“Sam and I have a lot in common,” Mel said, appearing unaware of Aaron’s inner turmoil. “Have you ever noticed?”
Wait. Sam? Did Mel realize she’d called Samantha by the same nickname her father used? Those things in common must have formed a bond between them.
“I haven’t. But I’m hoping you’ll tell me.”
“Her mom, Carrie Anne, she got involved with a man who wasn’t emotionally available. That man being my dad.”
“And you think I’m emotionally unavailable.”
“Please.” Mel turned to him, her eyes brimming with emotion. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I’m simply trying to make sense of everything that’s been happening lately.”
“Me, too.”
She touched his hand, her fingers light and warm and sending tiny shock waves along his skin. “Somehow, we went from having this easy, comfortable relationship to one that’s complicated and confusing. I’m not sure how that happened.” She let out an uneven breath. “But I believe it’s about more than just the baby.”
Ah. Those feelings for her he wasn’t ready to admit to having.
“I don’t disagree with you.” He pulled her nearer, securing her in the crook of his arm. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure out a solution together. Trust me.”
She nodded, swallowing before she spoke. “You’re right.”
Not that Aaron ever had much success in resisting Mel, but in that moment, she was so lovely and so vulnerable, resisting her wasn’t an option.
“Aaron?” Her whispered question fell against his lips. “Are we only making things worse?”
He had to be honest with her. “I’d like to say no.”
Convinced she’d pull away, he was elated when she raised her mouth to meet his.
Mel had called their relationship easy and comfortable. For Aaron, it had also been exciting and passionate. He believed Mel felt the same. Her eager response to his kiss certainly indicated as much.
Craving more contact, he drew her onto his lap. She came willingly, making him acutely aware of her enticing curves and firing his need.
Hooking a hand behind her knees, he repositioned her, the part of him most aware of her instantly responding. Mel slid her arms around his neck, parted her lips and kissed him with an intensity matched only by the summer heat.
In moments like this one, Aaron wasn’t confused. In fact, he knew precisely what he wanted, and she was sitting in his lap.
One minute stretched into two. Two became five. The need driving Aaron grew, quickly approaching the point of no return.
Slowly, regretfully, he ended the kiss. “That was...” If he kept talking, he’d blabber like a fool.
Mel’s arms fell away from him, and she cleared her throat. “We may have gotten carried away.”
Aaron waited for his pounding heart to slow. “I’m not complaining.”
“Me neither.” And, yet, she stood, her damp shirt clinging to her skin and accentuating her hourglass shape. Grabbing her sunglasses, she moved away from him. “My family’s waiting for me at Dad’s.”
“Right.” Aaron also stood, not yet over the effects of their kiss. “If I hurry, I can tuck Kaylee into bed.”
The parking area had completely emptied while they’d eaten and talked and done things bordering on indecent.
He took a chance and said, “Why don’t we meet at the motel tomorrow?” That would allow him time to put his idea in motion.
“It hasn’t been two weeks.”
She couldn’t be serious. Their usual routine had long gone by the wayside.
“I can’t wait that long,” he said.
She hesitated. “I’m not sure I’m ready to, you know, resume...”
“Just talk. Nothing more.” Aaron tensed. This was the closest he’d come to making an admission. Did she not see that? “We can wait till later in the week if you want.”
“Tomorrow’s fine.” She abruptly walked away, sending him a last, lingering glance over her shoulder. “Bye, Aaron.”
He watched her until she reached her truck. Grabbing his cowboy hat and plunking it on his head, he shut the rear door of the SUV, all the while whistling to himself.
She hadn’t exactly said yes. Then again, she hadn’t exactly said no. Aaron was betting on the latter and would be at the motel tomorrow. Neither wild horses nor an irate mother-in-law would keep him away.
Chapter Eleven
Aaron was waiting for Mel in the parking area behind the motel. She spotted his SUV the moment she rounded the building. He must have seen her, too, for the driver’s door opened, and he stepped out, cowboy boots and long legs first. He probably had no idea how great he looked. Aaron didn’t spend any time trying to make an impression. He just did, naturally.
She briefly wondered why he chose the parking lot and not the room to wait for her. She was fifteen minutes late; he must’ve checked in already. His last text had said, “I’m here.”
The space beside him was empty, and Mel parked there.
“Sorry I took so long. I was with the foal and lost track of time.”
Aaron drew her into a quick, warm hug, catching her completely off guard. They didn’t do that. Not in public.
“Is he okay?”
She needed a second to find her voice “I was worried he might have caught a respiratory infection, though he’s not running a fever. I drew some blood to send to the lab tomorrow, just as a precaution.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” He reached for her hand.
It was becoming a habit, this hand-holding. One she was growing to like. “Were you worried I wasn’t coming?”
“Well, you were vague last night.”
After that kiss they’d shared? How could he have had any doubts? That he did was interesting and, possibly, telling. Mel would revisit this recent development later at home.
“You check in already?” she asked.
