"You mean the ones we planned to go on together but then you ditched me?" he asks in a teasing tone.
"I didn't ditch you. I just had to leave. I had to get back to the city."
"I think you owe me a re-do."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we go together. Just let me get dressed." He closes the door, leaving me standing there confused and wondering what just happened.
Did he just invite himself to go with me? I don't mind if he tags along but I think his girlfriend would. Now I sound like my mother. Why am I being this way? I can take a walk with Aiden without it meaning anything.
We're just friends. Friends out taking a walk, at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Chapter Eleven
Aiden
"What do you think?" I ask, standing next to Sophie as we look out at the colors that fill the landscape as far as the eye can see.
"It's amazing. I tried to describe it to my mom but couldn't. This is something you have to see to believe. It doesn't even look real. It looks like a painting."
"Yeah, it's pretty spectacular. I'm kind of used to it, growing up around here, but seeing it with you reminds me not to take it for granted."
"I don't think I'd ever take it for granted. It's so beautiful."
I love that she sees beauty in nature. I do too, but it's never looked more beautiful than right now. There's something about seeing it through someone else's eyes—someone who truly appreciates it—that makes it even better.
Sophie and I took a trail that goes behind the inn and winds through a wooded area up a steep hill to a lookout point. It's a couple miles each way so I made sure she was up for it before I took her here. When I hiked on my own I took a different trail that was flatter and not as scenic. This route is better. The views are incredible.
"I don't want to go back," Sophie says with a laugh.
"Back to the inn?"
"Back to New York." She turns to me and smiles. "I'm kidding. I just love it so much here. The cool, crisp, clean air. All the beautiful trees. The quaint little town. It's so completely different than New York."
"Like night and day."
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. It gives me a chance to look at her. She's so incredibly beautiful. I shouldn't be looking at her this way but I can't help it. When she's around me, I just want to look at her. I'm drawn to her in a way that I don't quite understand. I've never experienced this before and I'm not sure what it means. Am I feeling this way because I'm trying to convince myself to end things with Celine? Is my subconscious trying to connect with another woman to prove I'm with the wrong one?
That can't be it. Things between Celine and me have been off for a long time. I almost ended things with her before I even met Sophie. So how do I explain this? Why am I so taken by this girl? Why does she find her way into my every thought? Find her way into my dreams at night?
She lets out a breath and slowly opens her eyes. I can barely see them from under her baseball cap. She looks so adorable in that hat. And hot. Adorable and hot is a rare combination and happens to be my favorite look on a girl. When Sophie showed up at my door earlier wearing jeans, a tiny white t-shirt, and baseball cap, my body reacted as if she'd shown up in lingerie. The jeans and t-shirt look has always been a turn-on for me. That's why I hurried to shut the door. I didn't want her to see how she affected me.
It never should've happened but my body does what it wants and apparently it wants Sophie. If we were both single, I'd want that too. I'll be single soon but Sophie won't. Because I set her up with my friend. I can't believe I did that. Seeing Tanner flirt with her that night at the bar made me want to wring his neck but he was only doing what any guy would do. I can't be angry at him for asking out a beautiful woman who's also smart and kind and has a great sense of humor. I'm surprised all the guys didn't ask her out that night. Talking to them later, I found out they wanted to, but Tanner beat them to it.
Sophie looks up at me. "Thanks for taking me here. I wouldn't have hiked up here by myself."
Looking into her dark brown eyes, I want to tell her how I really feel. I want to tell her how she stirs something in me, something I don't remember ever feeling with anyone else. I want to tell her how I'm drawn to not only her beauty, but her spirit. Her bright, hopeful spirit that lightens my mood whenever I'm around her. I want to tell her how she's awakened my passion for my job. How she's reminded me why I ever went into property investment. It isn't about making money. It's about preserving the past. Preserving memories. Memories like the ones I have of my grandfather's inn.
I want to tell her how I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since the day we met, when she stormed up to my car in a fit of rage that I found irresistible. Even when she's angry, her kind and compassionate soul shines through. She almost instantly forgave me that day, admitting it was just an accident. Most people would've been calling their lawyer, preparing to sue me.
I want to tell her so many things, but I can't. Not yet. Not when I'm still with Celine, and not when Sophie is dating one of my friends. I'm not going to
