Hard to Handle

And in the wee, small hours of the morning, when Aiden lay awake in bed, his mind too busy to allow sleep, didn’t the family he envisioned feature a little girl with Sadie’s cherubic face and fair hair?

Yes. To all of the above.

Aiden’s heart beat erratically in his chest as he stared at the woman in front of him. He loved her; he knew that. He’d known that. But not until this very moment had he seriously considered what he was considering now.

He glanced around the full room. Shane, Crickitt, his brothers…Angel over in the corner with her husband. Was he really willing to risk asking Sadie here? Risk that she might—hell, probably would—say no? Asking would be a leap of faith. Without a net.

“Cat got your tongue?” Sadie purred. She was an exquisite, naughty angel. A beautiful winged creature with tiny horns poking up out of her blonde curls.

Aiden’s brow quirked in challenge. Yeah. He was willing. She deserved no less than to be called out on her sexy antics. And he deserved no less than Sadie in his life. Forever.

God, that sounded good.

Aiden pulled Sadie against him and spoke roughly, “I think you know my answer. Now don’t move out from in front of me for a minute or the entire party will know it, too.”

Sadie may have had the upper hand, but Aiden saw her resolve slip as he pressed against her. Desire bloomed in her brown eyes, and her lips parted as she took in a breath. Aiden nearly smiled.

Not so composed and in control now, was she? He loved when she dropped her guard, when she had no choice but to be led around by her emotions like the rest of the human population. It was a small triumph, but enough to spear him forward.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Aiden murmured into her ear, keeping her tightly against him as he steered her in another circle on the dance floor. “I’ll make love to you,” he said against her cheek. “And I’m talking about the kind of long, slow, agonizing, so-good-it-hurts love.”

She shuddered in his arms. Aiden nipped her earlobe and whispered, “I’ll make love to you until your toes are permanently curled.”

A small sound escaped her throat. One he’d bet she didn’t mean to let loose. He licked the curve of her ear with the very tip of his tongue. “Until you’re too weak to move…”

Sadie’s fingers fisted the front of his shirt, wrinkling it all to hell. He couldn’t care less. Nothing thrilled him more than the sound of the sharp intake of air between her teeth. Proof that her control was shattering into a million pieces.

“But I have stipulations,” he murmured, sliding his hand as low on her back as he dared.

Sadie’s feet moved to the music, but the rest of her body was still. “Oh?” she breathed.

“Mmm-hmm. Want to know what they are?” Aiden abandoned her ear and pressed a kiss onto her neck.

“Uh-huh,” Sadie said. It wasn’t a yes, but he hoped she’d give him one next.

Aiden pulled away so he could look at her and moved her hair over her shoulder. He stroked the back of his knuckles down her cheek and came to a stop in the middle of the floor. Her eyes widened slightly.

“Marry me.”

Sadie’s throat convulsed as she swallowed hard. “That’s not funny, Aiden.”

He expected her to be nervous. He remained calm, moving them to the music again and holding her gaze. “I’m not kidding, Sadie.”

She blinked a few times and gave him a shaky smile. “We can’t get married just to—just to—”

“Make love for hours on end?” he finished, allowing his smile to break free.

Sadie tried to narrow her eyes, but she didn’t quite make it. Instead, her cheeks grew pink and she darted her eyes left then right before landing on his face again. “That’s not a good reason to get married,” she whispered, angling an uncomfortable smile at the couple dancing near them.

But they weren’t close enough to overhear. And in a second, the whole room would know his intentions. He just had to get her past this part, make a confession…the confession.

“You’re right. That alone isn’t a good reason to get married,” he said with an intentional sigh. “I have another reason.”

Sadie shook her head, just barely. “Aiden.”

It was a plea he ignored. She deserved to know. He deserved the chance to proclaim it. “I love you, Sadie. I always have. I never stopped.”

She inhaled. Held it. Bit her lip.

Well, she hadn’t run from him. That was a good sign. “We’re good together, you and me,” he said. They were. They complimented each other in a way that was both synchronized and opposing at the same time. “We can talk for hours,” he continued. “We can kiss for hours,” he said, resting his cheek on hers and lowering his voice. “And I bet we’d be great at the long, agonizingly slow, making love part.”

He pulled back to face Sadie. She licked her lips, desire prevalent in her wide, dark eyes. Then she squeezed them shut. “Be serious, Aiden.”

He was. As a heart attack.

“Okay,” he told her. “I will.”

He took both of Sadie’s hands and stepped away from her, even though he saw the panic on her face. Now or never. It was time to find out whether he was wasting his time…or if Sadie felt the same way about him as he did her.

In front of God, his brothers and sister, his cousins, and over a hundred guests, Aiden dropped to his knees in the middle of the dance floor. He said a silent prayer and squeezed her hands before making the offer of his life.

“Sadie Ann Marie Howard, will you be my wife?”

*  *  *

Oh God. He did it. He actually did it.

Sadie didn’t know what was worse, the pure sincerity on Aiden’s face as he waited, chin raised, for her response, or the fact that she was going to have to tell him no.

Eyes, dozens of pairs of eyes, were trained on them. The other couples on the dance floor had stopped moving to the music, though (thank goodness) the band continued to play. They were watching, though—the band as well as the dancers. Everyone in the room waited for her to say yes, for Aiden to stand and embrace her, so they could applaud and shout their congratulations.

Aiden was waiting for a yes, too.

Regret was a snake coiling around her heart. But she couldn’t say yes…not here, in the room she’d once reserved for her and Trey’s wedding reception. Not now, in front of his family, in front of Crickitt, in front of gawking strangers. They weren’t even dating! What was he thinking?

Regret turned to panic and Sadie’s heart jackhammered against her rib cage. She pulled her hands from Aiden’s, shook her head, and offered him as gentle a smile as she could muster. “I’m sorry.”

Sadie slipped through the crowd, head down, as quickly as her four-inch heels would carry her. Outside the double doors, in the brightly lit hallway, her chest felt less constricted, her heart less erratic.

How could he do this to her? They hadn’t talked about this, hadn’t eluded to it. They were friends. Coworkers. Well, not anymore. But what had given him the idea of m-m-marrying her?

She couldn’t even think it.

She heard her name being called and quickened her pace until the wide chandeliers overhead were flashes of light in her peripheral and her feet a blur over the red and gold carpet.

Aiden chased her. Awesome.

“Sadie!” He caught her easily, snagging her elbow and pulling her into the one of the open, unoccupied rooms along the hallway. The room was dark, the only light came from the hall and sliced across the floor at an arc. Aiden steered her behind the open door, out of sight from any passersby.

He released her arm. She wouldn’t look at him. “Sadie.”

It took every drop of her dwindling courage, but she finally lifted her eyes to his.

“That’s it?” he asked, his mouth a grim line. He’d taken his jacket off before coming after her. She idly