Nodding, she latched on to the first thing that came to her mind as well as the counter for support, because her knees were a tad unsteady. “Do you mind if I get some milk for my tea?”
Turning off the stove, Aaron poured the boiling water into each cup. “Of course not. Help yourself to whatever is in there.” At the counter, he added water to the bowls of oatmeal before setting the teakettle back on the stove. “While you’re in there, can you grab the maple syrup and strawberry jam?”
Juliette grabbed the milk, the items Aaron requested, and the container of fresh blueberries, since he’d told her to get whatever she wanted. She rarely passed on any kind of fresh fruit, and blueberries were her all-time favorite. “Do you know what time everyone will be home?”
After depositing the cereal bowls and teas on the table, he went back for the bread. “Sometime tomorrow,” he answered as he pulled a jar of peanut butter from a cabinet. “I’m surprised Candace didn’t tell you.”
Well, at least she didn’t need to worry about them being suddenly interrupted if they picked up where they left off last night. “Tomorrow is Monday. Doesn’t Tiegan have school?”
“Nope. The teachers have workshops.” Aaron sat down next to her and started making a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich to go along with his oatmeal. “That’s one of the reasons I got the tickets for this weekend instead of next. I figured the three of them could stay longer in Boston and have fun.” He slapped the two slices of bread together. “It’s been a rough year for my sister and niece. But in a lot of ways, I think it’s been worse for Tiegan, so I wanted to make sure she enjoyed her birthday.”
She resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. Other than the male members of her family, she couldn’t recall ever meeting a man who valued family as much as she did until now.
He gestured toward the sandwich with his knife. “Do you want one?”
“I’m all set.” She’d eaten peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and breakfast yesterday, so she’d pass on one this morning. She watched him pour maple syrup on his oatmeal before adding a spoonful of strawberries. She’d never tried it that way, but it looked tasty, so she added a little to hers too. “Where are they staying?”
She didn’t stay in the city often. Until the past year or so, she’d had two relatives living in Boston, and her parents’ home in Weston wasn’t that far away either. On the rare occasion she opted for a hotel room rather than a bed owned by a family member, she had a list of preferred hotels depending on the reason for her time in Boston. If she went to see a show at the Opera House, which was where the Boston Ballet performed, she liked to stay at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza. Built in 1910, it was the oldest Sherbrooke hotel remaining in the city, although not the first constructed there. Although it’d been renovated numerous times over the years, it maintained the elegance of a building constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Plus, it was less than half a mile from the theatre.
Of course, she’d caught him with a mouthful of food. While she waited for an answer, she added milk and sugar to her tea, then tried her oatmeal. The maple syrup gave the oatmeal just the right hint of flavor, making an otherwise rather bland breakfast food sweet but nothing like the sugary cereals marketed to children—the very type her brother-in-law Josh loved and kept in the house.
Aaron washed his sandwich down with tea before he answered. “The Adams Hotel over on Exeter Street. It had mostly four-and-five-star ratings and an indoor pool. When I talked to Candace yesterday, she said it was quite nice.” He took another sip of tea before he continued. “I tried to book something at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza because it’s a little closer, but the prices for a family suite for three nights were a little too steep.”
She parted her lips, prepared to tell him next time he wanted a room at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza or any other hotel owned by Sherbrooke Enterprises just to let her know when and for how long. She shoved another spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth instead of issuing her offer to take care of it for him. Although he knew what family she belonged to, he didn’t bring it up or seem to treat her any differently because of it. She’d prefer to keep it that way. All too often, people either bent over backward to please her or tried to get close to her because of either her societal connections or her contacts in the modeling industry. Even the creep Daniel had inquired about whether she knew certain individuals, and when she admitted she did, he’d hinted at how he’d like an introduction.
“What do you think the chances are we’ll get power back today?”
“No idea. I can try calling my friend Robby later. But he might not answer. He’s probably been out working on the lines since early yesterday.”
“My cousin Curt lives about two hours from here. He left me a message this morning inviting me to stay with him until everything is back to normal. I will call him after we finish breakfast.”
“By the time you get there, we might have electricity back.”
“Maybe, or it could be another whole day.”
He lowered his overflowing spoon back to his bowl. “You’re welcome to stay again tonight if it’s not back on.” Aaron trailed his knuckles along her jaw. The tenderness in his eyes had her wondering where he’d been all her life. “It’s up to you, but I’d like you to stay.”
No sane woman would be able to say no to that. Somehow words seemed inadequate, so she leaned forward and kissed him instead.
Chapter 10
Thankfully, unlike the previous day, a tumble off the sofa and onto the floor hadn’t woken Juliette up. An insistent nose nudging her in the leg had. Of the two methods, she preferred the dog’s way. Once she gave Clifford the attention he wanted, she followed the scent of vanilla into the kitchen, where she found Aaron once again preparing them breakfast. Although this time instead of oatmeal and fruit, he served her perhaps the best french toast she’d eaten in a long time. She was almost through her second cup of coffee and down to her last slice of french toast when Candace and Tiegan walked in the house.
