Ayden's Secret

by Cara North

  “Talking about you.” Charlie smiled.

  “That can’t be good.” Ayden huffed.

  “Depends on how you look at it. I thought it was very good.” Charlie reached up and touched the scar on his eye. “How did this happen?”

  “Joshua.” Ayden was surprised that she noticed. “I gave him that scar on his lip though. Don’t worry.”

  “I’m not worried. I know if you wanted to you could kick all their asses.” Charlie dropped her hand. She realized he was the only man there without a woman. What if he had a girlfriend? Maybe that’s what kept him from showing up this year. “Are you always the odd man out at these things, or is there another woman in your life? I don’t want to mess up your plans for this week.”

  “I’m usually the odd man out. I’m used to it.” Ayden was used to it. He didn’t like it anymore, but Charlie was still too young. She could find plenty of men her age that would have more in common with her. Hell he didn’t know what they had in common other than her sister’s death.

  “Well, you’re not alone tonight.” Charlie took a deep breath and turned to walk back inside following the rest of the women.

  Ayden swallowed that comment hard, digesting the meanings. He wasn’t alone tonight. Charlie was here, and it had been so long, too long since, he had the attention of a woman. All the men were in agreement that he was nuts for not snatching her up. Maybe he was.

  The life he had lived was dangerous. His father died because of a dangerous job. He wouldn’t put a wife and kids through all that, but now he had nothing but time. Maybe he would spend some of it getting to know her. Give her a chance. Maybe, but first he had to figure out why she was here in the first place.

  “You missed a perfect chance to kiss her.” Malcolm put a hand on Ayden’s shoulder. “I know Stephanie wants me to kiss her if she puts her hands on my face. Unless I have food on my face. That happened once.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” Ayden snickered. Great now the kid was giving the old man advice. Malcolm was all of twenty-five years old. “I’d keep that out of Joshua’s ear shot.”

  “I’m not afraid of the Big Dog. I know he can whip my ass, but I’m not backing down when it comes to Stephanie.” Malcolm shrugged. “She’s waiting on his seal of approval. I know she is.”

  “You need to talk to Evelyn.” Ayden turned to the young man. “She’s your only hope on that.”

  “She hates men,” Malcolm reminded him.

  “No. She hates most men. She has softened a lot in the last year. Joshua can whip your ass, but Evelyn can whip us all.” Ayden nodded and headed inside. Charlie was spending too much time with the women. Not enough time with him.

  Chapter 2

  Ayden walked into the kitchen to find Charlie squatting down talking to the three-year-olds. They were smiling and nodding at her. Even at that age, they knew she was beautiful. Her mother was a Swedish immigrant. Charlie and Michael were born in California. Her father worked at a casino, and her mother was a showgirl until she got pregnant with the twins. They did the best they could for the girls. Their mother became a dance instructor after they were born. The girls had natural talent, and they were performing at a young age. At seventeen their parents died in a car accident on the way back to Vegas from California. The girls had each other, but then Charlie lost Michael. All she had now was Ayden. He was fully aware of that.

  The two boys laughed hysterically.

  “What’s so funny?” Ayden asked the boys as he stepped closer to Charlie. She stood and watched their faces.

  “Charlie,” they said together.

  “What?” Ayden was really curious about what had them so enthralled now. “Tell him. Tell him.” They jumped up and down.

  “Tell me what?”

  “It’s a joke,” Chase Jr. said.

  “Tell him, tell him,” Gray chanted.

  “Tell me.” Ayden smiled. These kids could be handy.

  “Lettuce, tomato, and pickle were walking down the street. Tomato was far behind. Pickle turned around and said…” She stomped. “Ketchup.”

  The boys were laughing again. Ayden was sure they didn’t really get it, but it was a joke, and they wanted to laugh. It was so corny he had to laugh, too.

  “I didn’t know you were a comedian.” Ayden looked her over. She was trying hard to fit in, he could tell.

  “It’s the only G-rated joke I know.” She shrugged with a smile.

  “Ayden, will you take this out for me and tell the rest of them to get the tables set up?” Evelyn handed him a plate with hamburgers and hot dogs ready to be grilled.

