Falling for Aiden
By Allie Everhart
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
26. Six Months Later
From the Author
Books by Allie Everhart
Falling for Aiden
By Allie Everhart
Copyright © 2020 Allie Everhart
All rights reserved.
Published by Waltham Publishing, LLC
Cover Design by Marisa Wesley of Cover Me Darling
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, things, and events are fictitious, and any similarities to real persons (live or dead), things, or events are coincidental and not intended by the author. Brand names of products mentioned in this book are used for reference only and the author acknowledges that any trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.
The author holds exclusive rights to this work and unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book is to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.
Chapter One
Sophie
"The Abbot wedding is all set," Bianca says. I can barely hear her above all the street noise. "But the Canton Investment banquet is way behind. We'll need to meet as soon as you get back."
"On Sunday?" I slow down as I drive around a tight curve, surrounded on both sides by trees that are just starting to show hints of fall color.
"You were planning to leave in the morning, right?" Bianca asks.
Actually I wasn't. This is the first weekend I've had off since starting my job in New York. I knew I'd work weekends as an event planner but I didn't think it'd be every weekend, in addition to ten hour days during the week. I've been doing this for a year now so I should be used to it, and for the most part I am, but I need a break.
That's what this weekend was supposed to be. A break from the grind. An escape from the city. A girls' weekend with my best friend, Macie, from back home. She's flying here all the way from the other Manhattan, the one in Kansas.
We've been planning this trip for months. I booked us a room at The Maple Farm Inn, a country inn in Vermont. I fell in love with the place last summer when Darren, the guy I was dating, took me there for his friend's wedding. It ended up never happening. The bride panicked and called it off. Darren and I broke up a week later. He's now a distant memory but I never forgot that beautiful inn nestled among the trees in a quaint little Vermont town.
"Sophie, did you hear me?" Bianca says in a curt tone. She's a type A perfectionist, and all business, all the time. It's tough working for her but I've learned a ton so I can't really complain. I just wish she could be more of a friend sometimes and less of a boss. We're almost the same age and the few times I've gone out with her we've had fun, but then back at the office she turns into a drill sergeant.
"Sorry, I was paying attention to the roads," I tell her. "This guy is on my bumper."
"Probably a New Yorker. We have no patience for those country roads. Why'd you insist on going up there? There are plenty of spas in New York for a girls' weekend."
"I needed to get out of the city. Get some fresh air. Besides, Macie wouldn't like New York. She's a small town girl."
"So are you, and you like the city."
I used to, but now? Not so much. Manhattan, New York is nothing like Manhattan, Kansas. The noise, the pollution, the crowds. I love the energy the city has, and the great restaurants and museums, but living there is exhausting and not at all like the dream I imagined it'd be growing up. I used to tell everyone that someday I'd live in the other Manhattan, the big one, but now that I'm there, I'm finding it's not living up to the dream.
"I'm sending you the spreadsheet to look over," Bianca says. "Check to see that I got everything. If even the tiniest thing goes wrong during this banquet, we'll never get Mr. Canton's business again."
"I'll look at it as soon as I get back."
She laughs. "You're kidding, right? Sophie, you need to look at it as soon as you get to your room. This can't wait."
I quietly sigh. "Bianca, you promised me I could have this weekend. I haven't had a day off all year."
"It'll take twenty minutes, max. Just look it over and get back to me." She pauses. "You want that promotion, right?"
There she goes again, dangling the promotion in my face. She's been doing it for weeks now, every time I ask for time off. Last week she did it when I tried to leave for lunch. I ended up staying and working because I desperately need that promotion. I'm living paycheck to paycheck. When I moved to New York, I didn't realize how much it'd cost for an apartment that's basically the size of a closet.
As Bianca rattles on with more details about the banquet, I roll down my window to get some fresh air. Before she called I was starting to relax, but now I'm feeling stressed again. I take some deep breaths and pick up my bottle of water.
The town with the inn is just up ahead. I smile as I see the white steepled church. Just behind it is the quaint little downtown, lined with local shops and restaurants. Macie is going to love this place. There's just something about it that feels like home.
Aiden
"Roger, I'm telling you, these places don't like the hard sell." I grab my coffee and swig down the last of it. It tastes terrible but I needed the caffeine. I couldn't find a coffee shop so I had to settle for coffee from the one and only gas station I passed since crossing
