Chapter 6

Sadie sat at her desk, fingers nested in her hair, and stared at the invitation on the screen. Rick Hammond’s Summer’s Passing party happened every year. She’d attended every year for the last four years.

How had she forgotten?

Now she stared at the colorful website and debated which of the responses to click. There was a YES, a MAYBE, and a clever NO, I’M LAME. She considered clicking the latter. That would be the most honest response. She was lame.

Perry’s words needled her all over again. She had dated a client. Granted, she didn’t date Rick to secure an account, and she certainly hadn’t slept with him. Last December, Rick had asked her to go with him to a fancy hotel party and ring in the New Year. Sadie should have told him no.

She didn’t.

After Aiden had gone to Oregon, after she’d cut all communication off from the man, Sadie gave herself twenty-four hours to recover and move on with her life. Problem was, her emotions hadn’t heeded her timetable.

Reminders of Aiden cropped up everywhere, when she least expected it. For months to come. And without him, she felt empty and sad. Putting on a front was brutal and, during the holidays, nearly impossible.

Seeing people at their happiest, watching Celeste and Trey snuggle by the Christmas tree, made Sadie want to hang herself with tinsel. Add the idea of spending New Year’s Eve alone, spending every New Year’s Eve alone since she’d banished herself to the kingdom of eternal singledom for her remaining years, and it wasn’t any wonder why she’d accepted Rick’s invitation.

She figured she could get out of the house, have some free drinks, and pretend to like the kiss at midnight. And she did. Pretend, that is. When Rick asked her out again a few weeks later, she told herself she was okay with the idea of dinner and a movie with a man she wasn’t attracted to. Look where attraction had gotten her with Aiden: riddled with holes and leaking emotion like a worn garden hose.

Rick, on the other hand, was safe. Predictable. There was no passion, but he could hold a conversation, and they had motorcycle supplies in common…

Wow. That was a really sad justification, Sadie thought, reaching for her coffee mug and taking a sip.

Almost as sad as the day she realized she’d let their casual dating go too far. Rick extended an invitation for her to join him on an out-of-town weekend trip. When he mentioned the shared room at the Bed and Breakfast, Sadie knew she had to end it. Right there in his car, her eyes fixed on her black Michael Kors platform heels, she let him down as gently as she could. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t argue. Maybe he’d known all along she was holding back.

She hovered the mouse over the MAYBE response and chastised herself for being indecisive. If she replied MAYBE, or NO for that matter, it would look like she was avoiding the party because of the awkward breakup all those months ago. Which, of course, she was.

Rock, meet hard place.

Rather than debate any longer, she clicked YES and typed out a response before she could overthink it.

It read: Wouldn’t miss it!

She added a smiley face. It mocked her. She backspaced, deleting the closed parenthesis, dash, and colon, and clicked SUBMIT before she changed her mind.

There. Done.

She shut her computer down and gathered her things, nearly bowling over Perry on her way out. Of course she’d run into Perry on her way out. This was the way her life was working out lately. She wanted to shake her fist at the ceiling, but with her luck, a fluorescent light fixture would come loose and crash onto her head.

“Do you live here?” She was still seething from earlier and hated how her sharp tone gave her away.

Perry smiled. The bastard. “Can’t wait for Rick’s party. You planning on”—he winked and clucked his tongue—“renewing that account?” He elbowed her. “If you know what I mean.”

Unwilling to show that he was getting to her, Sadie pulled her shoulders back and skated a derisive look down his average frame. “Why, planning on fighting me for him? I don’t know if he’s into cocky brownnosers, but you could certainly give it a shot.”

Perry flinched, struck speechless. Hallelujah.

She brushed by him and walked to her car. She ought to introduce Aiden to Perry; that’d get him off her case for a while.

Her lips curved.

That wasn’t a bad idea…

* * *

Aiden finished scrawling a note for Axle and taped it to the cash register. A knock sounded at the front door, and even though they were closed, he half expected to see a customer standing there. It wasn’t uncommon for one of Axle’s buddies to swing by after close to shoot the shit. It was the kind of business Axle had built—more of a hangout than just a retail space.

