“No. We’re having lots of casual sex and enjoying it very much, thank you. Any more questions?”
Pam laughed and went back to her notepad. Izzy scratched her head and tried not to smile. Joe just frowned though. “So what happens when it’s time for her to go home?”
“I believe there’s something called a plane, and you climb on it and it goes up in the sky…”
“Very funny. Has she spoken to her husband yet?”
“She’s not married,” Aaron reminded him.
“Her almost-husband, then.”
He returned his gaze to his doodling. “I don’t know.” He knew she hadn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Joe.
“You told me that her brother was worried she might go back to him. What will you do if that happens?”
“She won’t, but even if she did, it wouldn’t be any of my business once she leaves here.” Aaron’s mouth went dry at the real worry in Joe’s eyes. His friend was genuinely concerned that Bridget was going to break his heart.
He sighed as he focused on his notes and realized he’d doodled the letter B and surrounded it with flowers. “Look, seriously, we’re just having a bit of fun. We like each other, and she’s gorgeous. Funny. Sexy. And I haven’t had any in nearly three years.”
“Three years?” Pam said. “Jesus.”
“Exactly. I’m a man in my prime,” Aaron said. “Well, maybe a bit over it, but I still happen to like sex, so I’m making the most of having it on tap, so to speak.”
Joe pointed his pen at him. “Stop acting like this is just physical. That’s not what this is about and you know it.”
“What are we, teenage girls? Of course it’s physical. You want a list of all the places and positions we’ve done it in?” He scowled when Joe pretended to think about it. “I’m not taking advantage of her, and I’m not getting emotionally involved.” He gestured at his friends. “You’re all in nice romantic relationships, but some people don’t have that luxury. And if casual sex is being offered, I’m not going to say no. Stop ruining my fun.”
“Fair enough.” Izzy nudged Joe with her elbow. “Come on, leave him alone.”
Joe hadn’t quite finished though. “You still coming to the marae on Saturday?”
Aaron had forgotten about the party. It was Joe’s birthday, and his whanau or family were having a big get-together with many of their friends. Aaron’s parents, as well as his sister and her brood, were all going to be there, and he’d promised he’d go. “Of course.”
“You can bring Bridget,” Joe said. “She can meet your mum and dad.”
Aaron was unable to hide a wince. “Will you stop?’
“I’m just saying.”
He hadn’t told his parents about Bridget. He hadn’t seen any point. He’d never been the sort to have casual relationships, and after what had happened with Nita, he knew his mother would worry he was going down that road again.
He wasn’t, whatever anyone else thought. He might have mentioned to Bridget during a lapse of self-control that he might fall more in love with her if she stayed, but he was sure that she either hadn’t heard him or had guessed he was just saying something romantic to get in her panties, which he sort of had been.
He stared at the elaborate B he’d doodled as the others went back to their list of clients. Yeah, mate. You’re not falling for her at all. This is in no way worrying.
Well, it was too late now. Bridget had already stayed with him for three nights, so he couldn’t have asked her to leave even if he’d wanted to. And he didn’t want to. He liked having her there.
It wasn’t just about the pleasantness of having a woman around the house after so long living on his own, although that was a big part of it. Initially, he’d wondered whether he’d find it invasive. When his mother or sister came to visit, for some reason they saw any clothes that were lying around or unwashed crockery as a sign that he needed a woman, but he always tidied his clothes and washed the dishes—he just didn’t see why he had to do it immediately. The house wasn’t dirty—he had a cleaner for Christ’s sake—and in spite of having two dogs, he thought he kept it fairly tidy. But he’d spent nearly five years living in a show home with Nita, who was extremely house proud, and it was nice now to be able to put his feet on the coffee table if he wanted, to wash the dishes in the morning rather than at night when he was tired, and to leave his clothes hanging on the side of the wardrobe rather than always putting them away like she’d made him do.