  “Charlie, you wanna come out back with me?” Ayden wanted to talk to her.

  “No,” Evelyn answered for her. “She was just about to tell us what life is like in Vegas.”

  Ayden growled and shook his head. Evelyn had him pegged. He wanted to get Charlie away from the women, before they poisoned her mind against him. He could only imagine what they would tell her. His past three dates had been a disaster. Apparently, he didn’t know much about how to treat a modern woman.

  Charlie felt trapped. She wanted to go with Ayden but was stuck with Evelyn. His little sister was determined to know as much about her as possible. Charlie understood that, but Evelyn seemed a little dangerous. No one bossed Ayden around, but Evelyn pushed him out the door and gave him orders all the time. It was weird.

  Once Ayden was out of earshot with the two three-year-olds behind him Evelyn turned to Charlie. “He doesn’t want you talking to us.”

  “What do you mean?” Charlie watched him walk out the back door. The boys were trailing behind him, trying to walk like him. It made her wonder if he wanted to be a father some day.

  “I’m sure he’s worried about what we will tell you, or what you will tell us. Ayden is a private guy.” Evelyn lifted a shoulder. “But no worries, we won’t tell him we know.” “As a matter of fact I think we should do our best to help.” Megan chimed in. “Do you have to be back in Vegas soon?”

  “No. I’m never going back to Vegas.” Charlie shook her head. “If Ayden doesn’t want me, I’ll just go.”

  “Go where?” Grace asked.

  “Leave the country. Go to Sweden. See if I can track down any distant family there.” Charlie hated the thought of leaving, hated being rejected by Ayden. If he didn’t want her, she would leave the country and never look back.

  “God, that sounds so… desperate.” Stephanie propped her head on her fists. “I understand how you feel though.”

  Everyone shifted to look at Stephanie. She was leaning on the counter with her elbows propped up and her chin on her fists.

  “Malcolm asked me to marry him,” Stephanie confessed.

  “Oh my god!” Megan beamed and ran to her pulling her in a big bear hug.

  “Wait.” Stephanie stepped back. “I haven’t told him yes yet.”

  “Why?” Grace entered the kitchen with Logan on her hip.

  “Joshua says I’m too young. He argues with Malcolm all the time over me. I don’t know. You know I’m still a virgin. What if he marries me and then I’m no good?” Stephanie looked at the floor. “I’m nervous about it all.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Megan pulled at Stephanie’s chin. “You decide if you want to marry him. And don’t worry about the sex, honey. He won’t be disappointed.”

  “Don’t worry about your brother, Stephanie. He likes Malcolm, a lot.” Evelyn smiled. She would have to rein Joshua in. He had no idea his little sister was waiting on his seal of approval. He had no idea Malcolm had asked her to marry him. He knew he planned to soon, so he had been giving the kid hell.

  “If you’re worried about bedroom skills, you should be worried about him disappointing you, not the other way around. You’ve done other stuff, right?” Grace had grown into a very sexual woman. Her first experiences were horrid. Since she met Ethan she had become the authority, and as a writer she outlined the act in detail.

  “Grace!” Stephanie blushed. “No.”


  “How can you date a guy for two years and not explore him? You must have discipline made of… I don’t know what.” Megan was shocked.

  “What about you, Charlie? You’ve known Ayden for ten years?” Stephanie looked to the other woman who was quietly sitting at the kitchen table now taking in the conversation.

  “I… I… Uh.” Charlie wanted to disappear.

  “You never?” Stephanie looked at her with relief and wide eyes.

  “I’m not a virgin. I’ve been with men. Two, but not since I met Ayden. And even when I slept in his bed with him, he never touched me. I’ve never even kissed him on the lips.” Charlie swallowed hard.

  “Well I feel so much better.” Evelyn let out a big sigh.

  “Why?” Megan looked at her.

  “I thought I was alone. I was thirty and a virgin. Of course, I hated men till I met Joshua, so I thought that was it. But apparently it’s about waiting for the right one. If Malcolm is that man, honey, jump on him. Marry him.” Evelyn smiled as Stephanie relaxed and blushed.

