Her Charming Secret

by Sam Ayers

  “What are you doing there?” He asked curiously. Just then, Abigail walked towards him and handed him a cup of coffee. He was helping her with the arrangements; the wedding location was changing, which was why he called Aiden. When she asked him if everything was okay, he nodded quietly.

  “What do people do in Tofino, genius?” Aiden asked.

  “Umm—” Alex looked at Abigail who mouthed, Storm Watching. Wow! Wasn’t she smart? He looked at her and whispered, “Beauty and brains, now that’s what I like about you.” She mock-punched him lightly on the shoulder and walked away.

  “Beauty and brains what?” Aiden shrieked.

  “I wasn’t talking to you, dude! And you going storm watching, right?” Alex smirked and sipped his coffee.

  “Yeah, how did you know?” Jo whispered to him that they were about to reach Tofino. “Listen, Al, I got to go now. I’ll call you later.”

  “Hey, wait—”Alex said, but Aiden cut the call. He sighed and decided to find out where he was going next, and he also knew the best person who would know about Aiden’s trip. “You just wait, Ashton. Here I come,” he said to himself and walked away, smirking.

  * * *

  Aiden and Jo finally reached Tofino. They stood at the edge overlooking the sea in turmoil, the waves leaping in hopes to catch bystanders in their icy claws. The scene was as beautiful as scary. The coastline, that a day earlier had been so calm and serene as they had walked along the edge, the sea reflecting the setting sun, was today like a beautiful predator: fluid and unpredictable, and the setting sun made the waves glisten like a thousand crystals raining down as they crashed onto the shore.

  The sky was a whole different canvas, streaks of electric blue cutting through the seeping darkness and fading redness, sending shivers down all their backs. This orchestra of nature with the symphony of waves and raging winds commanded that its audience was left breathless taking in the essence of the true power and fury of nature.

  Aiden stared at the view in front of him, awestruck by the raw energy vibrating in the air. Turning, he saw Jo’s face illuminated and couldn’t look away. She shivered a little and he put his arms around her, hoping he could protect her not just from the wind, but also from everything. She smiled at him and leaned into him a bit more.

  “Hey, Aiden?” Jo whispered, her voice so low that he almost didn’t hear her.

  He looked down at her in his arms and thought of how perfect she was and how she was exactly where she should be.

  “Yeah?”

  “I just wanted you to know—”

  The deafening roar of the wave crashing on the rocks below drowned the rest of her sentence.

  “I’m sorry, what?” he asked. She smiled and leant up to lightly brush her lips against his in a gentle caress.

  “I trust you,” she said.

  Aiden couldn’t stand it anymore. He couldn’t stop himself from pulling Jo forward, claiming her lips in a passionate kiss that sent a tingle up her spine. She froze for a minute before pulling him closer, her hands running up his back and into his hair, holding him in place as he put his hands on her hips to pull her forward. They were molded together, two pieces of a puzzle that fit just right. She broke the kiss to take in a huge gulp of air and grinned.

  “Wow!” was all she could say before Aiden grinned at her and pulled her back into another kiss just as a huge wave crashed right over them, soaking them through. They stood there in each other’s embrace, blinking for a minute before Jo started to giggle and they both burst out laughing.

  “I guess that’s nature’s way of saying get a room, huh?” said Aiden running a hand through his wet tousled hair.

  Jo laughed again before nodding, “I guess we should enjoy the view; this can be continued at a better time.” Aiden smiled; the promise for later in her words not lost to him.

  They stood there looking at the ocean till the darkness engulfed everything, and decided to go back to the hotel before dinner so they could change out of their drenched clothes. Once at the hotel, Jo smiled at Aiden and said, “See you in twenty minutes?”

  Aiden grinned and leaned into her, whispering into her ear, “What if we just skip dinner?”

  Jo smiled and lightly pushed him. “No, but if you behave, maybe you will get dessert.”

  Laughing, she slipped into her room even as Aiden made a grab to snatch her wrist. Aiden grinned and walked into his own room, finally realizing that he was cold and starting to shiver. He slipped out of his wet clothes and stepped into the shower and set it to hot, finally letting out a sigh when the warm water hit his back, chasing away the frostbite he almost got.