Imagine Aiden’s surprise when he found a petite blonde dressed in jeans and a pink hoodie peering through the glass. Damn, she looked good in pink—like a cupcake with too much frosting. Guaranteed to make his teeth ache.

“Sadie. Didn’t expect to see you today.” He opened the door, catching the first honest-to-goodness whiff of autumn. Soon the air would be mild, smell of browned leaves, and be best complemented by bonfires, haunted hayrides, and mugs of warm cider.

He couldn’t wait.

Sadie breezed past him, interrupting his fall fantasies with the soft fragrance rolling off her hair. He didn’t know what it was, but it always turned his head and shifted his thoughts to a time when he’d had her in his arms. A predictable, answering ache speared his heart.

“I…left something…” She trailed off and vanished behind a shelf, emerging waving a paper in the air. “Kind of hard to put in the order on Monday without my order sheet.”

“Not if you had telekinesis.”

“True,” she said. “But then I’d just use my ability to set buildings on fire from afar.”

“A valid point.”

She flashed him the briefest smile and he considered maybe Sadie did have the ability to set things on fire with her mind. The longer she looked at him, the warmer he got.

“Well, good night.” Sadie rushed for the door and Aiden followed. She’d been running away from him a lot lately. She didn’t walk out right away, however. She paused at the door, rolling and unrolling the paper in her hands before opening her mouth only to close it again.

Aiden could see she had something else on her mind; he waited for her to say more. Finally, she did.

“Are you…done here?”

Aiden glanced around at the store, to the dark showroom beyond. “Yeah. Just have to make sure everything is locked up.”

“Oh.” Sadie rolled the order form again.

“Did you need anything else?”

“Um. Not really. I mean, not…especially. I guess I’ll see you Monday.”

“Sure, see you Monday.”

Aiden waited until she got into her car and reversed out of the lot before turning from the door. Well, that was odd.

He did a final walk-through. Mack always locked up the showroom, so Aiden’s double-checking was hardly necessary, but he did it anyway. Soon, if everything worked out, this place would be his. And he didn’t dare leave anything to chance.

With his mind on a late-night ride, cool breeze on his face, road speeding by beneath him, Aiden walked toward his bike parked at the corner of the lot. Sadie’s car pulled in when he’d gotten halfway to Sheila, stopping beside him. The driver’s window slid down, revealing Sadie chewing her lip and looking as indecisive as she had a moment ago.

“You’re back,” Aiden said. She offered him a tight smile. “Forget something?” Funny how she’d left minutes ago and he was already glad to see her again.

She’d turned him into a damn golden retriever.

“Yes,” she said, followed by…nothing.

He raised his eyebrows and lowered his chin, prompting her to speak. She didn’t. Only turned her head and stared in the opposite direction down the road. “Okay,” he said. “Have fun doing…whatever it is you’re doing.”

He turned his back on her and counted to three, unable to keep the smile from spreading his lips when she spoke. Right on cue.

“Do you think I could talk you into going to a party?”

* * *

“You’re inviting me to a party?” Aiden looked confused.

That made two of them.

This was why she hadn’t asked him yet. She couldn’t decide if she should play the angle of him setting Perry straight, or mention she needed him to run interference in case Rick asked her out again. Maybe she should admit the underlying truth. That she kind of, sort of wanted to hang out with him. Aiden was fun. And good in uncomfortable situations. She could hide behind him tonight while he charmed everyone within earshot.

“Every year a client of mine has a Summer’s Passing party,” she started.

“‘Summer’s Passing’? I like that.”

“Yeah, me, too.” Sadie found herself giving Aiden what might be perceived as a shy smile. Suddenly it was so important for him to say yes. Which put her at a disadvantage. She didn’t like that but plowed forward anyway, her eyebrows pinched together in concentration. “There’s a big bonfire and beer. I just need you for a few hours.”

Aiden rested his palm on the edge of the open window. He had such nice hands. Strong, slightly rough. He was good with his hands.

“What was that last bit?”

She wrenched her gaze from his hand to his face, where she was greeted by those depthless sea green eyes. She managed to speak, albeit through a lump of lust. “Um…I need you…for a few hours?” She wasn’t sure if that’s what he was clarifying or not.