Although Candace’s expression revealed her curiosity, she greeted Juliette with a smile and then helped herself to coffee without asking any questions. Tiegan did the exact opposite. The first thing out of her mouth was to ask if Uncle Aaron had had a sleepover because there was a sleeping bag on the floor and blankets on the sofa. Tiegan didn’t give Aaron a chance to answer before telling Juliette that when her friends slept over, they usually camped out in the living room so they could watch television and get snacks from the kitchen. When she finally gave him a chance to explain the reason for the items in the other room, Tiegan asked if she could invite a friend to sleep over tonight. In the girl’s own words, it had been a super long time since she had a friend spend the night. Unsurprisingly, Candace reminded Tiegan she had school tomorrow, and sleepovers weren’t allowed on school nights. Before Tiegan could argue or complain, Aaron’s sister gave her daughter permission to invite a friend to stay that weekend.
Satisfied with her mom’s offer, Tiegan proceeded to talk about her time in Boston and, more specifically, the show she’d attended with her mom and grandmother. Juliette realized several things while listening to her describe everything from the inside of the theater to the dancers’ costumes. One, it’d been far too long since she attended the ballet or any other show for that matter, and she needed to rectify that soon. It also drove home how much she truly missed dancing.
And by the time she left Aaron’s house and drove back to her cottage, she no longer sat on the fence in regard to opening a dance studio in town. Nope, she had one leg already on the other side and touching the ground. If she moved ahead with the idea, she’d be back to doing something she loved while at the same time giving children like Tiegan, who loved dance as much as she did, a place to study. As far as she saw it, if she went ahead with her plan, it’d be a win-win for everyone. Her plan would also make it much easier to pursue a relationship with Aaron—an endeavor she looked forward to in a way she never had with any other man she’d
met. And judging by the time they’d spent together over the past two days, he shared her interest.
Unlocking the door, Juliette stepped inside. When she’d left on Saturday, the interior temperature had hovered around fifty degrees. Now, though, the thermostat claimed the temperature was almost at sixty-seven. Even better, she had hot water, and that meant she could take a shower—something she hadn’t done since Friday. So rather than unpack her bag or make any of the phone calls she wanted to, she stepped in the tub and turned the hot water on full blast. She didn’t leave until her fingertips resembled prunes either.
Showered and dressed, she grabbed her cell phone and got comfortable on the sofa, one she was glad she didn’t need to sleep on tonight. Two nights spent on Aaron’s had been more than enough.
It beat sleeping on the floor, she reminded herself, pulling the throw blanket over her legs and calling Holly, the first person on her mental list.
Last night, she’d told Aaron he didn’t need to sleep downstairs with her. After watching him tend the fire all day, she felt confident she could keep an eye on it during the night. On the rare chance an emergency arose, she’d insisted she could wake him if she couldn’t handle whatever it was. He’d turned down her offer in a manner so diplomatic, ambassadors at the United Nations would have been impressed. He’d started by explaining that he always stayed in the living room if he kept a fire burning all night. Then he went on to say that he didn’t even leave the task to his sister. While she believed the first part, Juliette assumed there was only a 10 percent chance the second statement was true. In her opinion, it was far more likely Aaron worried he wouldn’t have a house standing in the morning if he left her alone downstairs. Whatever the actual reason behind his decision, rather than argue, she offered to sleep on the floor so he could use the sofa. He’d turned her down without even considering it. She’d suspected he would even before she made the offer. A man who offered up the use of his house, as well as his bed and cooked breakfast for you, would not turn around and make you sleep on the floor.
With the power back and the heat once again working, it was no longer an issue. And with the housing situation back to normal, she could turn her attention to a different dilemma: what the heck she and Aaron should do tomorrow night. As tempting a thought as it was, and oh, man was it tempting, they couldn’t spend the entire evening sitting on this very sofa and kissing. Nope, they needed another activity for the night.
She’d been thinking about it off and on since Saturday. As of yet, not even one possibility had come to her. She needed help from someone familiar with the area. If Aaron hadn’t been sitting across from her, she would’ve asked Candace for suggestions when she saw her earlier. Not only would she know what was available, but she knew her brother’s likes and dislikes. At least, Juliette assumed she did. She certainly knew the bulk of Scott’s, and the last time they’d lived in the same house, she hadn’t even been old enough to drink. She could call her, but Candace had been away for the past few days and probably had things to do before heading to her class tonight.
But if Holly didn’t answer, she’d have to either risk bothering Aaron’s sister or maybe reach out to Holly’s mom.
“Hey, I was thinking about calling you,” Holly greeted after the fifth ring. “Are you still at the campground?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“My mom called me last night when she and dad got home from the airport. They went down to Florida to visit my aunt for her birthday.”
Well, that explained why Mrs. Lambert hadn’t answered when she called on Saturday morning. She’d been disappointed at the time, but now she might have to thank the woman for not being in town the next time she saw her.
“She said the power had been out since sometime Friday night. She was worried about you. I told her you’d probably left and gone to stay with your cousin or parents. Please tell me you just got back and didn’t spend the weekend with no heat.”