  “And test the waters,” Grace cautioned.

  “Yeah, you definitely have to fool around a little,” Megan agreed.

  “But what if I can’t stop? I mean when I kiss him I get so tempted to do more that I pull away. He has the patience of a saint. He has told me all along that he will wait, promised to wait until we were married.” Stephanie blushed again. “I believe he can; he doesn’t even try. I don’t know that I can.”

  “You have to be in control.” Evelyn nodded. “Your body and your rules, he will play it your way.”

  Charlie thought about it. While listening to the women talking so openly about sex, she felt like she was in a dressing room again. God she hadn’t had sex in a long time. In her mind, no man could hold a candle to Ayden, and she hadn’t wanted another man since she met him. Her thoughts filled with the various fantasies she had come up with over the years. Then there he was, walking into the kitchen coming right for her.

  “All right women, we are ready when you are.” Ayden looked at Charlie. She seemed flushed, her cheeks pink. Like a woman ready to be taken to bed. Damn he had to stop thinking like that.

  “Charlie, will you hold Logan for me?” Grace passed her the baby so quickly Charlie barely had a chance to hold him, but she did. She held him straight out at arms length. She stood up and looked at Ayden with desperate eyes.

  “Here.” Ayden adjusted the tike for her. “Just hang on. He likes to jump and scoot.”

  “I don’t think I’m the best person to hold him,” Charlie whispered. She had never held a baby before. It seemed ridiculous, she knew that, but no one close to her had ever had a child. She cooed at babies in strollers when tourists took the backstage tour at the show, but she had never held a child.

  “I’ll stay close by.” Ayden held one hand to the baby’s back as he stood in front of her.

  Charlie looked at Logan who smiled and drooled at her. He grabbed a hold of her shirt and didn’t let go. He smelled so good, like a baby should smell. His curly brown hair looked like a Mohawk.

  After a few moments, it seemed natural to have him there on her hip. She relaxed and cooed at him making him squirm with laughter. He was a cute little thing. He looked like Gray, and Gray looked like his daddy. Charlie wondered if Ayden’s babies would look like him.

  “So what did they say about me?” Ayden watched her coo at the baby, and it tugged at his heart. He planned for a family someday. It was about time to start following through on those plans, but first he had to find a woman, a woman that would want kids. At least two, maybe even three. He couldn’t imagine Charlie giving up her perfect body, and the way she held Logan at first proved she didn’t take too well to kids. But she had stopped to play with the boys, and she seemed fine with the baby on her hip now. Ayden shook it off. Those thoughts were getting him nowhere. He needed to find out what she was doing here, not find out if he could knock her up.

  Charlie shrugged. “Not much really. We talked about you briefly, then about Malcolm, then about sex.”

  Ayden choked on his next words. He cleared his throat and started again.

  “You were talking to them about sex?” Ayden kicked up a half smile. It was forced. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know about Charlie’s sex life. Surely, she could have any man she wanted. He just didn’t want to know she had chosen to be with any other man.

  “No. Can’t talk about something you don’t have. I listened.” Charlie was satisfied with his look of shock and started toward the backyard where everyone was.

  Ayden followed moments later and sat next to her on the bench. She still held Logan. Grace had offered to take him back now that everyone was eating, but Charlie wasn’t hungry. She had stopped to eat on her way. She played with the baby instead.

  The summer sun began to set, and the three-year-olds were getting cranky. The meal had been cleaned up and the tables removed. Stephanie and Malcolm lay in the hammock while Charlie sat in the rocking chair watching with a longing she couldn’t deny. Malcolm was so in love with the girl. His face lit up just looking at her. His blue eyes sparkled when he said her name.

  Malcolm had explained over dinner that he was a real mutt. His mother was a proud black woman and his father a brave Irish man. Malcolm said that approaching Stephanie’s dad was easy compared to what his dad had to go through with his grandfather. Especially since his grandfather was a minister, and his dad’s boss at the time. He had the whole table laughing and crying before it was all said and done.

