“I'm a PB&J kind of girl, but turkey is a good second,” I said choosing one of the plastic wrapped sandwiches. “This looks wonderful. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome. I guess that means more ham and cheese sandwiches for me,” he replied with a grin. He picked a ham sandwich up and immediately squirted four packets of mustard onto the bread. I raised my eyebrows and gave the sandwich a sidewise look. It was a lot of mustard.
He shrugged. “What? I like mustard.”
I laughed, and I dug into my peanut butter and jelly with gusto.
“So, I told you about my brother and father,” Aiden said after a moment of quiet. “What about your family? You said you have a sister?”
I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and reached for the bag of chips. “My parents, Lou and Mina, were high-school sweethearts. My sister, Louisa, just started college. It's a three hour drive, so I haven't seen much of her since she left home.”
“Your parents are Lou and Mina,” he repeated, enunciating their names carefully. “And they have two daughters named Louisa and Lena?”
“Yup.” I nodded slowly. We had gotten plenty of grief through our lives on the similarity of all our names. “They wanted to name our dog Lucina, but Louisa and I decided to name her Casey.”
Aiden laughed, taking out another sandwich and again applying a ridiculous amount of mustard. “You close with your parents?”
I shrugged. “I guess. They live just outside Chicago, so I try and see them when I can. Work keeps me pretty busy, though.”
He nodded. His work must keep him busy as well. He pulled out another sandwich, drenching it with mustard before digging in.
“What about you? What does your dad think of you working for Travel, Inc.?” I asked, taking a handful of chips.
He chewed slowly before finally swallowing. “It's complicated.” His tone of voice told me that it wasn't really something he wanted to discuss.
“Oh.” I chewed on my lip for a moment, trying to think of something that he would want to talk about. His dad was definitely a sore subject with him. “What's your favorite place that you've gone to for work? Besides here, I mean.”
“This is definitely one of my favorite places,” Aiden replied, his shoulders relaxing and the easy smile coming back to the corners of his eyes.
“Las Vegas? Tokyo?” I watched as he shook his head. Where would a man as handsome and charming as Aiden want to go? “Ibiza?”
“Ibiza was amazing and a constant party,” Aide
n said. He grinned. “But my favorite would have to be the Grand Canyon.”
“The Grand Canyon?” I was a little surprised. I had expected a something flashy and full of excitement, not a giant hole in the ground.
“I liked the way it made me feel,” he explained. His eyes went distant as he remembered. “All my problems were so small and inconsequential there. You can feel the eons there, and it just puts everything into perspective. Plus, the stars at night are absolutely breathtaking.”
“I've never been there,” I said with a shrug. “The pictures look amazing, though.”
“The pictures don't do it justice.” His hazel focus came back to me. “I'll take you there someday.”
A flutter went through my stomach at the casual reference to us seeing one another after this trip.
“I'd like that,” I replied honestly. “I really, really would.”
He grinned and moved to kiss me. His kiss tasted faintly of mustard, but I still thought it was wonderful. I treasured that mustard kiss like it was gold.
“You'd have to find the time off from being a lawyer to come with me,” he said when we broke apart. “I would want to show you all of it.”
Cold ice settled in the pit of my stomach. Guilt threatened to overtake my happiness. “Oh, yeah. Right.”
I knew I needed to tell him. I knew I should just blurt out the words, “I'm not a lawyer!” but nothing came out. This was so perfect. He wanted to take me to his favorite place in the world. Telling him now would only ruin things. Plus, we were out on the middle of the ocean in a boat. I hated the idea of driving back in silence. It could wait until later.
He brushed hair from my face and back behind my ear. I loved that he did that. It made me feel cherished. “You are so beautiful.”
I looked up, my guilt melted by the heat in his eyes. Want made his gaze burn and set my soul aflame. He kissed me again, this time slower and with more purpose. His tongue infused raw desire straight into my mouth. He reached for my shirt, lifting it easily up over my head.