“You need me,” he repeated, holding her gaze. The cool evening breeze sent his short hair over his forehead, and that irresistible dimple dented his cheek. Seeing it made her remember how she’d kissed it once, darted her tongue into the groove and back out again. Her heart fluttered. She did need him. In more ways than one.

“I guess I do.” She forced the haze from her brain. It was only fair he knew the truth, knew what he was walking into. “The host, Rick, and I dated. Briefly,” she added.

Aiden nodded but said nothing, his handsome face unreadable.

“I ended it. I don’t even know why I let it get as far as I did.” A flash of something lit Aiden’s eyes. Anger? Hurt? She couldn’t tell. “I mean, it didn’t get that far, but I definitely went to more two-for-forty-dollars dinners than I wanted to. This is the first time I’ve seen him since I dumped him. And I can’t not go, since he’s my customer,” she said, unable to stop rambling. “I guess I’m asking you to come with me because I need…”

“A buffer.” Aiden finished.

She bit her lip. The definition of irony was asking Aiden to be a buffer when Aiden was the one she needed a buffer for. She nodded.

Hand still on her car, Aiden leaned his head through the open window. Sadie held her breath, watching his lips draw closer to hers. He stopped short of brushing her nose with his and she licked her bottom lip.

His voice was a low rasp when he spoke. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Before she’d succeeded to pull air into her deflated lungs, Aiden was in the car, belt buckled. “I’ll even let you drive,” he said with a wink.

Sadie pulled onto the street, utterly distracted by the heat emanating off her passenger. Woodsy-smelling, toothpaste-commercial-worthy Aiden Downey. Right next to her. Her hands grew damp on the steering wheel. He was sitting too close, was too distracting. Operating the gas pedal and steering wheel simultaneously wasn’t normally an issue she struggled with.

Maybe she should let him drive.

His bare arm brushed hers as he turned down the radio, sending goose bumps to the surface of her skin and her thoughts into dangerous territory. She jerked her arm, nearly veering into a cornfield.

“I was planning on taking the bike out,” he said, sounding terribly calm. Being near her hadn’t robbed him of his faculties. “It’s the perfect night for doing something outside.” He glanced her direction. “I’m glad you invited me.”

Sadie flinched. She could picture him weaving along a dark ribbon of unlit road on his motorcycle. She refused to get on one. That hadn’t changed since last year.

“I can’t believe you still hate Sheila,” he teased, picking up on her thoughts. Or maybe he noticed her absently rubbing her arm with her free hand.

“If she weren’t lethal, I might give her a chance,” Sadie mumbled.

“Maybe you should give her a chance anyway.”

She spared him as long a glance as she could before returning her eyes to the road. His loaded statement seemed to be about more than her motorcycle phobia.

When Sadie knew she was getting close to Rick’s house she pulled out her cell and studied the GPS on the screen. They passed a sign, then another, but Sadie couldn’t read the street names despite her squinting, straining, and bending over the steering wheel.

“Keep hunching like that and I’ll have to find you a bell tower to live in.”

She sat up. “You’re hilarious.”

He grinned over at her, attractive even in the eerie blue lights emanating from the dashboard. Her pulse skittered. “Did you consider asking for my help?” he asked.

She hadn’t. And it wasn’t like she could forget she had a copilot. His presence clogged the very air she breathed. But asking for help hadn’t occurred to her. Not once. Why was that? Because I never ask for help came the swift but sure answer.

Rather than examine the reasons behind her actions, she handed him the phone. “Here.”

Aiden dropped it in the cup holder. “You have a ways to go.”

“You know where we are?”

“Friend of mine used to live out here—Peachpine Road.”

“Peachpine?” She wrinkled her nose. “Berrymaple? What kind of weird neighborhood is this?” His chuckle sent another wave of goose bumps over her arms. She liked talking to him. Even about nothing.

“All the lanes back here are a mash-up of fruit and tree names,” he told her.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yes-huh. There’s Grapewillow, Raisinfir, and Cantaloupe…uh, Dogwood.”

His hesitation gave him away. “You made that last one up,” she said, swatting him playfully. He caught her hand and didn’t let it go.

