I laugh, pushing her away gently so she can see me. “Well, then, guess I got lucky.”
She bites her bottom lip and my cock twitches painfully against the zipper of my jeans.
“No. You’re Aiden; my answer will always be yes,” she whispers.
And in that moment, I feel like she just took half of my soul. The trust in her gaze; the surrender of her body… I know I could have her. I know if I tasted those cherry red lips she would kiss me back. I know, like I know my own name, that if I touched her, she would let me. She’d like it. And the minute I got a taste, I’d take everything she offered without giving anything in return.
Because I’m a selfish bastard.
Without hesitating, I’d take something I didn’t deserve. I’d have no control, no say.
The only thing stopping me from leaning towards her, from tasting her, is my heart—my conscience. Bailey may be sexy as hell, but that isn’t what makes me pause. No, it’s her.
She doesn’t deserve a quick fuck with a guy who doesn’t know what he wants. She doesn’t need her heart broken again.
Because I have a feeling that if I break her heart, I’d be breaking mine along with it.
The girl has me torn up in pieces.
And I don’t even think she knows it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BAILEY
I step out of the taxi feeling lighter than I have in years, and pass the money to the taxi driver. “Have a good day,” I tell him brightly. “And keep the change.”
He doesn’t smile but he does give me a chin lift. “Cheers.”
I don’t let his attitude ruin my day, because I can hear. And I was told the best news today. News I couldn’t wait to share with my grandparents. As soon as the doctor told me, my first thought had been wanting to tell Aiden. Over the last two weeks, he’s spent a lot of time around my house. He always seems to turn up around the guys’ break time. I’ll go out to ask if they want something to eat and he’ll distract me with Sunday. I felt bad for not making the guys food, but they didn’t seem to mind.
I unlock the door and step inside, heading straight to my office to grab my phone. I left it in my rush to leave. I don’t care that it’s six in the morning where my grandparents are; I need to hear their voice.
I dial their number, bringing the phone to my ear with the new, cool device that will help me hear. There’s no irritation, even though it’s going to take a lot to get used to, and I don’t hear any buzzing. I’ve also had it in for an hour and had not one headache.
I can feel my throat tighten with emotion at every sound I hear. It feels like I’m hearing it all for the first time.
“Hello?” my gran answers.
“Bella, honey, she can’t hear you.”
“Oh, sugar tits. Why is she ringing this early? If she’s hurt, I’ll kill a man.”
“Bella, calm down before you have a stroke.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You calm down. My girl is calling me at… lord, we’ve only been asleep a few hours.”
I start laughing. So, this is what they argue like when they turn away from me. “Gran, Granddad, calm down. I’m fine.”
“See, she’s fine,” Granddad replies, before I hear his breath hitch. “Wait! You can hear us?”
I giggle, my eyes watering. “Yes! I’ve been going to the doctors over the past two weeks.”
My gran starts crying, which brings tears to my own eyes. She’s blubbering, and I can hear my granddad comforting her.
“I’m so happy for you, sweetie.”
“Me too,” Granddad adds.
“Did you go to the doctors we tried to get you to go to?”
“I did. I’m sorry I haven’t gone until now. I just… I just couldn’t. Not when—you know….” I trail off.
“We know, Bailey. What did the doctor say?”
I flop down in my desk chair, grinning from ear to ear. “Gran, you are never going to believe this but they think they can fix it.”
“What!” she screeches, and I pull the phone away, laughing.
“Let her speak, darling.”
“Let her speak?” Gran scoffs. “The girl just told us they can help her.”
“And she wants to explain. Let her,” he tells her, amusement in his tone.
I’ve missed this—listening to them. Their voices. I’ve longed to hear the deep rumble of my granddads voice, the sound of my gran scolding him.
“Go on, Bailey,” she says after pulling herself together.
“They’re going to try a method where they use umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells
to fix the damage to the cochlea. They won’t know the extent of the damage to the other parts of my ears until it’s done. But they are hopeful I’ll get seventy percent of my hearing back with this operation.”
“Why have they never recommended this before?” Gran asks.
“I think they mentioned brain surgery to Mum and Dad at the beginning, but they were afraid they would lose me. They were still traumatised over my attack, which is why they went with the hearing aid suggestion. I knew there was a chance to have my hearing back—we’ve always known—but after losing them, I couldn’t bear it. Why should I be fixed if they can’t?”
“Oh, sweet girl,” Gran says softly, and I imagine her head tilting to the side and her eyes going misty.
“When will they be doing this?”
“She will get back to me in a week. One of the best ears, nose and throat doctors will be performing the surgery,” I tell them, then clear my throat. “The procedure, it’s um… it’s pricey, since it’s done through a private clinic.”
“Don’t go worrying about that. We have that covered.”
I relax back in the chair. I hated to ask. I received my parent’s life insurance policies when they died, but I refused to take them, so my grandparents took charge of it until I become ready. I don’t even want to think of the money; it’s just another reminder.
“Thank you.”
“Our pleasure. I’m so happy for you,” Granddad tells me, his voice filled with emotion.
“Me too, darlin’. And I’m proud of you for going, but I have to ask, what made you change your mind.”