He’d wondered whether Bridget would be the same, constantly tidying up behind him, but to his joy she’d hung her jacket over his on a chair, piled up their dirty plates in the sink and run water over them so they could soak, merely laughed when Tycho had run into the kitchen with mud-covered feet, and she hadn’t straightened the cushions on the sofa once.
The day before, Sunday, they’d gone out in the morning again, to Kerikeri this time, to visit the Stone Store he’d told her about, and then after lunch at a restaurant right on the inlet, they’d returned home and spent a decadent, lazy afternoon in bed making love in the warm sunshine, and a relaxed evening walking the dogs then watching movies until the sun went down.
He liked having her around. And he wasn’t stupid—of course it was going to be difficult when she left. But did that mean he shouldn’t spend time with her? Should he give up on the chance of a week’s happiness because of the possibility he might get hurt? That was like saying he shouldn’t help the pets who came into his surgery because he might get attached to them. It was always difficult to say goodbye to the animals he cared for, but he did it every time. He had his heart broken on a daily basis by all manner of cats and dogs. He was used to it. He always survived, and he’d survive this time too.
*
To be fair to Joe, after he’d grilled Aaron on Monday morning, he laid off the questioning, and then he surprised Aaron on Wednesday as he prepared to leave the surgery by suggesting the six of them—including Pam and her husband, Kevin—go out for an Indian meal that evening.
“Are you sure?” Aaron frowned. “I thought you didn’t approve of Bridget.”
“I heartily approve of all young, attractive females, especially those who bring a smile to your grumpy face. It was only your girlish heart I was worried about, but you’ve reassured me you’re not going to fall for this young lady, and I’m prepared to trust you.”
“Girlish heart?”
“Come on, Aaron, you know you’re a sucker for a sob story. But Izzy told me I was acting like my father. She reminded me that not every relationship has to lead to walking down the aisle, and that I need to accept you’re a grown man who can separate sex from love.”
Aaron met his best friend’s innocent gaze and gave him a wry look. “Give it a rest.”
“What? I’m just—”
“Yeah, yeah. Thank you for your concern. Can I be assured that if we do go to dinner with you all, you’re not going to quiz Bridget about our Future with a capital F?”
“Of course not.” Joe slapped him on the shoulder. “Seven o’clock?”
“Yeah. See you then.”
As he walked home, Aaron wondered whether he should have asked Bridget first if she wanted to go to dinner with other people before telling Joe they’d go. During the week they’d been out several times, to the movies, to dinner, but that was different from going with other people. Maybe she’d be insulted that he’d answered for her, or she could be upset because it would mean acting like a couple, and they were only supposed to be temporary.
But she was neither of those things, and in fact only looked surprised and pleased when he walked in and told her. “I’d love to,” she said as he slipped off his shoes and jacket. “We were going to try the Indian yesterday, weren’t we?”
“We were. That would have meant getting out of bed, though.” He came over to her and slipped his arms around her waist.
Her lips curved up, and she lifted her arms around his neck, rose on tiptoes, and pressed her lips to
his. He kissed her, long and languidly, enjoying the way she took such delight in just a kiss. Delight in him, in fact.
She’d been like this all week. Whenever he walked in, she was hesitant at first, as if worried he’d changed his mind during the day and had tired of her. When she realized he hadn’t—he didn’t think he could ever grow tired of having this beautiful woman in his arms—sheer joy spread across her face, and she threw her arms around him and told him how much she’d missed him, sending warmth spreading through his stomach and filling him with an unparalleled pleasure that she wanted to be with him.
“Mmm,” she murmured, sliding her tongue against his and sending him hard in seconds before she eventually moved back. “It’s sort of a shame we’re going out. We could have gone straight to bed.”
He pressed her up against the kitchen counter, hungry for her, wanting to strip her, press himself against her soft body, and kiss her until she made those low cries that gave him goose bumps. “We don’t need to go out. I’m not hungry. I don’t care if I never eat again.”
She laughed. “But we should take Tycho and Kepler for a walk before we go out.”