  * * *

  Aiden stood at Jo’s door exactly twenty minutes later wondering if he should wait for her outside or knock. Even as he contemplated his choices, her door opened and Jo looked at him, startled to see him there.

  He stood there staring at her, her eyes bright and hair in wet curls that framed her face. Even in jeans and a tee, she looked angelic. Smiling, he leaned in to give her a peck on the lips and said, “Hey!”

  She smiled at him. “Hey, ready to leave?” she asked.

  He nodded and held his hand out to her. “Yes, let’s go,” he said, his smile widening when she slipped her hand into his. Hand in hand, they strolled towards a quaint seaside restaurant that had an amazing outdoor area where the tables were in corners with a subtle glow over the whole area, the romantic yellow mingling with the bluish tinge from the moon. Walking in, Aiden smiled at the hostess, who had immediately straightened herself the minute she saw him.

  “Hi, table for two please.” He smiled, and Jo watched, amused, as the hostess almost melted.

  “I am sorry, sir, but—”

  Aiden smiled at her, turning on his charm, and said, “Please don’t tell me I have to wait; I’m famished.” The hostess blushed, and Jo felt a tendril of jealousy creep over her.

  “Well, we have a table, sir,” the hostess smiled and immediately Aiden moved his complete attention to Jo. Jo smirked at the hostess, who was fuming as she showed them to their table.

  Aiden grinned. “You don’t have to look that happy. There was nothing to be jealous about.”

  “Jealous? Who, me? No, I was just wondering how places like these hire women like that,” Jo seethed.

  Aiden burst out laughing, “Women like that? Come now, Jo, seriously! And anyhow,” he said, leaning in over the table placing his hand over hers, “I already belong to someone else.”

  “Yeah, to Aubrey!” He grinned as she swatted his arm in mock-anger.

  “Well, she’s my angel. I miss her already.”

  Jo was curious to know about something, and she asked, “Aiden, this morning you were talking to Alex about a girl named Abby, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s his girlfriend’s name. Why?” he asked as he sipped some water.

  “No, it’s just that I call Abigail ‘Abby’, too.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t think they are the same.” He ran his hand through his hair. Just then, a waitress came to their table.

  “Hi, I am Rose, and I’ll be serving you tonight. Are you ready to order?” She smiled and spoke, but only towards Aiden. It was like she didn’t acknowledge Jo’s presence.

  Aiden looked at the menu and decided on their famous lasagna; he looked at Jo and she ordered the same. The waitress, meanwhile, kept glancing at Aiden, hoping he would look her way, but he just ordered and turned back to look at Jo, playing with her fingers. He smiled, having kept her hand in his right from when they entered the restaurant.

  Dinner was pleasant. Jo was debating whether she should invite him for some coffee, but a sudden phone call disturbed them.

  Aiden looked at his phone to see a missed call from Ashton, who sent him a message saying, Call me ASAP!

  Knowing it was a crisis Aiden excused himself. He kissed Jo lightly before heading towards his own room as he called Ashton, who picked up on the first ring.

  “Bro, help me!”

  “Ash, wha
t’s up? Are you okay?” Aiden asked, concerned.

  “Alex almost broke the door down and demanded your exact location. I told him, and he is getting on a flight now.”

  “What?” Aiden cried. Ashton started to narrate the incident that took place earlier.

  * * *

  Earlier that evening, Ashton sat, listening to Aubrey cry. She missed Aiden so much that she cried to eat her dinner and go to bed. He was glad that his father was able to control this situation. He saw his mother baking muffins as she sang a song cheerfully. Uncle William was trying to cheer Aubrey up by watching Tangled with her. How many times was she planning to see this? Adele and Nicholas were seated on the couch, discussing something. He felt really left out.

  Just then a loud bang surprised them and in came Alex, looking all serious, and Ashton, who couldn’t help himself, ended up saying, “Here comes the Bull!”

  “Brat! Come here!” Alex shouted and ran after Ashton, who tried to escape.