I can feel my cheeks heat. “I—I...” I groan, not wanting to talk about this.
“Oh, it’s a boy.”
“No, it’s not, Bella.”
I giggle at the heat in Granddad’s words. “He lives next door. We’ve been spending time together and—I don’t know. I guess it made me realise how much I’m missing out on.”
“Hearing a boy talk you into bed isn’t something you’re missing out on,” Granddad hisses.
I choke on laughter. “Granddad!”
“Abel,” Gran chuckles, and I can hear the slap of skin connecting.
“Ouch, woman!” he hisses. “But great-grandkids running around would be nice.”
Oh, my gosh. My face burns with embarrassment. When my gran starts agreeing, talking about getting a playset built in the garden, I have to put a stop to it.
“Seriously, you two. Pack it in.” I sigh; however I can’t help the smile that is on my face. I’m so happy right now, and for the first time since I lost my family, I don’t feel guilty for it either. “Plus, he already has a daughter.”
“He has a daughter?” Gran asks, the happiness gone from her voice.
“And he’s not with the mother?”
Okay, Granddad doesn’t sound very pleased.
“She died during birth,” I tell them. I don’t want to lie to them, so I tell them the truth. They’ll think he’s grieving and will worry about me getting hurt. “He wasn’t with her. He said it was a one-night-stand.”
“Bailey,” Granddad says, a warning in his tone.
“No, before you worry, you need to know he’s not like you’re thinking. Not to me anyway. And you should see him with his daughter, Sunday. He’s an amazing dad. I swear, if he could take her to the toilet with him, he would. He loves her that much.”
Granddad sighs. “We just don’t want to see you get hurt, not after—”
I don’t want to think about him. I can’t. I still feel dirty whenever he crosses my mind. “I know,” I whisper.
It’s the one part of my past I’ll never tell Aiden. I don’t want him to look at me differently.
“All right. We’ll drop it.”
“Don’t think you’re getting out of Skyping us, either, missy. I want to see your beautiful face every night like clockwork.”
I laugh at my grans attempt at lightening the mood. “I’ll Skype, I promise. Now, I’ll let you get back to sleep. I just couldn’t wait to share the good news.”
“Oh, we wouldn’t have cared if you had woken us up earlier. We always love hearing from you.”
“Love you.”
“We love you too,” Gran replies softly.
“I’ll let you go. Speak to you later.”
“All right, dear. Love you—and keep us updated.”
“I will.”
“Bye, darlin’”
“Bye, Granddad.”
I end the call, looking down at my phone and smiling.
Now I just have one other person I desperately want to tell. Knowing he’ll come outside if I go out back, I head towards the kitchen and make up some sandwiches.
Once I’m done, I head out. There are more men outside today, but with this company, I don’t mind. Aiden has an amazing family, and although I think some of them flirt with me, I don’t feel creeped out like I did with the others. Even the guys I know aren’t related to them are nice and polite. I’ve felt more relaxed and even offered them the use of my kitchen if they need something to eat. With the last builders, I made sure to double check everything was locked up. I had dreaded the day they would head inside the house.
“Hey, guys,” I call out, holding the plate of sandwiches up.
Mark grins at me and walks over, while Maddox groans from where he’s cementing the barbeque together.
“I swear, she gets fucking hotter every time she walks out, and dickhead won’t let us ask her out.”
“I wouldn’t let Aiden hear you say that,” Landon, the scary one, replies. I blush, forgetting they think I can’t hear them.
Mark’s eyes widen when I tuck my hair behind my ear, revealing the ear piece. He chuckles, winking at me as he takes a sandwich, but does nothing to warn his family.
“Yeah, he’ll kill you for checking her out,” Mark says, and I blush further at his words. He can’t really mean what he’s saying, can he?
I turn back to Maddox when he gets up, wiping his hands on a towel nearby. “I can’t help it. She’s fucking hot. Have you seen her arse?”
Mark chuckles just as footsteps sound behind me. I don’t turn, which is really hard not to do now my hearing is back.
“Fucker, I told you to stop checking her out, and why the fuck is she making you food? Again! Get your own damned food,” Aiden growls. His voice is as sexy as I imagined it to be, sending a shiver up my spine.
“You need to learn to share,” Maddox snaps, turning around so I can’t read his lips. “And her cooking is better than mine.”
“No. It’s my fucking food. She’s mine.”
Mine.
My heart slams painfully against my chest. I desperately want to pounce on him, to tell him I am his and that he plagues my every thought, even my dreams. I can’t escape him.
“Gonna ask her out?” Mark taunts, and my eyes widen.
Why would he ask that when he knows I can hear?
Not wanting to hear the answer in case he says something hurtful, I spin around and beam at Aiden. “I made plenty, and there’s a lasagne I made this morning in the fridge for us. We just need to heat it up.”
He smiles at me. “Hey, Bailey. I am hungry now you mention it.” I giggle, ducking my head. “Ha, you fuckers get sandwiches while I get a good cooked meal.”
I look back up, narrowing my eyes and reflexively snap, “That’s not very nice.”
His eyes widen in horror. He clears his throat, glancing at everyone before his eyes meet mine. “You can hear me?”