  Oh to have a man so willing to walk through fire to be with a woman. Charlie sighed. Ayden always had a special look for her. A gentle expression she only saw when he talked to her. Of course, she rarely saw him around other people though. Maybe it wasn’t special; maybe she just wanted it to be. The six months she lived in his apartment in hiding, she only met Tom, another FBI agent.

  Ayden was never easy back then. Years later he was smoking, growing harder in his features each year. It made her worry even more. She hadn’t seen him light up once, and she wondered if he had finally quit. He started as a cover for a case, but the next year he was still smoking. So much had changed in this past year for him. She wanted to hear all about it.

  “You ready to get out of here?” Ayden stood in the doorway looking out the screen at her.

  “Yes.” Charlie stood. “Bye Stephanie.”

  “Will you be back tomorrow?” Stephanie started to rise against Malcolm’s protesting arms.

  “We’ll be back tomorrow.” Ayden opened the door.

  Charlie waved and shrugged. She guessed they would be returning since he said so. It made her feel good deep down that he said we, like she belonged with him.

  “I thought you said Tom and Noel would be here tonight?” Charlie asked as they walked back up the street to Ayden’s house.

  “Apparently the baby’s sick. They’re still trying to make it this weekend for the fourth. It was Noel’s idea.” Ayden snickered. “Evelyn has a house full of guests because of it. She likes her in-laws, don’t get me wrong, but that house is packed right now.”

  “Why doesn’t someone stay with you?”

  “Tom and Noel were staying with me.”

  “What about Stephanie and Malcolm?”

  “Oh no. Joshua would throw a fit. In his house, he can keep tabs on those two. Malcolm’s on the couch.” Ayden opened the screen door and unlocked the front door letting them inside.

  “They have been dating two years, and he hasn’t touched her. I think he would be safe to stay with her.” Charlie sounded annoyed by the whole thing, poor Stephanie. “You like her?”

  “She reminds me of Michael,” Charlie whispered that truth.

  Ayden took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her as he turned. He knew she would be sobbing soon. Without the high heels, his lips pressed naturally to her forehead. At six four he wasn’t a small man by any measure, but Charlie had a way of humbling him. She made him feel inadequate, like he wouldn’t b
e enough. Maybe because he didn’t get to Michael in time, he couldn’t get to her in time. Then he found Charlie, and he vowed to keep her safe; he promised Michael. Her last request was for him to keep Charlie safe. His promise, the last words she heard. Ayden Wolf always kept a promise.

  Charlie cried freely. She hadn’t cried over Michael in a few years, but Stephanie was so much like her sister, wide eyed and innocent. Charlie always had to look out for her. Explain the world to her. Ayden knew that; he knew all her secrets, her fears. Well, almost all of them. The safety of his arms was almost as overwhelming as her sister’s memory. Charlie remembered how he held her all those years ago. She had to get it together. She had to stop crying. As long as Ayden saw her as a broken soul, he would never see her as a real woman. She took several deep breaths and pulled herself together.

  “I need a shower.” Charlie pushed out of his arms gently. “It’s so humid around here my hair will be sticking out all over the place from now on.”

  He tucked a soft tendril behind her ear and pushed the long soft bangs to the side. “Showers at the end of the hall. You want me to wait up for you?”

  “No, I’ll be fine. It’s been a long day. I should probably get some sleep.” Charlie drew another deep breath. Only this time it shuddered because of his touch not her tears. He was so attentive. Why no woman had snatched him out from under her was beyond comprehension.

  “Long flight?” Ayden pressed his forehead to hers. He couldn’t resist touching her. He had held her before, but this felt different.

  “No, I took a bus.” Charlie reluctantly pulled away from his gaze and started away.

  “Bus?” Ayden didn’t like that one bit. Charlie was afraid of people, of crowds and strangers. He was amazed she would go to an airport and take a long flight. The fact that she rode a bus didn’t add up.

  “Not all the way. I sold my car, picked up another one, then dumped it and rode the bus the rest of the way.” Charlie didn’t give him the chance to probe farther. She headed up the steps quickly. It was only a matter of time before he stewed in that revelation and came after her.