by Melissa Blue
He rubbed the side of his head. "Okay, now." He glanced over his shoulder at the precinct. "How about a walk?"
"I’ve already been. I didn’t know Larry had closed down his shop on Third."
"About a year ago. He hasn’t found anyone to buy, yet." He sipped his coffee, and Megan tried not to watch his mouth too hard. "So would you consider taking another walk with me?"
She wanted to, and how telling was that? "I can’t take any more time this morning. Nicole and I have to go for another fitting. I was kind of hoping to get my flowers."
If she hadn’t been watching him closely, she’d have missed the grimace. "Come on. They’re in the office."
He kept his pace slow, in sync with hers, until they reached the door. "Ladies first."
"You’re acting strange."
He muttered, "You don’t know the half of it."
Megan was about to ask about the half she didn’t know when she spotted Shep. "Good morning."
"What brings you here?" It sounded like a coded message.
Megan frowned and looked at Aiden. He stayed by the door sipping his coffee. "I came to pick up my flowers."
"Oh, these are yours sitting on the desk? I was wondering who they belonged to."
"I picked them, and Aiden was nice enough to buy them for me yesterday."
"Really? How nice of him."
Megan raised her eyebrow at his cryptic tone. "An amends, since we’re going to be working on the party together."
Aiden sighed behind her, but Shep said, "What party?"
"Nicole decided it might be a good idea to have the bachelor party and the bachelorette party together. Aiden and I are planning it. If it’s okay with you?"
"Yes, Shep. Is that okay with you?"
"As long as Aiden understands I don’t want any funny business going on."
Megan laughed. "I don’t think the women in our family would mind a little funny business, especially if it’s half-naked men."
"No, I don’t think they would," Aiden said behind her.
Megan ran her tongue over her teeth. She was definitely missing something here. "I’ll just get my flowers."
Shep picked them up and handed them to her. "If you need to pass anything by me, let me know."
"Let me help you with those." Now that was the satisfied look she’d been expecting, except Aiden was giving it to Shep.
"I think I can handle it from here to my car. You guys have a good day."
She walked out of the precinct thinking how strange that was, then stopped, closing her eyes. Shep knew. The news had already gotten around about Aiden and her. "Small towns," Megan muttered. She couldn’t wait to leave.
She’d barely gotten into the car when her phone rang. "Hello."
"Is Armageddon on its way and I don’t know it?" Lynne asked.
"Why do you ask?"
"It’s three o’clock, and you haven’t called me for the usual update."
"Oh." She hadn’t thought to call. "Um, how are things?"
"You need to go on vacation more often. Anyway, the place is still standing, the sweaters already made it, everyone is still showing up for work, and the numbers are looking good for the month."
"Do you ever take a breath?"
Lynne laughed. "I’d rather get it all out in one. Saves time."
"That’s good to hear. Things seem to be crawling at a snail’s pace. It’s starting to feel like the wedding day is never going to get here."
"That sounds like the norm." Lynne paused. "How’s Aiden?"
Megan made a noncommittal noise. The silence stretched and was broken by Lynne’s gasp. "You’ve had sex with him."
"What makes you say that?"
Lynne laughed. "You tell on yourself with the little ‘hmm’ noise you make. Avoiding the question. The less you say, the more I know. I cannot believe it. You had sex with him." She paused to take breath. "How was it?"
"We were kind of interrupted."
Lynne hooted. "I’m definitely coming to the wedding. I can’t believe you’re going wild out there. I have to see the man who’s making you lose your sense of propriety. Let’s not forget to add, a man who makes you forget to call me to obsess."
"Aiden has nothing to do with me not calling. I am not losing my sense of propriety."
"He is the reason why. Lie to yourself all you want, but I know the truth." Lynne laughed again. "You were interrupted? By your mother?"
"I should never have told you." Megan started her car.
"You wanted to tell me, to brag." Another laugh.
Lynne was enjoying this too much. "Megan got some nookie," she sang.
Megan bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Remind me again why I tell you stuff."
"Because you are not as uptight as you like to believe you are. Under the professional façade you are a wild woman. If you almost got caught, you must have been outside. Oh, my God," Lynne mused to herself.
"I have to go."
"You’re never going to live this down, you know."
Megan ended the call knowing Lynne spoke the truth. She only hoped no one else would point it out.
Chapter 12
"Michelle, can you take it up in the bustline?" Megan held her arms up higher at her mother’s request and eyed the woman with the pincushions.
"I was thinking maybe Jane can throw something together to eat at the party," Megan said to her mother.
"You should have asked her when you came in late last night."
Megan closed her eyes when the woman came at her with a pin. "As you point out, it was late, and she was on her way home."
"Word is getting around about you and him."
Megan opened her eyes and looked at her mother in the three-sided mirror. "If all we did was say Hi, things would have gotten around."
"Is that all you did?"
Megan’s lips thinned into a fine line. Now she wanted to be a mother? Years of ignoring her, and now Nicole was concerned? Now Nicole wanted to condemn Megan’s actions? Growing up, Megan might as well have been a piece of furniture in the living room for all the attention her mother gave her. "No, it’s not." Megan raised her brow. Nicole broke eye contact first.
