logan cleared his throat, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “Love you.”
“I love you too.” I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him like I hadn’t in a long time. Wasn’t that funny? When you saw someone all the time, it became so easy to forget how much you might need their hugs. And nothing, at that moment, felt more like a blessing to move forward than a hug from my brother.
Paige approached with a tiny smile on her face. “You can go,” she told me.
“Really?”
She nodded. “They’re done with the family pictures. You have about thirty more minutes before we’ll need you lined up for the reception.”
Instantly, I kicked off my shoes, only stopping to scoop them up by the strap. I clutched the hem of my dress and ran across the grass to the sound of Paige’s laughter.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Isabel
It didn’t take me long to find him. I’d slowed to a fast walk, barefoot as I crossed the lobby of the hotel into the reception area. It was dimly lit, tall tables circling the perimeter of the room for guests to mingle and have a cocktail while they waited for the wedding party to arrive. Along the edges and in corners of the room were soft places to sit, some draped in white gauze, lending a magical atmosphere along with the hundreds of candles, the twinkle lights swooping down the ceiling.
Aiden stood toward the edge of the room talking to Luke Pierson, one of Logan’s former teammates. Next to them, her arm curved around Luke’s waist, was Allie Sutton-Pierson, the owner of the Wolves and one of Paige’s best friends.
Allie said something that made the men laugh, and her face lit into a brilliant smile when she saw me. “Iz, you look gorgeous.”
When I hugged her, I glanced quickly at Aiden. “Thank you. Did the girls come with you?”
Luke shook his head. “Faith and Lydia decided a weekend at Grandma’s was a lot more fun than a wedding.”
“How old are your kids?” Aiden asked. I slipped next to him, and my breath caught when he casually folded his hand through mine.
Allie noticed and gave me a pointed look. I had to bite down on my lip so as not to burst into laughter. None of these people had ever seen me in a relationship, and you could freaking tell by their absolute lack of chill.
“Faith is sixteen, Lydia is almost eleven, and I have never felt older in my life than I do when I say that out loud,” Luke admitted.
Aiden smiled. “My daughter is seven, so I get it.”
It was hard to focus on what they were saying because I was standing next to Aiden, holding his hand and chatting with family friends like absolutely nothing was strange about that. My impatience to be alone with him must’ve shown because Allie gave me a tiny wink and then tapped her husband’s chest. “You know, my glass is empty. Buy me a drink?”
He smiled down at her. “Logan’s buying. Hell yeah, I’ll buy you a drink.”
They wandered off, and I let out a deep breath. “Did you get something at the bar?” I asked.
Glancing at me with warm, humor-lit eyes, he tilted his head toward a table. “It’s over there.”
Aiden pulled us away from the milling groups of people to a corner that held a white couch just big enough for two. His jacket was hanging over the arm, like he made sure to stake a claim to this slightly private spot. He slid into the corner and stretched one arm over the back of the couch. Instead of joining him right away, I took a moment to study him like that, lounging like a great big cat.
His long legs were slightly spread, and it was so easy to imagine if we were alone. Judging by the look in his green eyes, he was doing some imagining of his own.
My skin heated under his perusal, tightening underneath the silky fabric of my dress where I wanted his hands. If we were alone, I’d slide the dress up over my thighs and climb into his lap, smooth my hands up his chest, let those large, capable hands hold me in place, and his mouth find the parts of me that tasted best.
Aiden exhaled a low chuckle, shaking his head slightly. “You keep looking at me like that, and we’re going to cause trouble.”
I blinked slowly, coming out of my stupor. Carefully, I took a seat next to him, tucking one leg underneath me so I could angle in his direction. His fingers slid over my shoulder blade and toyed with the ends of my hair.
Then he paused, reaching for a tall glass on a table next to the couch. My eyebrows bent in when he handed it to me.
“Screwdriver?” I asked. “I didn’t peg you as a mixed drink guy.”