“No, I’ve been here the whole time.”
“You must be half frozen. You should have called my brother. He would’ve let you stay with him. That’s where Tara stayed.”
She’d thought of Marc when Mrs. Lambert didn’t answer on Saturday. But although she’d seen Holly’s twin countless times when he’d visited her, she didn’t have his phone number. “I don’t have Marc’s number.”
“Really? You should have called me. I would’ve given it to you,” Holly said before she rattled off Marc’s number. “Seriously, if you ever need help, call him. He won’t mind.”
She jotted down the number and later would add it to her contact list. Even if she never called Holly’s twin, it didn’t hurt to have Marc’s contact info.
“I can’t believe you stayed there and froze your butt off. I know you wanted some time alone, but that’s nuts.”
Time to set the record straight so she could move the conversation on to her reason for calling. “I stayed at Aaron’s house until the power came back this morning.”
“Inviting you to stay there sounds like something Candace would do. When we were in school, other kids would always ask her for help because they knew she wouldn’t say no. Next time I come to visit, I think I’ll stop by and say hello.”
Yeah, judging by the time she’d spent with Candace, she could see that happening. “She didn’t invite me. Aaron did. Candace was in Boston with her daughter and mom all weekend.”
“You and Aaron alone all weekend with very little to do? Tell me you found a pleasurable way to pass the time.”
Juliette looked toward the ceiling. Sex was never far from her friend’s mind. “Oh, yeah. We played a few games of chess, had some nice conversations about our favorite foods, and shared some meals. You get the picture. All things considered, it was a pleasant weekend.” She envisioned Holly shaking her head. “Oh, and I slept on the sofa in the living room.”
Several seconds of silence followed her admission. No doubt Holly was trying to determine if Juliette needed some kind of friendly intervention.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t an X-rated version of chess. Like every time you lost a pawn, you had to give Aaron a lap dance or something.”
An X-rated game of chess, now that was a novel idea. Maybe one that deserved future thought. “Nope. Just regular old chess.”
“I know you said you didn’t want to get into a relationship until the pictures of you and Daniel stop popping up, but the two of you were alone. As in, the only people in the house. No one would’ve known what you did to pass the time. If I’d been in your place, I wouldn’t have slept on the sofa, and we wouldn’t have played chess. Well, I guess if Aaron flat-out told me sex was off the table, I would have, but he’s a guy. Guys don’t pass on no-strings-attached sex.”
Juliette disagreed. Sure, she knew plenty of men—and women, for that matter—who fit Holly’s description, but she also knew some who didn’t. Before Holly really got going on the subject, and Juliette knew from experience her friend would, she needed to come clean. “I didn’t say we only talked and played chess.”
“Details. All. The. Details.”
Sometimes she shared specific details about her sex life with Holly. Other times she didn’t. “We kissed.”
“That’s it? Did he at least kiss more than just your lips? I’d share the details with you if I’d spent the weekend with Aaron.”
An image of Holly lying on the floor as Aaron moved his lips slowly down her body while his hands rested between her thighs formed. Anger and an unfamiliar emotion settled in her chest.
Hands off. The words took shape, and she took in a deep breath before speaking again. Holly was more than six hours away and hadn’t seen Aaron in close to two years. She had no reason to worry.
“All I’m going to say is, the man has one talented mouth.” She’d let Holly interpret that statement however she wanted. “But I didn’t call to talk to you about Aaron. I need your help. I asked him out for tomorrow night. Any suggestions of where we should go?”
Perhaps some other time, they could drive into Boston and spend a night or two, but not tomorrow. “People don’t sit in their houses all the time. There has to be something else around besides the movie theater.”
“A mini-golf course opened last year, but it’s probably still closed for the season. Silver Lanes Bowling and Lounge is over in Ashford. I haven’t been to it in a long time, but they used to have a separate area with pool tables too. And Tree Ventures is in Ashford too. It’s one of those outdoor rope courses. But I don’t think it opens until early May.”
It didn’t sound like she had many options available, at least not until the weather warmed up more.
“Maybe you should take him to dinner. There are some nice restaurants in Ashford. My favorite is the Stomping Ground. It’s right on the lake. There is a nice little winery in Ashford too. Afterward, take him back to your cottage and have some fun doing something other than playing chess.”
She’d already planned to feed him, although she hadn’t decided if she’d try to cook for him here or venture out to a restaurant. “Thanks for the suggestions. If you think of anything else before tomorrow night, let me know.”
“Will do. And call me sometime on Wednesday. I want to know how your night goes.”
Oh, she’d be talking to Holly soon, because if Juliette didn’t call her, Holly would reach out.
Aaron found Candace flipping through a magazine and drinking tea when he came back downstairs from putting away his sleeping bag and the blankets Juliette had used. She hadn’t said anything about finding Juliette eating breakfast with him yet, but he’d seen the look on her face when she joined them. It was only a matter of time before she opened her mouth. If he got her talking about something else first, perhaps they’d run out of time, and she wouldn’t get a chance to ask whatever questions were floating around in her head.
The Billionaire's Kiss (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 14) Page 12