"It’s not right, Megan. You are still planning to leave. You shouldn’t start anything up with him."
"It’s sex. Pure, unadulterated sex. It’s not marriage. We haven’t exchanged vows. Let alone him having my cell phone number. Ouch." Megan had forgotten the woman was there, and it seemed Michelle was more interested in the conversation than taking up her bustline.
Nicole sighed. "Could you excuse us, Michelle?"
The woman’s shoulders deflated, but she didn’t linger. Megan put her hands on her hips, trying to avoid the stick pins.
"Where did this come from? Didn’t you push us together to throw the party?"
"Call me selfish, but I didn’t want any bloodshed. The past few dinners have been less than civil." Her mother took a deep breath. "The problem now is, I don’t think you understand. Aiden and you were always close. I knew you’d be all right as long as he was there. When the relationship changed, when you guys got older, I felt it was a natural progression." Her mother hesitated. "Then you left."
"You can’t even admit it when it’s just us? You kicked me out over a man. That’s why I left. Where was I going to stay?"
"Were there not a thousand people you could have lived with, in Riverbed? Shep." Her mother ticked off a finger. "Jocelyn." Another finger. "Anyone who lived within a five-mile radius would have let you stay with them. You left."
"They weren’t family."
Nicole shook her head. "They are as close as family could be. The same blood doesn’t have to run through your veins to make it so."
Nicole was right, and that made Megan want to spurn the comment more, because for the first time it dawned on her—she didn’t have to leave twelve years ago. If she accepted her mother’s truth, then she’d have to ask herself why going outside the city limits had seemed more appealing, an easi
er road to take than staying in Riverbed.
"Now you’re listening. Leave Aiden alone. He’s not built like you, and I don’t think he ever was. He’s going to want something more, and you don’t want to give it to him."
"He hasn’t said that. You don’t know what he’s said to me."
Nicole laughed mirthlessly. "He doesn’t have to. You should know him better than that by now."
"I’m sure he understands why I can’t stay." Megan said, without the bite in her tone that had been there earlier.
"He’s always loved you and always will, if my suspicions are correct."
"But..."
"All I’m saying is, don’t do anything, well, don’t do anything else, because we’ll be the ones to pick up the pieces."
"You make him sound like a girl."
"This may sound contrived, but a heart doesn’t have a gender."
Megan blew out a breath, not wanting to take what her mother was saying too seriously, because this woman wore peasant skirts eight seasons after the trend.
"Maybe it’ll be best if you guys don’t plan the party."
"We’ll be fine."
"No."
"Mom, we’ll be fine. Since the whole town knows, I don’t think they’ll let us out of their sight without proper supervision."
"You’re making Riverbed sound archaic." Her mother stopped and frowned.
She turned to see what her mother was looking at. Michelle stood at the door. Megan wondered how long she’d been standing there. When Nicole’s frown deepened, she figured it had been long enough for the gist of the conversation to be on a bulletin board later that night.
Megan muttered, "If the shoe fits."
*****
Megan dialed the number with hesitation, still hearing her mother’s words in her head. But then again, the day Megan took advice from her mother would be the day she needed her head checked. Aiden answered on the fifth ring. "I hope I’m not interrupting anything."
"Very funny."
Megan’s face flushed at the reminder of their lovemaking. "Sorry. I was calling to let you know Jane agreed to making fried chicken, enchiladas, and spaghetti. I promised we’d help, so expect to be wearing an apron two weeks from now." She finished and held her breath.
"From the sound of things, they’ve gotten to you, too. Want to sneak out and meet me by the tree?"
Megan bit her lip. "Yes."
"See you there in ten."
She hung up the phone, asking herself what the hell she was doing. Finishing unfinished business for one. Two, having fun. Three...did she really need a number three?
She left without saying anything to anyone and hoped that was rude enough to make them think she was mad. Apparently when she was in a good mood it was a free-for-all to make sure it stopped right that moment.
Megan tamped down the questions and the doubts that wanted to surface in her mind as she cut across the grass to the lake. For once she wanted to do something that didn’t fit into her schedule, something she hadn’t analyzed. Maybe do something daring and not think it to death first. Her steps slowed.
Sadly, the last thing she’d done without any thoughts to the future, without weighing the pros and cons, was toilet-papering someone’s house back in the eighth grade. Really, how wild was hooking up with an ex? Tame by most people’s standards. Now, if only Aiden was a cabana boy in the tropics, her "wild" might be interesting. She smiled when the Green Demon pulled up beside the tree. She met him at the car door.
"Got a surprise for you," he said.
Megan followed him to the back of the truck. He’d transformed it into a mini picnic. A gray blanket was laid out on the bumpy surface, all the way to the back of the cab, where an icebox sat. "You know we are going to get caught," she warned.
"The reason for the picnic. Can’t get mad at us if all we’re doing is eating."
She recognized the disappointment for what it was and climbed in. Aiden situated himself beside her and started to unload the icebox. "Root beer or lemon-lime?"
"Root beer." The soda chilled her hand. "So, I’m guessing Shep gave you a lecture. I thought there was something funny going on this morning."