Without a word, he motioned for me to take it. Our fingers brushed as I took the glass, and after I took a sip, his eyes warmed.
“Orange juice?” I asked, mouth widening into a massive smile.
Aiden retrieved the glass and took a drink. I licked my lips as he set the glass down. He leaned in, angling his back so he was blocking me from view, and he took my mouth in a voracious, toe-curling kiss that tasted like bright citrus and held the promise of sex. I was ready to climb him by the time he pulled away.
“Orange juice,” he said.
“I’ll make a note for work.” This level of happiness should be illegal.
“You’re okay with sitting in the corner with me at your sister’s wedding?” he asked.
With a glance around, I saw only a few people who I probably should have been making small talk with. Finally, I looked back at Aiden and studied his handsome face.
“Completely okay,” I told him. “I’d rather talk to you.”
Because I could, I touched my thumb to the bottom curve of his lip and swept it softly over the stubble that lined his jaw. I loved that he hadn’t shaved for this. It made him look a little dangerous, or maybe that was just how I felt being with him like this. The entire thing felt too big to be real, to be safe.
Could two people survive this level of sexual tension? Because I wasn’t sure we could.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked. He took my hand away from his mouth and kissed the tip of my thumb before settling it on his rock-hard thigh, fingers lightly entwined with mine.
So many questions I could ask. Some that could wait, a couple that couldn’t.
I took a deep breath and asked the first thing on my mind. “Is this … our first date?” I looked at him from under my lashes.
“You don’t count changing the fuse?”
With a grin, I shook my head. “No.”
“Your night at my house?”
I gave him a dry look.
Aiden hummed. “What about our first training session?”
Slowly, I raised my eyebrows. I know I’d felt like the slightest touch from him that night would’ve made me explode, but I was never certain if he’d felt the same.
“Maybe,” I conceded.
“First dates are about figuring out the person you’re with,” he said. “I learned a lot about you that night.”
“Like …?” My voice trailed off.
His fingers dragged along my back, and I shivered. “You don’t like to burden people with what’s bothering you. Talking about it probably makes it worse.” At the accurate statement, I lifted my chin s
lightly. He kept going. “You couldn’t decide whether you loved it or hated it that I’d been watching you that closely and you didn’t realize it. Normally you’ve always got a bead on what’s happening.”
“True,” I conceded. “What else?”
“When it surfaces, you harness your anger into something productive, something tangible, probably so that you don’t lash out at the people around you.”
I fidgeted on the couch, my breath coming a bit faster that he’d picked up all of that just from one night.
Aiden leaned in, our knees touching, and he angled his body so that we gained even more privacy. “And me saying this to you makes you want to run, just a little.”
Undaunted by the flutterings of panic that his spot-on assessment caused, I met his gaze head-on. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“No?” he asked in a rough, uneven voice. When I shook my head, he tipped his head down and slid his mouth over mine for a sweet, slow kiss. My tongue slipped to the seam of his lips, but he pulled back. “No more, woman. You’re killing me.”
My smile was full of satisfaction because he sounded like he was walking a razor edge of restraint.
“Second date then,” I said.
“Deal.” He sat back, allowing for a safer distance between us, given we were both feeling the need to mount each other in public.
“Where’s Anya tonight?” I asked.
“My parents’.” He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture that had me laughing out loud.
“Is that your dad?”
“It is.”
I took the phone from his hand and zoomed in on the image. Anya was standing on their kitchen counter behind a man who looked like Aiden might in about twenty years. They shared the same jaw, the same nose, the same build. And his dad, judging by the pleased smile on his face, was perfectly content to let his granddaughter put foam rollers into his slightly graying hair.
“May I?” I gestured to the picture. He nodded. I swiped through a few pictures, studied one of his mom. “Your parents look young, considering…” I stopped, not sure how to say, considering how old you are.
Forbidden: A Ward Sisters Sisters Novel Page 24