He produced a key—an actual key, no plastic key cards at this motel. “Room 11.”
Inside, he removed his wallet and two phones, tossing them onto the dresser. “I forgot water. Guess I was distracted.”
“By work?” Or thoughts of me?
He stopped, letting his eyes roam over her. “That, too.”
Mel’s cheeks warmed. She reminded herself they were here to talk. Not tear each other’s clothes off.
Aaron went to the dresser where a plastic ice bucket sat next to the coffeemaker. “Is tap water okay? I’ll get some ice from the machine outside the lobby.”
“I’m not picky.”
She didn’t offer to go with him. A minute alone would do her good. She’d been anxious about seeing Aaron since their make-out session in the rear of his SUV after the barrel-racing competition. There had been something so...so...regular-old-couple about it.
A sudden thought panicked her. What if she alone felt that way? Aaron’s doubts about her showing up tonight indicated otherwise, but her confidence waned. She could be misreading him. She had before.
“Be right back.” Aaron shut the door behind him.
Mel went to the window, parted the curtains and watched him disappear down the walkway. Exhaling slowly, she let the curtain drop back into place and returned to the dresser where she set her purse. Aaron’s phone ringing startled her.
She glanced down, recognizing the blue phone as his personal one. Because he’d laid the phone with the screen down, she couldn’t see who was calling. Nancy? Was Kaylee all right? Perhaps she should go after him. The ringing stopped and was eventually followed by a ping signaling a voice-mail message had been left.
Mel paced the room until Aaron returned twenty minutes later. Okay, really only five.
“You got a call while you were gone,” she said the instant he entered the room. “On your personal phone.”
Handing her the i
ce bucket, he picked up the phone and swiped a finger across the screen. “It’s my sister.”
Mel was aware Aaron’s sister knew about her and Aaron’s arrangement. “Go ahead and call her back if you want.”
“I won’t be long.”
While he listened to the voice-mail message, Mel removed two tumblers from the tray and added ice. Taking the glasses to the sink, she filled them with water. By then, Aaron was engrossed in conversation.
“Tell her I’ll call tomorrow.” After a pause, he said, “I can’t tonight... Because I’m busy.” Another pause. “Yeah, something like that.”
Mel thought she might have heard a laugh coming from the phone and suffered a twinge of embarrassment.
“Love you, too, Pickle. Talk to you later.” He disconnected, returning the phone to the dresser. “Mom’s sick.”
“Not seriously, I hope.”
“Sounds like a bad summer cold. I’ll call tomorrow.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.” Mel just had to ask. “You call your sister Pickle?”
“A nickname from when we were kids. She hates it.”
“Who wouldn’t?”
Mel chewed her lip. She’d officially run out of excuses. With sex off the table, only conversation remained. This, she realized, would be the second time they’d come to the motel and refrained. In fact, they hadn’t slept together since before she found out she was pregnant.
“Here’s your water.”
Before he could take the glass she offered, Mel’s knees went boneless and her field of vision narrowed. The glass tumbler suddenly seemed to weigh twenty pounds and slipped from her fingers.
“Hey, hold on there!” Aaron materialized beside her. Taking her arm, he walked her across a floating room and eased her onto the side of the bed. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Mel closed her eyes, fighting the wave of dizziness and encroaching darkness. “No. I feel strange.”
“Put your head between your legs.”
She did. After a minute or so, the dizziness receded. As it did, she noticed Aaron had sat beside her, his arm securely around her shoulders.
“Careful,” he warned when she tried to raise her head. “Go slow.”
“I feel silly.”
“Stop it.” He rubbed her back, his palm making large circles. “Have you fainted before?”
“Not since I was six and the nurse gave me a shot.”
“It’s not uncommon. Especially in the first trimester. Your blood pressure could have spiked.”
Had Robin fainted? Mel didn’t ask.
“Here. Have some water.” Aaron got up and retrieved her tumbler from the dresser. It was then Mel saw his tumbler on the floor, ice cubes spilled and laying atop a spreading wet spot.
“Did I do that?”
“It’s just water. No harm done. The carpet will dry.”
She rubbed her head, though the mild throbbing had mostly receded.
“Did you have dinner?” Aaron came back from the bathroom with a towel, which he used to blot the water.
“Yes. A chicken quesadilla and a salad, if you must know.”
“Good girl.”
He surprised Mel by arranging the pillows against the headboard and insisting she sit back and stretch out her legs.
“I’m fine. Really.” She smiled. This was the most relaxed they’d been all evening.
“The dizziness usually doesn’t last. Still, you might mention it to your doctor at your next visit. In fact, I insist you do if this happens again.”
“Are you going to come with me and make sure I do?” she half joked.
“I’d like to. If you don’t mind.”
He was serious. And so sweet. She almost said yes. “What will Nancy say?”
“I’m telling her about the baby this week.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Isn’t it?”
He grinned, and the resulting zing winding through Mel had nothing to do with her earlier dizziness.