"Correct. I don’t remember being cornered like this when we were younger. Well, except for Jane."
Considering Jane was the only one who’d paid attention to her back then, Megan had to agree. "Mother actually gave me a lecture."
"About?" He handed her a sandwich wrapped in cellophane.
Megan shook her head, not wanting to go into detail. Aiden nodded. "Let me guess: my one-eyed snake and how my brain doesn’t know the difference between sex and love. Basically, I’m bound to ask for your hand in marriage."
Her brows rose in surprise. "Close." She met his gaze. "Are you?" She had to ask, because too much of what her mother said made sense.
Aiden cracked open his soda before he answered. "You’re not the marrying kind." She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Not to say it as an insult. Can’t imagine you barefoot and pregnant, chained to the stove."
"You’d look incredible, swollen with child, making omelettes and watching soaps to fill your days until the baby comes," Megan joked.
Aiden smiled and leaned back. "If it were possible, I might. I’d get to eat like a horse and no one would say anything. I don’t see the downside to pregnancy."
Megan noticed he never answered her question. "You’re okay with this?"
Aiden should have known she wouldn’t let the subject drop. Yes, he wanted more from the girl who left him. He’d always wanted more than she was willing to give him, but the woman sitting beside him, who had one eyebrow slightly raised, who was incredibly sensual, would end up taking more from him than the girl had ever thought she could.
"I know you’re leaving. I’m not going to stand in your way. We are having a good time." Aiden shrugged, though it hurt to be so nonchalant. "What else can I ask for?"
Everything.
Almost as if she read the quiet answer in his eyes, Megan frowned. "Sounds simple."
"What, you don’t trust simple?"
"Only because most things aren’t simple." She shrugged and bit into her sandwich. She groaned, then said, "You make great sandwiches."
"I’m the ultimate bachelor. I better learn how to cook something, or I’d starve to death."
"Lynne would love you."
"Who?"
"My general manager." She smiled. "My best friend."
"Tell me about her." Aiden stretched his legs out, relaxing. The more he watched her talk, the more he realized doing this felt just as good as Megan being in his arms or him inside her. He was doomed before he even touched her. He kept it to himself, because Shep had been right—he wanted her to stay, and a small part of him would do anything to convince her to.
"What?" she asked.
"Surprised, is all."
"About?"
"How grown we are."
She balled the cellophane in her hands. "Hadn’t really thought about it. You went from bad boy to cop."
"And you?" He crossed his arms to keep from touching her.
He watched her consider his question before answering. "I don’t know. I was thrown into adulthood. I’ve never thought about who I used to be." She looked into his eyes, and his pulse picked up. "Who am I?"
"Intelligent, sarcastic, and beautiful." Aiden shook his head. "Haven’t changed much."
Megan’s laughter subsided. "You never talk about your dad."
He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Because he wasn’t one. He came and went as he pleased in our lives. You really can’t grieve for a person you don’t know." Aiden shrugged. "Shep was my father if you go by the definition of one."
"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the mood."
He understood why she had brought it up. She never talked about her father, but for different reasons. He leaned back again, a smile pulling at his lips. "As I said, you haven’t changed one bit."
This time her laugh was quick. "I shou
ld punch you for that one."
"That’s what your mouth says. You know you want me."
"I notice you’ve been watching my mouth. You know you want me."
"I can be convinced into doing something with my mouth."
"Oh?" She moved toward him with the promise of much more. She was stopped short by the sound of footsteps. Aiden leaned forward to see Shep and Nicole hand in hand.
"We were just out for a stroll," Nicole said.
"Hi, Lady." Sarcasm filled Megan’s voice. "We have our clothes on."
Aiden chuckled, then said, "We do, don’t we? Matter of fact, you guys can join us. I brought extra sandwiches and sodas, just in case." Megan turned to him, appreciation filling her eyes.
"Aren’t you smart."
"No, I’ve lived in this town long enough to set my watch by what’s going to happen next."
Nicole climbed without help into the back of the truck. Shep stuck his hands in his pockets and stood at the end of the truck bed, staring hard at Aiden.
"Well." Nicole reached for a soda. "At least you can say there is never a dull moment."
Chapter 13
Family. Might as well be a cuss word, Megan thought. She had nowhere to hide, waiting in the living room for her aunts, uncles, and cousins to descend. It was no wonder her mother had kept the house. Ten bedrooms were barely enough to fit them all in, when they decided to visit, and that included putting two in every room.
Why was she here again? Ah, yes, to have the house that could keep two to a room. Being sentimental wasn’t looking so good at the moment, especially when Aunt Chandi enveloped her in a hug smelling like Bacardi and White Diamonds. "Look at you, all grown up."
Before the smart comment fell out of Megan’s mouth Jane gave her a look that said to swallow it and like the taste. "It’s good to see you, too."
Where was her mother? Ah, yes. Hiding, like she herself wanted to do.
"How’s that Aiden boy doing?"
"Fine, I guess."
"You guess?" Chandi said. Megan leaned forward to comment. Jane placed the tray down harder than necessary. "Do you need help with that, dear?"