Hard to Handle

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 fiance…“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.

Chapter 7

Sadie said her farewells, endured a few more hearty congrats on her engagement—insert eye roll here— and walked with Aiden back to her car.

“I’ll drive.” He held out a hand for her keys.

“You played Flip Cup, too,” she said of the drinking game they were talked into at the last minute.

“Yes, and I was disqualified after one round.” Aiden lifted and dropped the front of his damp shirt. “I’m