He sighed and followed her gaze to the doorway, where the two dogs sat side by side watching them, Tycho—as usual—with the lead hanging from his mouth. Their faces suggested they were thinking, When you’re ready, Aaron.
“Jeez,” Aaron said. “Passion killers or what?”
Grinning, she took his hand and led him to the doorway. “This is going to be a lovely evening. A walk along the beach, an Indian meal, meeting some of your friends, and coming back home with you.” Her cheeks had flushed a pretty pink, and her eyes glowed. “I can’t wait.”
She looked like a goddess, and he couldn’t deny the way his heart leapt at her words.
He smiled, clipped the dogs’ leashes on, and followed Bridget out into the cool spring evening air. They walked the short distance to the beach for dog owners and strolled along the grassy verge. The dogs on their extended leads played with each other in the soft sand while Bridget described her day. She’d been out on a boat for a dolphin watch, and although she hadn’t seen any, they’d discovered a pod of orca whales, and her face lit up as she described the beauty of their black flumes lifting out of the waves.
He listened, but his mind drifted away with the cries of the seagulls. She was right—the evening she’d described sounded ideal. He couldn’t think of anything else that would make it more perfect, except perhaps his son walking beside them, throwing sticks for the dogs.
At the thought of his son, his stomach felt a little choppy, like the gray-blue sea that churned on the beach, riled up by the brisk breeze. That was the real world, he reminded himself. Family and duty. He had a lot of things to sort out before his sea began to settle. And how could Bridget possibly fit into that world of chaos? She couldn’t, of course. She was like the beautifully carved figurehead of a sunken ship that had drifted past him on the turbulent ocean, and once the waves swept her away, he’d probably never see again.
So why did she—the most temporary thing in his life—feel as if she was the only thing he could cling to, the one thing that would save him from drowning?
He stopped walking, the dogs turning to face him as they came to a sudden halt on their leads. Bridget, humming to herself, also stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.
“What?” Her face creased in a smile. “Come on, dopey. We don’t have long before the meal and I need to get ready. I can’t go looking scruffy like this.”
“You look beautiful,” he said.
“Aw. Only you could think trackie bottoms and a faded T-shirt were beautiful.” She laughed, then tipped her head and gave him a curious look as he still didn’t move. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” It was just that he’d realized his idle words to her had come true a lot quicker than he’d thought they would.
Because he’d fallen for her, and he was falling for her more with every minute. Joe was right; Izzy was right. Everyone was right, and he was always the idiot, the soft touch, stopping to help those in need and starting off a process that he knew would only lead to disaster. What had Joe called it? His girlish heart.
Well, there was nothing he could do about it except grin and bear it. He was who he was, and he actually kind of liked that guy. He was a bit of an old dog, and it was far too late for him to learn new tricks.
Bridget moved closer to him, looking up with a frown. “Aaron? What’s the matter?”
He slid a hand into her hair, cupped her head, and saw surprise and pleasure light her eyes like fireworks before he lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her, a snatched kiss, just a few seconds out of the 86,400 there were in a day, and yet he made sure to take the time to enjoy the softness of her mouth, her sexy, contented sigh, the way her hand rested on his biceps, her fingers squeezing the muscle for balance as she leaned into the kiss.
When she finally pulled back, her eyes were dreamy and held as much promise as the evening sky, scarlet and orange tinting the clouds and suggesting the delight of a shepherd somewhere.
“What was that for?” she asked, her cheeks turning the rosy blush of the ocean.
He couldn’t tell her he loved her, because they were only supposed to be having a fling. He knew that love developed over time, and it was far too soon for him to be feeling what he thought he was feeling. Instead, he just shook his head, pressed his lips to her forehead, and then held her hand as they continued along the beach.
Chapter Twenty
Bridget liked Aaron’s friends as soon as she met them, but she wasn’t sure the feeling was mutual.