“Clearly.”
A strangled cough comes from behind me, and I turn to see Maddox bent over, Mark slapping his back.
He looks up at me through watery eyes. “You heard everything I said?”
“What did you say?” Aiden asks him, sounding lethal and sexy.
“Nothing!” Maddox squeaks, looking pleadingly at me.
I beam, turning back to Aiden. “Do you want food or not?”
He doesn’t take his eyes away from Maddox. “Yeah.”
“Well, come on, then. I want to get a cuddle from Sunday before she falls asleep,” I tell him. He’s been trying his mum’s idea of not holding her when she’s asleep. So far, he seems to last five minutes before he picks her up again. I’ve been timing him. But who can blame the girl for wanting to be in her daddy’s arms all the time.
And those biceps… I try not to let them affect me so much, but every time he flexes, I forget my own name.
I bet there isn’t a woman out there who has looked at him and not forgotten who she was. He’s drop-dead gorgeous.
“All right.”
“I can’t believe she heard me,” Maddox whispers as we’re stepping inside, sounding as if he’s in pain.
“What did he say?” Aiden asks me as we walk into the kitchen.
I shrug. “Nothing much. Do you want garlic bread?”
He eyes me. “Yeah. After you’ve put it in, you can tell me how you can hear me.”
“Don’t need to; I can show you,” I say, tucking my hair once again behind my ear.
“Is that new?” he asks softly, stepping closer to get a good look.
I nod. “Yeah, and they think they can get at least seventy percent of my hearing back with an operation.”
“You’re kidding?” he asks, grinning from ear to ear.
“It’s incredible.”
“What made you change your mind?”
My face has to be red because I feel like I’m on fire. “You.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
His expression changes to one I can’t read. He moves closer, and I suck in my bottom lip nervously.
“You don’t have to change for me,” he whispers, stepping closer, his thumb untucking my lip. My knees lock together at his touch. And his words… somehow, they made me feel like I could touch the sky.
“I know. I just hadn’t realised how much I was missing out on. It was time for me to move forward and forget the bad things from my past.”
Desire fills the air as he takes another step closer, cupping my cheek. “You can hear me,” he says in awe.
I nod and manage to breathe out, “I know.”
“I really want to kiss you.”
My entire body heats. “Then kiss me.” I sway closer, looking up at him through my long lashes while my hands go to his hips, fisting his shirt to steady myself.
His expression fills with pain. “I’m not good for you, Bailey. Until I know what I really want, I won’t touch you.”
“Please, kiss me,” I plead, touching my forehead to his as I grip him tighter.
“I can’t,” he chokes out, stepping back.
I nearly fall from the rejection, my heart filling with so much hurt. I can’t meet his gaze, too afraid he’ll see just how deeply he has hurt me, see how deep my feelings for him go.
Because the fact of the matter is, I’m falling for my neighbour. It isn’t by choice, either. My feelings for him have been gradually building with each glance, each moment, and with every touch. He makes me feel alive again.
I could watch him like my favourite movie and never get bored. Everything he does mesmerises me, fascinates me. I like who I am when I’m with him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, afraid I’m going to lose him. The last time I thought we’d share a kiss, I hadn’t seen him for a week—other than the moments I saw him sneaking peek
s at me through the window of his living room.
He spins to face me. “Don’t be sorry. This is on me. I don’t know what it is I’m feeling, Bailey.” He rubs his chest like he’s in pain, and I want to go to him—hold him—but I’m frozen to the spot. “I truly don’t. I may have been a player before Sunday was born, but I’ve never promised anything to anyone. I’ve never been in a relationship longer than a week—if you can call what it was a relationship. With you; you matter. You mean something to me. And I can’t stand the thought of hurting you.”
I nod. “I understand.”
He exhales. “No, you don’t. But you will. I promise. Just let me work out what it is I’m feeling. I know that’s not fair to ask of you. I just… Please?”
I can’t deny him. I’d give him anything he asked for, that’s how pathetic I am. And if I wasn’t a hundred percent sure he was worth it, I would walk away. But he is. And I want him more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. So instead of arguing, I nod and tell him, “Okay.”
“Next week, we’re going to my uncle’s restaurant for a meal to celebrate me becoming a dad. Mum is having Sunday for me.”
“You’re letting her stay out?” I tease. “Get you.”
He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “I go back to work tomorrow so I’ve got no choice but to get used to it. Plus, my mum will love it.”
“I bet she will.” I force a smile, hiding just how hurt I am. “Are you excited for tomorrow? It will be your first time away from Sunday, won’t it?”
He glances down at her, his smile sad. “I’m not looking forward to leaving her but I am excited to get back into a kitchen. I just wish she could come with me.”
“She’ll be fine. You have to work,” I tell him, stepping around him to put the garlic bread in the oven.
“I know. I just wish I didn’t have to leave her.”
“How long is your shift?”
“My uncle Mason has me on for five hours tomorrow, which isn’t too bad. He told me what it was like the first time he left after Hope was born. I just hope I make it. I don’t want to lose this job.”
“Your uncle won’t fire you, will he?” I ask worriedly.
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