“Baby, I said it to you first. You just weren’t paying attention.” I move my hand up her back to slide it through her hair.
“I thought that was sex talk,” she says quietly, and I toss my head back and laugh. “It’s not funny.” She smacks my shoulder, and I shake my head and dip it to look at her, still chuckling.
“Baby, men say a lot of shit when they are in bed with a beautiful woman, but I don’t know any who say I love you unless they mean that shit.”
“How was I to know you were being serious?”
“You should have known, because I show you every fucking day exactly what you mean to me,” I say, and her expression softens.
“You’re right,” she agrees, and I spin her around and start walking her backward, moving my hands to her hips.
“What are you doing?” she asks, and I glance around her bedroom.
“You said you don’t have a lot of good memories here, but I figure it’s not too late to make some good ones, starting with making out with you on your bed,” I reply, and she smiles a smile that lights me up from the inside, then she giggles as I push her back onto her bed, coming down on top of her, the two of us bouncing. As I settle with my leg between hers, I cup her breast over her dress and listen to her whimper as I cover her mouth with mine. Then I make out with my woman on her childhood bed, with her parents and her ex downstairs.
“We were looking for the two of you,” Colton says when he pulls his mouth off Gia’s, and his eyes meet mine over the top of her head that he’s tucked against his chest.
“I can see you were really worried,” I say, and Aria giggles, pressing into my side.
“I didn’t say we looked hard,” he mutters, and I take a seat on the lounger opposite him and Gia. I pull Aria down to sit on my lap, and her arm wraps around my shoulders.
“Aria wanted to show me something upstairs.”
“I bet she did.” Gia grins at Aria, and both girls start to laugh.
“I think it’s time we get these two home,” I insert, and Colton flips his wrist to check the time, then gives Gia a squeeze.
“If we go now, baby, we got another hour and a half before Mom’s supposed to drop off Gino.” He looks at Aria. “You cool with us leaving now?”
“I’m ready to go if you guys are,” Aria answers quietly. “Thank you, guys, for coming with me tonight. It’s actually been fun.”
“It has been so much fun,” Gia agrees, smiling.
I stand, taking Aria with me, and Colton drags Gia up with him. As we head through the party that has thinned out and walk back through the house, I hold Aria a little closer to my side. Like Gia said, tonight has been good, fun even, with the four of us hanging out mostly away from the party, not leaving much room for her parents or her ex to fuck shit up or make Aria uncomfortable. I want to keep it that way. I want everything about tonight to be a good memory for Aria.
After telling one of the kids who’s been running to get cars which one is mine, I watch him hurry off, then feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I look around, and that’s when I spot Josh standing a few feet away with his back to one of the pillars on the front porch, smoking a cigarette with his eyes on us. I hold his stare for a minute, then watch him smirk before he tosses his cigarette butt over the edge of the porch and head inside, tucking his hands in his pockets. As I watch him go, I know without a fucking doubt that he’s going to be a problem. The thing he doesn’t know is that Aria and I are strong enough to weather any storm he plans on bringing our way.
Chapter 17
Aria
TAKING OFF MY glasses, I rub my eyes while leaning back in my chair, and my stomach growls, reminding me that I haven’t eaten today. This morning, I got up at seven with Tide for the sole purpose of showering with him before he left for work, made myself a cup of coffee, and headed for my office, where I’ve been locked away all day. I learned early on as an author that if the words are flowing, you stick it out, because there are other days when you’ll sit in front of your computer rewriting the same sentence seven hundred billion times.
I glance at the clock, and my bottom lip pops out. It’s only two in the afternoon, which means Tide won’t be home for another few hours, so I’m on my own to figure out what I want to eat. With a groan, I get out of my chair and shuffle to the kitchen. After digging through the fridge, I make myself a single-serve charcuterie board, including crackers, nuts, cranberries, hummus, carrot chips, and a sliver of cheddar cheese. I grab a Diet Coke and my cell phone, then head outside, needing some fresh air and the sun.
It’s a beautiful day, with the sun shining through the trees that have gone from green to gold, a slight chill in the air as fall sets in. After shoving a carrot dipped in hummus in my mouth, I flip on my cell and smile when I see the text from Tide, asking if he should pick up something for dinner tonight, since he’s sure I’m working, or if I want to go out. I text him back that I miss him, and getting out of the house will be good, even if it’s just to go out to dinner.
As soon as I press Send, my phone rings, and I sigh when I see my mom is calling. She’s called multiple times since the party—not to check in or just to gab like Tide’s mom has done, but to try to set up a time for me to meet her and Josh for lunch, or just Josh for coffee or something else. Since I’m not even a little interested in trying to come up with yet another excuse, I let the call go to voicemail, pick up my plate of food, and focus on eating, thinking that tomorrow is Tuesday and Josh will be gone then. When I finish, I take my plate back inside and drop it in the dishwasher, then go back to my office, and get back to work so that when Tide gets home I can focus on spending time with him. Three hours later and struggling with a scene, I spin in my chair to face the window and catch a glimpse of headlights coming up the driveway. Assuming Tide is home, I quickly shut down my computer and head to the front of the house to greet him, only to curse when I see my ex behind the wheel of my mom’s black BMW, parking next to my car. I don’t know what part of “we have nothing to talk about” he’s not understanding.
With annoyance filling my belly, I walk out onto the porch and cross my arms over my chest, glaring at him when he gets out of the car, and I keep glaring as he approaches the house. There was a time I thought he was handsome, and I’m sure there are lots of women who still think he is, with his dark hair, sharp jaw, whisky-colored eyes, and runner’s physique, only I know it’s all pretend. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a man searching for happiness, not understanding that it can’t be purchased.
“What are you doing here?” I don’t even attempt to disguise the contempt in my tone.
“I told you we need to talk, Aria.”
“And I told you we don’t.” I hold my place at the top of the stairs. Not only do I not want to see or talk to him; I really don’t want him in my space, the house I chose, the home I’ve fallen in love with Tide in.
“We used to be friends.”
“We weren’t.” I shake my head. “We were never friends, and that was part of the problem. Most couples enjoy each other’s company, but most of the time, we were doing everything to just stay out of each other’s way.”