He’d spoken about Joe quite a bit, so she knew he was Maori, about the same age as Aaron, that he had a huge extended family that he moaned about but secretly adored, that he bossed Aaron around quite a bit, and that he was married to one of the veterinary nurses, Izzy.
She hadn’t known how gorgeous he was, that he had a great sense of humor, or that he obviously cared very much for his friend. He welcomed her to the table warmly, and he was friendly and included her in all their conversations, but she could sense a hint of caution in his eyes nevertheless, a reservation that suggested he was worried about Aaron and whatever was developing between them. She liked that, though. It was good to know that Aaron had someone looking out for him.
Aaron introduced her to Izzy—who also looked as if she had some Maori blood in her with her warm brown skin and thick dark hair tied back in an untidy bun so that frizzy strands stuck out all over the place—and then to Pam—a little older, with short salt-and-pepper hair and a ready, crooked smile, and her husband Kevin, the two of them a typical Kiwi couple, friendly, down-to-earth, and ready to do anything to make a person feel welcome.
They sat at a round table and ordered drinks and a mixture of starters, and it wasn’t long before Bridget relaxed. Aaron and Joe teased each other continuously, obviously having the type of long-term relationship that made it difficult—if not impossible—to truly insult each other, and Izzy and Pam played up to it, making them all laugh.
She found it difficult to take her eyes off Aaron while they ate. Cute, sexy, and funny, he had an undeniable charm that worked a treat not only on animals but on people too, and she could see that the others adored him.
As the evening wore on, she realized that although they asked her about Wellington, about her business and her life there, nobody mentioned the wedding that hadn’t gone ahead, and none of them asked what was going to happen between her and Aaron when she went back.
Had he instructed them not to mention anything? She couldn’t imagine that Joe, especially, wasn’t concerned about it. But the topic remained untouched… Until Aaron took himself off halfway through the evening to visit the Gents’.
“So…” Joe eyed Aaron’s disappearing back before turning his brown eyes on Bridget. “You’ve certainly had an impact on him. I haven’t seen him like this for a long time.”
“He seems very fond of you,�
� Izzy said, softening her husband’s words with a smile.
“I’m fond of him too.” Bridget sipped her wine and then speared a piece of chicken with her fork. Aaron had been right—the Madras was spectacular.
“How long are you staying up here for?” Joe’s tone was innocent, his eyes not so much.
“Until Sunday.”
“Nice.” Joe sipped his lager. “And then?”
“Joe,” Izzy said cautiously.
Bridget shrugged and tried to swallow the chicken, but her throat had tightened, and it wouldn’t go down. She coughed and sipped her wine, her heart rate picking up. “I’m not sure.” She didn’t want to talk about it to these people she hardly knew, not when she didn’t have any answers.
Joe winced, and Bridget suspected that his wife had kicked him under the table.
“So tell us about the Four Seasons,” Pam said, obviously reading Izzy’s stare and changing the subject. “I bought one of your bras a few weeks back—didn’t realize I’d be meeting the owner of the firm!”
Bridget sent her a thankful smile and started talking about Rowan’s designs, and the awkward moment passed. Aaron returned to the table shortly afterward, so that put an end to the personal questions.
She squeezed his hand under the table, and he looked at her, a frown appearing when he read something he didn’t like in her eyes.
“Are you all right?” he mouthed.
She nodded, but the light had gone out of the evening for her. The sun had set and it was getting cold, and suddenly all she wanted to do was get back to the house and curl up in bed with him.
Maybe reading her mood, after they’d finished their meals, he declined coffee and told the others they’d be heading off. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, they paid their share of the bill, and then they headed off up the hill.
Aaron put his arm around her, and Bridget slipped hers beneath his jacket, welcoming the warmth of his body next to hers.
It was stupid to let one person ruin the evening for her. Joe was only worried about his friend, and he’d not really been rude or aggressive. All he’d done was breathe life into the issue she’d been trying to pretend didn’t exist, and she couldn’t blame him for that.
Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) Page 15