It didn’t require a genius. Aaron’s good looks were what had initially attracted Mel. But what kept her meeting him every two weeks for the last eight, no, nine, months was his straightness, for lack of a better word.
Simply put, Aaron was a straight up guy. What one saw was what one got. He was also straightforward. No beating around the bush. And he was a straight arrow. He held himself to high standards and did his best to adhere to those standards. Their affair might be his one and only fall from his pedestal. Ever.
He actually reminded Mel of her father, and not just because they had both lost a wife and wound up having a baby with a woman they didn’t marry. They shared many good, admirable traits that had probably enhanced his attractiveness.
“You look serious,” Aaron said. He still sat beside her on the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking about my dad.” Not a lie, though not entirely accurate.
He laughed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Another sweet gesture. “Not what I expected you to say.”
“I was unfair to him when Samantha first showed up. Not that I agree with his decision to waive his parental rights. I’ve learned a lot these last couple weeks. People deal with grief differently. If seeing Carrie Anne helped him through a difficult time, then where’s the harm? Again, other than their truly terrible choices regarding Samantha.” Mel touched her belly. “I’ll never understand that.”
“They’re a lot like us.”
“Kind of. Only you aren’t walking away from our child.”
“And you’re not insisting I do.”
“Does that make us better than Dad and Carrie Anne? Samantha has a good life, even if she’s currently at odds with her parents. Despite our best efforts, things could turn out badly for our child.”
“I’m not going to let that happen, Mel.”
There he was, taking her hand again.
“I apologized to Dad yesterday, before I told him about the baby.”
“And the rest of your family?”
“I’m getting to them one by one.” She gave him a look. “How about we make a pact? You tell Nancy this week, and I’ll tell the rest of my family.” She extended her hand for him to shake.
“Deal.” He folded her fingers inside his. “I’d like to speak to them, too, if you don’t mind.”
That took her aback. “Why?”
“I want them to know I’m not abandoning you, and I won’t be waiving my rights. Not for anything.”
“I’m glad. I’d like our child to grow up with you loving him or her the way you love Kaylee.”
“I already do.” He raised her hand to his lips, brushed them lightly over her knuckles. “I’m not unhappy at the prospect of spending the next twenty years with you. And not just because of the baby.”
In that instant, she knew what she felt for Aaron had gone far past affection and attraction. If he didn’t reciprocate, she was heading straight for heartache.
She should get off the bed. Leave. Run away. Before she did something stupid. Something she couldn’t take back.
Only Mel stayed put, studying their clasped hands. They’d been flirting a lot lately. He’d given her a hug outside. They’d kissed as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. His feelings for her must be deepening.
Maybe if she let him know in no uncertain terms she was ready to go from casual to committed, he’d tell her that was what he wanted, too.
Only one way to find out, right?
Mel reached up and cradled Aaron’s cheek, brought his mouth to hers.
He resisted.
Mel withdrew, mortified. Clearly, she’d made a mistake. He didn’t want her. Not like that.
He brought her gaze back to his and stopped her from looking away when she tried. “Mel, listen. I can’t let yo
u start anything you aren’t prepared to finish. I want you too much.”
Excitement spiraled through her. Hot. Electric. Powerful.
It wasn’t enough, however. She needed more.
“This isn’t just sex for me, Aaron. Not anymore.”
“Me neither.” Taking her by the shoulders, he lowered his mouth to hers. “I couldn’t bear to hurt you. If there’s any chance of that happening, tell me to go, and I will.”
“Stay.”
Mel leaned back against the pillows, bringing him with her. This time, he didn’t resist.
* * *
THIS WASN’T WHAT Aaron had planned when he suggested meeting Mel at the motel tonight. Kissing her. Holding her in his arms. Needing her to cling to him and cry his name as he entered her.
No. He’d wanted to talk. And to ask her...
She nipped at his ear, and his mind shut down.
Mel could do that. Make him forget everything, including his own name.
“Wait.” She sat up and wriggled back a bit.
He groaned. Had she come to her senses? It seemed yes, which was probably for the best.
“Give me a minute to recover,” he grumbled.
“I’ll give you two seconds to prepare.”
“Huh?”
In one quick, efficient move, she removed her shirt, slipping it over her head and flinging it onto the floor.
“There.”
Aaron stared, lost in the sight before him. She was gorgeous. Her normally satiny skin glowed. And her breasts, rounded to begin with, spilled from the tops of her turquoise bra.
He couldn’t keep from touching her and reveled in her low, dreamy sigh when he slid the straps down, taking care to smooth his hand over the silky curve of her exposed shoulders.
She leaned forward, reached behind her and unfastened the hooks. The bra instantly fell away, freeing her and revealing every stunning inch of her.
His throat went bone-dry.
“Are you sure about this? You were feeling faint earlier.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not getting up.” Letting the bra fall onto the floor, she scooted over, making more room for him on the bed. “I’m planning on staying in bed for the next hour at least.” When he didn’t move, she sent him a seductive smile. “That is, if you’ll join me.”
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