“That works,” I said. I smiled to let him know I didn’t mind. “I’m sure you have better things to do than entertain me the whole week.”
Aiden turned away from the wine bottle and looked at me.
“Better? No. Definitely not better. Just unavoidable.”
“I run into that sometimes,” I said. “No matter how many team members are on a project, sometimes nothing gets done unless I spell it out for people.”
“Maybe I need you to manage my project,” Aiden mumbled.
“Do you work on projects?” I asked. I looked down at the floor for a moment, hoping I wasn’t going too far when it came to asking about his work. “With your sales work, I mean.”
“Not with the sales stuff, no,” he replied quietly. “The sales business is pretty straightforward. I have something, you want it, and we negotiate on price or quantity. Hopefully I come out ahead, and I usually do.”
“Do you have a sideline business?” I was pressing. I knew I was, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
Aiden was quiet as he poured me a glass of wine.
“I guess you could call it that,” he finally replied. “Did you get enough to eat? I’ve got more of that hummus. Or maybe some cheese and crackers?”
And he derails the conversation. Again.
“No, I’m still pretty full.”
“All right, then,” he said as he handed me the wine. “Let’s get you settled. Unfortunately, I’m probably going to be a while.”
I sat in the cool evening breeze and enjoyed the sound of the waves while I slowly sipped at the wine. The beach was completely empty, which surprised me. It was so beautiful, I guess I expected lots of people out near the water at night. As it was, my only company was the lights from a few ships at sea.
I thought about our kayak trip and dinner. It really had been very nice. I had never considered trying out a kayak before. I wasn’t one for physical activities, and doing anything for the first time felt intimidating. It had been nerve-wracking, but Aiden had talked me through it, and I was glad we had gone. I could have done without the slimy jellyfish or puking cucumbers, but the conch had been amazing. I had always wanted to find a conch shell when I was a kid but had only ever found pieces of them. I hadn’t even thought about the animal that lived inside.
The air chilled as I finished my drink and brought the glass back into the kitchen. Aiden was in the living room, where he had shoved some of the boxes out of the way and was typing furiously on a laptop. I walked into the room, and he jumped slightly before slamming down the cover.
“All wined out?” Aiden asked with a smile. There was no light in his eyes, though, and the smile seemed feigned.
“I suppose so,” I said. “Wine always makes me sleepy.”
“Well, don’t wait up on my account,” Aiden said. “I think I’m going to be a while longer.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll just…um…see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Chloe.”
“Goodnight, Aiden.”
And with that, I headed off to bed.
SEVEN
I’d always heard that guys who were tall often had proportional dicks. If what I vaguely remembered feeling against my leg during our first drunken kiss was an accurate memory, Aiden fit the bill. I was certain that man’s sausage could feed a developing country of horny women.
“You want sausage?”
“What?” I cried, wondering how in the hell he could read my mind.
“With your eggs,” Aiden said. “Do you want sausage with your eggs?”
Oh yeah. Breakfast.
I twisted a little on my seat and tried to hide my blush with a cup of coffee. The thoughts running through my head this morning were troublesome, to say the least. Though the last time we had kissed was next to my car outside of Thirsty’s, sleeping next to Aiden Hunter apparently got my hormones going.