“You got me,” he said softly. A moment later, he pointed. “Berrymaple.”

Sadie took her hand back. The slide of his fingers against hers made her want to sigh. She turned down the long lane, missing his touch already.

“Spooky,” Aiden said, checking out their surroundings.

It was, a little. Tall trees shrouded the lane in darkness, their fading leaves waving overhead and blocking out the stars. They parted to a massive field where silhouettes circled a huge bonfire burning in a clearing. Sadie angled her car into the grass and parked. Hers was one of few four-wheeled vehicles, the rest of the space littered with motorcycles.

“You didn’t tell me it was a biker party. I would have brought Sheila.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t think of it,” she lied.

Aiden tsked. “She’s gonna be mad when she hears about this.”

“You have an unhealthy relationship with that bike,” Sadie said, dropping her keys into the pocket of her hoodie.

“Yeah, I have a weakness for gorgeous ladies,” Aiden quipped, adding a long-lashed wink. Sadie was glad the interior of the car was dark so he couldn’t see her face grow warm. On Aiden, something as simple as a wink packed enough innuendo to bring the female population to their knees. And she was already showing her weakness for him tonight.

Sadie retrieved a six-pack of beer from the backseat and got out. Aiden took the beer and caught her hand with his free one.

She looked down at their linked arms, Aiden’s tanned one resting against her fairer skin. “This okay?” he asked, his voice gentle.

She nodded and he gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze as they walked. At least it felt reassuring to her. Yes, he made her pulse jump-start, conjured up goose bumps, and heated her cheeks, but something about him also calmed her. Always had.

They broached the outer rim of the party, and a few people turned to watch them. She pictured what they must see: Sadie, with a tall, buff, dark-blond-haired guy. A guy holding her close to him, claiming her. She liked that much more than she should.

“Sadie!” someone behind her squealed.

“Jade, hi!” Sadie caught the tattooed twentysomething against her in a tight hug. Jade held on a little too tight—maybe for support. She smelled like a distillery.

“I meant to text you,” Jade slurred. Every year they promised to catch up between Summer’s Passing parties. It never happened. Sadie doubted they had much more in common than the yearly shindig.

“This year. We’ll do it this year,” Sadie assured her.

“For sure.” She held up a water bottle filled with a brownish liquid and shook it. “I started way early.” She seemed to notice Aiden and stuck her hand out, wobbling slightly in a pair of wedge sandals. “Hi. Jade.”

“Aiden.”

Jade held his hand longer than the social norm, then turned to Sadie and blurted, “He’s superhot.”

Aiden’s deep chuckle near Sadie’s ear caused the fine hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end.

Jade beamed up at him. “That wasn’t a whisper, was it?”

He shook his head. “Afraid not.”

Before Jade could embarrass herself further, another “Sadie!” interrupted them. Sadie turned to greet more once-a-year friends and introduce Aiden to everyone in as vague a manner as possible. This is Aiden. He works at Axle’s. Almost everyone knew the place, and had good things to say about the store, and about Axle. Sadie watched in awe as Aiden answered questions patiently. The man did not know a stranger. They had that in common. She hoped he ended up with Axle’s. He deserved something good in his life. Her smile faded. So did she, for that matter. They both did.

“Sadie, hey.”

She turned toward Rick’s voice. He approached, a bottle of beer in each hand. “Brought you a Yuengling,” he said, his smile hopeful. Too hopeful.

She heard Aiden finish up his conversation before slipping his hand into hers.

Rick blinked, out of surprise, at their linked fingers. He weighed the bottles in his hand. “I guess…I brought beers for both of you,” he said, his smile tight.

“No, thanks, brought my own,” Aiden said, pointing out the six-pack at his feet.

Sadie’s heart hammered. “I’ll have one,” she said out of guilt. Oh, the guilt.

He nodded at Aiden. “I’m Rick.”

“Aiden.” He was taller than Rick, his thick hair making a mockery of Rick’s thinning scalp. His everything made a mockery of their host. Aiden was a great-looking guy. She shut her eyes and reminded herself not to compare. Still, it was hard to accept that she was standing with the last two men she’d kissed.