  William knew that his son lost his temper once in a while, but this was something else. “Alex, wait!” he called after his son, but he wasn’t listening to anybody. Pushing away the things Ashton threw at him, he charged towards him.

  Ash had a feeling that he had done something that had pissed Alex off, but when a bull is after you, you don’t stop!

  Ashton managed to run out of the house. He ran as fast as he could towards the backyard, but Alex was faster. He jumped on poor Ashton and tackled him to the ground.

  “AAAAAHHHH!!! Bull is trying to kill me. HELP!” Ashton screamed.

  “WHERE IS AIDEN, BRAT?”

  “Huh? Aiden?” Ashton looked at him, confused.

  “YES! Where is he, you moron? Did you chase him away?” Alex glared at his cousin.

  “I swear, I didn’t do anything,” Ash squealed.

  At that moment, William and Nicholas came out and tried to pull Alex off Ashton. But he was very strong and he had caught onto Ashton’s hair and didn’t let go.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH! Dad, save me!” Ashton yelled. Nicholas and William tried to pull Alex away.

  “Dad, let me go or this kid will lose all his precious hair,” Alex said to his father who backed off immediately and pulled Nick away as well.

  “Tell me where he is!” Alex asked again.

  Nicholas tried to help his son again. “Alex, we have no clue where he is or where he will be going. Let Ashton go!”

  “Whitewater rafting! Foresters Falls!” Ashton screamed.

  Alex immediately stood up, dusted his jeans and beamed at Ashton. “Thanks!” He grinned before walking away. “See ya, Dad. Take care of yourself.” He smirked at William and left.

  “No offence, uncle, but your son is utterly crazy,” Ashton said as his uncle pulled him up. He nodded and stared in the direction Alex had left and said, “You might just be right, my boy.”

  Alex headed out to Abigail’s place to tell her about his new plans. He wasn’t going to leave Aiden alone.

  “Nuh-uh! No can do, Aido!” he said to himself and smirked before driving away.

  - Chapter 17 -

  Unexpected Whirlwinds

  A stray stream of sunlight filtered through the French windows onto the figure on the bed, which groaned and rolled over in an attempt to avoid it. Aiden drifted between waking up and falling asleep and, with a groan, finally decided to wake up. A slow grin formed on his face as he remembered the events of the previous night. Every kiss, every touch had been perfect; the day, the date and her, just perfect. Even the faint memory of their night coming to an end couldn’t dampen his happiness.

  Rubbing his eyes lightly, he got up to see Jo sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. He sat there for a minute, staring at her in surprise. Obviously he remembered that she came to see him when he was talking to Ashton. He told her about everything, but skipped the part that Alex might be joining them. And the night did end with them unconditionally surrendering themselves to each other. He lay down again and thought about the consequences, whether they would be good or bad. He wanted to tell her about himself first, but things weren’t going as he planned.

  Getting up, he hurried to the bathroom for a quick shower. He came out as fast as he went in and rushed to pack his bags and order coffee.

  “Jo?” Aiden called and walked towards the bed to see that she was still asleep. “Hey, wake up! We need to get going.”

  When she didn’t move, he shook her lightly. She groaned and pushed his arm away. “I’m sweeping, goo away, Aid,” she mumbled. He tried again, but got a “5 more minutes, pwease.”

  She looked cute with her curls all over her face. He pushed them aside and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, but she didn’t move. He was an early riser and had a habit of waking Alex up every day when they shared an apartment. This was going to be bad, but it was worth the try. Knowing that they would miss the ferry if she didn’t wake up now, he poured some water in the glass on the bedside table, dipped his hand into it and sprinkled it on her face. She moved a little, so he poured more water.

  “Aaaah!” She pushed him and got up; she noticed that she was wearing a huge t-shirt that belonged to him. “What the hell was that?”

  “Easiest way to wake someone up,” he said, chuckling as he sat next to her. “Good morning.”

  Moving a little closer, he touched her neck and pulled her forward, resting his forehead on hers. “You didn’t have to wake me up like that,” she murmured. “What happened to the old tradition of the prince waking the princess with a kiss?”

