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