There was no comparison. Aiden won that battle hands-down. At the thought of his hands, her mind wandered off. She caught it by the tail and dragged it back before it got too far.

“Aiden and I are…” She hadn’t meant to start the introduction that way, and had no words to finish the sentence. What were they? Friends? Coworkers? She smiled thinly.

Aiden picked up the slack. And choked her with it. “Getting married.”

He did not just tell Rick Hammond they were getting married. Only he did. She recovered on the outside, or at least she hoped she did. The false smile on her face felt as if it might crack and fall to her feet at any second.

“Well.” Rick looked from Aiden to Sadie. “I guess congratulations,” he said, trying to mask the hurt she could see on his face. “Sadie always told me she was never getting married.”

Aiden squeezed her hand. Curiously, the part of Sadie that wanted to slap him had surrendered to the part of her enjoying the warmth of his palm. “She told me the same thing, didn’t you, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart? That might be pushing it. Sadie gave Aiden a warning glare. He ignored it.

“How long did it take?” Aiden asked her. “Two, three weeks to wear you down?” Keeping their hands intertwined, Aiden wrapped her arm behind her back and pulled her to him. “She couldn’t resist me.”

He really did smell good, she thought as he brought her against the wall of his strong chest. Wait. She was supposed to be upset. Or something.

She inched away from him when Rick offered a generic “Guess when you know, you know.” His smile was tight. Sadie remembered their handful of dates in January and February and felt another pang of guilt. Using someone to salve her wounds, when she knew he felt something for her, was reprehensible. Sadie should have broken it off early, or never gone out with him at all. Rick was a nice guy. A really nice guy. And she hated hurting him. But, nice or not, he hadn’t made her pulse shake like a pair of maracas.

Not like Aiden.

Rick pointed out the food tables and tubs of ice where they could stow their beers and took his leave. Sadie blew out a breath, feeling like a dirty liar.

Aiden chuckled softly.

Sadie glared up at him. “‘Sweetheart’?”

“Yes, dear?” He beamed down at her.

“You shouldn’t rub it in his face. What was all that about?” She pulled her hand out of his.

“I’m buffering.” Aiden rubbed his hands together. “As requested.”

“But married, Aiden? Really?”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “He seemed pretty upset to hear about our engagement. I thought you said things weren’t serious between you two.”

She took in Aiden’s stiff posture, the intense look on his face, the frown lines bracketing his mouth. Was he…jealous? Of Rick? And why did she feel a rush of exhilaration at the idea? “I—”

“There she is!”

Oh no.

Perry. He strode through the grass in loafers, sliding a hand down his ugly maroon tie. A tie and khakis. Always on the clock. Perry may have been good at sales, but he was crap at reading body language.

He ignored Aiden, a virtual wall of tension by her side, and said, “So. Did you ‘close the deal’ with Rick yet? If you know what I mean.” He rolled his eyes, then seemed to notice Aiden. “Hey. Perry Bradford. I work at Midwest with Sadie. You in the business?”

Aiden stood, hands at his sides, and glared at Perry. “Aiden Downey, manager, Axle’s,” he announced, his voice as rigid as his body.

“Oh-ho!” Perry got in Sadie’s face. “My God, you do get around.”

She’d barely had time to get offended when Aiden reached past her and wound a fist around Perry’s tie. They were the same height, but Aiden had the benefit of brawn and somehow still managed to look down at Perry. “Say it again,” Aiden said as calmly as if discussing the weather. But he wasn’t calm. His nostrils flared. A muscle in his jaw jumped.

Aiden looked mad.

And hot.

Perry attempted to pull away, sloshing beer onto his shoes in the process. He clasped on to Aiden’s wrist, his teeth drawn back in a grimace. He forced a shaky smile. “Easy, buddy. She knows I’m joking.”

Aiden tightened his hold and hauled Perry half an inch closer. “Yeah, but I don’t.” He released Perry a moment later. Perry stumbled, straightening his shirt with one jittery movement after the other. He stalked off, muttering something incomprehensible as he did. When he got far enough away, he threw the word asshole over his shoulder.