  “I tried that, too. This is what I used to do to Alex when he didn’t move; pour some water. But that was just part one; with Al, it was worse,” he chuckled.

  Jo moved away and questioned him curiously, “What did you do?”

  “I would dip his finger in his coffee. And it used to be hot.” He laughed. “Well, at first he’d react; two weeks later, he got used to it and wouldn’t move. Next was something unusual. I know I was crazy for doing this, but it worked most of the time. I’d throw a whole bucket of water on him. It ruined the bed, but it was worth it.”

  Jo laughed out loud and fell back on the bed. He pulled her up again and gently pushed her towards the bathroom. “We are getting late. I’ll meet you outside in 10 minutes,” he said and walked outside to make some calls.

  All they had was some coffee because Aiden didn’t want to waste another minute. They rushed to the ferry and, after settling down, Aiden made sure Jo had her breakfast. Aiden didn’t say a word about the previous night and that made Jo wonder if he wasn’t happy about it. He seemed to be at ease before, but now his shoulders were stiff, as if he wanted to leave. They still had time to reach Vancouver and then they had to catch a flight. Jo was still not aware of the plan Aiden made. But she didn’t want to ask him and ruin the surprise.

  As he stood there staring at the sky, she came closer and placed her hand on his. Aiden turned to face her with a smile on his face. “Hey, handsome, what’s wrong?” she murmured. When he didn’t move, she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him slowly. He remembered the same touch from last night and pulled her closer. PDA was a big no for Aiden Reid. He detested when Alex did it, but now he was doing it and was actually enjoying himself. He broke the kiss by moving away. Once again, his face was filled with anxiety.

  “I need to talk to my mom. I haven’t spoken to her for almost two days. I’ll be right back,” he murmured and walked away. Realizing he needed some time alone, she let him go without another word.

  Even though he was close to her, she didn’t understand a word he was saying. He spoke in French and now she realized why he was doing this. He didn’t want her to know what he was talking about.

  “No, that’s okay,” he said; the first sentence in English, which she understood perfectly. He raked his hand through his hair and sighed. “Why is he doing this? How can he have more than a hundred friends? I’m pretty sure that Dad is pissed off right now.”

  He turned around to see Jo and came clo
ser. “No way! Just tell him that it’s unmanageable. Mom, calm down. Breathe, okay? Calm your mind. We will discuss this as soon as I return to Toronto. No Momma, I’m not in Toronto. Yeah! He told you? Did he lose some hair?” He was smiling now as he spoke. “Right! Tell him to wear a cap or something. All right, I’ll see you soon. Love you, too. Bye.”

  As soon as he cut the call, he grinned. “So you gonna tell me what happened?” Jo asked.

  “Only if you want to know,” he replied. He told her about his grandfather, who had decided to invite more than a hundred friends to Adele’s wedding. Their backyard wasn’t big enough for that many guests, and he was suggesting that the wedding should take place in France.

  “All part of his plan; he loves to annoy my dad, and he is doing a good job of it,” said Aiden. “My parents are worried now; we can’t secure any other location now with the wedding just weeks away. Adele is very upset. And that Alex! How dare he try to pull my brother’s hair? Poor Ashton!”

  “Well, you will sort it out, right?” she smiled. He smiled and nodded.

  * * *

  They reached Vancouver and had to wait for the flight. Two hours at the airport was not what she expected. They sat at the lounge and waited. She asked him many questions; about his favorite color, food, music, movies and the places he had visited. His life was simple, yet complicated. What surprised her was that he had wanted to be an astrophysicist.

  “People think that I’m just a Business student from a well-known university, but they don’t know that I spent 3 years for my B.Sc. in Physics with Astrophysics. It was hard to cope with two subjects, but I gave my best.”

  Jo was stunned as if she just heard something unimaginable. But what he said just now was surprising. “You have two different lives – like an alter ego. What are you doing in Reids, Inc., then?”

  “I studied Astrophysics because I loved it. I’m working as a businessman because it was my father’s dream that I would take care of the company after him. While Alex is giving his everything, I can’t help but pretend to be someone else and work. I tried to quit once, but Dad was devastated. Jo, it’s not just about me. It’s not about who I am.”