Sadie winced, worrying Aiden might tear after him and break his nose. Worrying more how she might like to see that play out. But Aiden’s face had lost all rage, and he laughed lightly, his easy smile sliding across his lips as if it’d been just under the surface the whole time.

“There,” he said. “That ought to help.”

Sadie didn’t think she’d ever had someone stand up for her honor before. Stand up for her at all, actually. She rose to her tiptoes and grasped Aiden’s neck and kissed him. Just a brief press of lips, and not nearly long enough for her taste. She lowered to her heels.

Aiden’s lips were still pursed when she drew away. His hands landed on her hips. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice rough.

She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t take the dark intensity in his eyes. But she did anyway. “Thank you.”

His infallible smile returned, the intensity in his eyes replaced with impishness. “What do I get if I punch him?”

An hour later they found a pair of empty lawn chairs. Sadie collapsed into one while Aiden went to grab her another beer. Jade flopped down into the chair next to her and leaned over the arm, nearly tipping it over.

Sadie held out a hand to help but Jade righted the chair with an awkward splay of one leg. “Hottie with a body is your fiancé?” Sadie guessed she was attempting a whisper. She didn’t quite make it. Sadie sent an apologetic smile to a few people hovering nearby.

“Wow, word travels fast,” Sadie said.

“Yeah.” She glanced at the fire. The flames were no longer two stories high, making it safer to sit close. “Perry is trying to take Rick’s account out from under you,” Jade said with a sloppy wave. “But I heard Rick say he wasn’t going to sign with that bag of dicks.”

Sadie chuckled. “Did he, now?”

Jade let out a sharp laugh. “He may not have used that exact terminology.”

Sadie felt Aiden before she heard him. A tingling on the back of her neck like static electricity. “Hi, Jade.”

“Hi, hottie,” Jade said with an exaggerated wink. “Have you two set a date yet?”

Aiden didn’t hesitate. “Well, I would get married tomorrow, but Sadie wants a huge wedding. Massive. One that trumps the royals.”

”No way, you should go to Jamaica.” Jade shoved Sadie, bringing her back from blankly staring into the flames. She gave her an impatient smile. Thankfully, Jade said nothing more on the subject after that, excusing herself and clambering out of the chair. She nearly spilled out of her top in the process.

Aiden sat, eyes wide, looking shell-shocked. “Could have gone my whole life without seeing that,” he joked. He handed over Sadie’s beer and took a drink from his own.

Sadie didn’t laugh.

“What’s wrong?”

Nothing. Everything. “I don’t want a huge wedding,” she said.

“No?” Aiden shrugged with his mouth. “What’ll it be, then? Courthouse? Vegas? Jamaica?”

She didn’t feel like playing any longer. “I don’t want a wedding at all.”

“Well, don’t I feel the fool.”

“Stop joking about this, okay?” Sadie wasn’t sure where that came from, but suddenly her patience was very thin. She guzzled down a few swallows of beer.

Aiden leaned in and forced her to acknowledge him. “I’m sorry if I took things too far. I didn’t know.”

And she was overreacting. “It’s fine.” She raked a hand through her hair.

After a moment, Aiden asked, “You really don’t see yourself ever getting married?”

She thought of the wedding she’d planned. The caterer she’d booked. Invitations she’d ordered, then subsequently shredded into tiny pieces. The flowers she’d debated over. The chicken-or-steak option she’d been sure to include on the RSVP cards. It’d all been for naught. Wasted time, wasted hopes.

“Never,” she said.

“That’s too bad.”

Sadie turned to see Aiden tip his beer to his lips. A wave of melancholy washed over her, almost like she regretted giving such a final answer on the subject. So change the subject. “What do you think about putting a second motorcycle in the display window?”

Aiden turned to her, a puzzled look on his face. “You really don’t think I could talk you into marrying me?”

Sadie nearly choked on her beer. All the blood rushed from her face to her toes, making her brain temporarily seize. No, of course not. Just say it. No way, Jose. But she didn’t. She just sat there, staring at him, eyes as round as a pair of Harley Daymaker headlamps.

“Yeah,” Aiden sighed. “Rick probably didn’t buy it, either.” He spared her a glance. “Think I jumped the shark? Want me to tell him I lied? That I’m a client who has no friends, so you invited me out of pity?”

His careless smile was intact, but Sadie could see a dab of sadness in his eyes. She knew he’d lost his best friend when he found out Daniel slept with Aiden’s then-wife. She wondered how many people he’d alienated in the process of walking away from his and Daniel’s business. She wondered if she counted as his friend. If she wanted to…

She put a palm on his arm. “You have friends. You made two or three friends within five minutes of being here. And I’m fairly sure Jade would have your babies if you asked nicely.”

He sputtered, spitting beer on himself. He sent her a dimpled smile as he swiped the foam from his lip and nose, brushed stray droplets off his shirt. Sadie stared a little too long at his lips. They were slightly damp and causing an equal reaction in her nether regions.

She cleared her throat. “Whatever you do, don’t confess we’re not really engaged. Perry doesn’t need another thing to tease me about. And Rick might get angry enough to cancel our contract.”

She felt the weight of Aiden’s stare and turned to find him frowning. “You’re seriously worried about losing Rick’s account.”

Sadie wasn’t sure if worried was the right word, but she was concerned. Who wanted to lose anything? Be it a client, a game of checkers, a fiancé…“If I do, I’ll find another,” she said, not feeling the conviction of her words.

“Sadie,” Aiden grasped her hand. He’d touched her a lot tonight, and damned if she didn’t like it. “You have to know people work with you because of who you are, not because of your dating potential.”

She thought back to when she’d first encountered him at Axle’s. Aiden had offered to sign the contract if she went out with him. “And when you tried to bribe me into dating you?” she asked.

She didn’t know what answer she hoped for. While being bribed wasn’t flattering in the least, the idea that he’d done it because he wanted to date her was. And, she realized now, even if she hadn’t then, part of her wanted to date Aiden again. She’d enjoyed this evening with him. Enjoyed the way he touched her, was touching her now, like it was the most easy, natural thing. Enjoyed the way she’d kissed him, also the most easy, natural thing. She wanted this, she decided abruptly. Even if it was temporary.

Aiden dropped her hand and gripped his beer bottle in both of his. “That was—I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have done that.”

A more solid no could not have been uttered.

Disappointment settled on her shoulders, but she rolled them back, brushing it off, refusing to show it. She shouldn’t long to be closer to this man. She shouldn’t harbor any feelings for him. Not after everything he’d put her through, after everything she’d put herself through. But she wouldn’t get angry or pout because he didn’t say what she hoped he would.

“No, you don’t,” she said, meaning it. “If you apologized to me, I’d have to apologize to you. I got you to sign because I dared you to argue with me in front of Axle. Now you know my tricks,” she said, picking at the label of her bottle. “Looks and bribery.”

“Yeah right,” Aiden said, his voice flat. “Which is why you come to this party every year. Just to keep Rick as a client, string him along?”

She frowned.

“If that were the case, you’d still be dating him. And what about Axle’s? You do plenty of things that aren’t outlined by your contract. Like the extra hours you spend rearranging the shelves, or when you help sell merchandise to customers. And what about the front window display? That’s not something you do because you have to.”

He’d noticed. He’d noticed the way she’d been pouring herself into Axle’s, the work she’d done to ensure she left the store better than she found it. Her heart swelled the tiniest bit. She liked that Aiden noticed. And had pointed it out. It made her proud.

“And I know you’re not hanging out all those extra hours just to be near me,” he said.

That wasn’t entirely true. Sadie opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and stayed quiet.

Aiden only winked at her. “Admit it.” He leaned in and bumped her shoulder with his. “You care.” He was close enough to kiss, his green eyes reflecting the firelight, his lips pursed slightly.

She did care. About her clients, about her friends. About Aiden. Maybe she’d never stopped caring. Eyes trained on his mouth, she found herself wanting to steal another kiss, but not the thank-you peck she’d stood on her tiptoes to give him earlier. A real one. With tongue and everything.

“And your customers know it.” Aiden said. He sat back in his chair and robbed her of his scent, of his attention.

Sadie made a tiny sound of protest in her throat. She covered it by coughing. Then she sat back in her chair, finished her beer, and considered drinking about four more of them.

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