Troubles (Beekman Hills Book 1)

by K. C. Enders

  Chapter 31

  Aidan

  I plug the address into my phone’s GPS and yell across the bar, “I’ll be back in a couple hours, yeah?”

  Finn tosses me an up-yours over his shoulder. He’s been pissy since I let him and Jimmy know that I was moving out. Not at all happy about his rent change with one less person to split the cost. I, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier. I got an email on Airbnb that my new landlord had to leave town suddenly and wanted to hand over the keys three days early.

  I take the steps up to the flat two at a time and rap at the door.

  “Hey, yeah, so thanks for doing this, man. Pisses me off, I had no warning that this trip got moved up and I, ya know, just wanted to make sure that everything was all taken care of and shit. Cleaning crew just left, so here’re the keys, you’ve got my email, right? Okay, and if you have any problems, um just, yeah, email me and whatever. Might be gone longer than I thought? So if you want it longer, um, just let me know, email, whatever, okay. Yeah. I gotta go, so um it’s yours.”

  I swear the guy didn’t breathe through his entire speech. But he shoves the keys to the flat in my hand and takes off out the door in a complete panic. I walk through quickly to make sure everything’s in order before heading to grab my stuff from the loft.

  I showed up on Francie’s doorstep almost six months ago with just my rucksack and a case full of clothes. It takes me a couple hours and two full trips to move all the shit I’ve acquired in that time, over to my new flat. Mine and Lis’ new flat.

  I shouldn’t be this fucking excited. Shaking and nervous like a teenager with his first crush. I’m a couple years away from thirty, lived with a girl after college. But this is different. Lis is different. She means the fucking world to me and I can’t wait.

  Quickly putting my stuff away, I make sure to leave plenty of room for Lisbeth’s things. Room for her clothes in the closet, empty drawers in the dresser, plenty of space in the bathroom for her shampoo and lotions.

  My gaze falls to the claw foot tub. She went a little crazy over that tub—more than a little. And all I can imagine is her hair pinned on the top of her head, a glass of wine in her hand and bubbles hiding her curves from view.

  Everywhere I look, I see some glimpse of our future. Side by side making dinner, working, or watching movies snuggled on the couch. Sliding into bed with her at night and tangled up in the sheets together every morning.

  As soon as my things are all sorted, I send Lis a text. I have to work until the bar closes tonight, but I have to see her. I want to place her keys in her hand so she knows that this is us now.

  A: Where are you?

  L: Work.

  A: Come to McBride’s when you’re done?

  L: Hmm…miss me?

  A: Always…see you later.

  I shove my phone back in my pocket and with a last check to see that everything looks good, I head back to McBride’s.

  As busy as the bar is, time just doesn’t seem to move at all. How many times can I look at the clock in an hour for the hands to only show the passing of minutes? At half past eleven, the air changes. I know she’s here before I see her and palm the keys in my pocket in anticipation. I can’t help the thump of my heart as I turn to take her in.

  “Hey, handsome. That for me?” She nods at the pint in my hand, hopping up on the barstool I’ve saved for her.

  “It is.” I lean over the bar to steal a kiss as I set her glass and the keys in front of her, whispering, “And these are too.” Her smile stretches wide, scrunching up her eyes.

  “What? I thought we weren’t getting in until Friday.” She wraps one hand around the keys and the other rests on my chest, covering my heart. “I haven’t finished packing, yet.” Her eyes fucking sparkle as her lips brush across mine.

  “Yeah, I got an email from the guy. His project date got pushed up and he had to leave early. I met him, Christ, almost twelve hours ago? Sorted my stuff before coming back here, so…”

  “You’re already moved in?”

  “I am. So, I can help you tomorrow.”

  “This is the last box. What about your furniture?” I set the box on the island counter and press up against Lisbeth’s back. Nuzzling at her neck.

  It’s cool and blissfully quiet in the flat. No roommates, just us. Pushing her hair aside I trail kisses down the back of her neck. Her gasp turns to a full-on laugh when my phone vibrates in my pocket—right up against her arse.

  “I scheduled that call just for your pleasure.”

  Looking over her shoulder, she notes the name of my caller. “You asked your—mother to call? So I’d get a little thrill from your phone? Smooth.” She turns and pushes at my chest. “Go talk to your mom.”

  And to add to our newfound domesticated bliss, she swats my arse with a kitchen towel. Flashes of payback, run through my mind as I swipe at my phone.

  “Hey, Mum. How are you?”

  “Aidan, love, how are you?” Mum tends to talk quite loud when she calls, as if her yelling into the phone will make up for the miles separating us.

  I hear Lis snicker behind me and meet her gaze with a wink. Eye-din. She mimics my mum’s pronunciation of my name, her big smile spreading across her features. “Am I interrupting your dinner? D’ye have a friend over? I can call you tomorrow, love.”

  “Mum, it’s fine. Yes, Lisbeth is here, but we’re fine to chat.” I kiss Lis’ cheek and head out the back door, so she doesn’t have to listen to my mother yelling through the phone to me. “What’s going on? How’s everyone there?”

  “Good. Everyone’s fine. And you? We saw Lorna last week, poor soul. She’s looking a bit better, though. Taking care of herself, now. Said she was planning a holiday before the baby comes.”

  “Good. I’m glad. She needs that. A spa day, then? A beach holiday?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think she said—I’ll have to ring her mum and see if she knows. But thank you for helping her with it. It was lovely of you to send her some money for that.” We catch up on all the family stuff and I prepare for what I hear at the end of every conversation.

  “When are you coming home, Aidan?” We’ve talked about Lis, about my life here, but I’m daft for having not broached this yet.

  “Mum, I—I’m not sure. I’m working on switching up my visa, planning on staying in the States.” I wait for the explosion, for the tears and pleading. All my siblings live close enough for Sunday dinner, and I’m not just telling her I’m moving out of Dublin. I’m telling her I’m moving an ocean away.

  And like only she can do, my mum takes me by complete surprise responding, “I hope I get to meet her soon. She must be very special.”

  “She is, Mum. She truly is.”

  LIS

  Aidan’s mom is adorable. I roll her pronunciation of his name around in my brain as I watch him talking to her outside. Eye-din.

  His face lights up when he talks to her, smiling and laughing at the things they’re talking about. And it hits me just how much he’s giving up to live here—with me.

  Because of me.

  With a glass of wine in hand, I walk to the bathroom. While the tub fills, I dig through another box for my bath stuff and candles. The tub is huge—giving me plenty of time to arrange all my pretty bottles and candles on the windowsill.

  I add my favorite scent under the stream of water and peel off my clothes as the churning water makes a mountain of bubbles. I turn off the lights and light a candle that I found on our trip. It smells like Aidan, filling the air around me with a mixture of our scents. The steamy water swirls around my ankles as I step in and sink down, letting the hot, gloriously hot, water surround and soothe me.

  I stretch out as far as I can and turn the water off with my toe. The air is thick and quiet, the setting sun throwing cloud-filtered light through the bottles on the windowsill.

  The colors dance across the bubbles and as I scoop them up and make piles on the surface of the water, my mind drifts to my family. My fucked-up
, stupid little family. Their selfishness knows no bounds, and it would be so easy to stoop to their level and refuse to go to Maryse’s wedding. It’s the last thing I want to do, and they sure as hell don’t deserve a thing from me. Not one person who knows the real them would think badly of me for not going.

  I used to wish that Maryse and I had the type of relationship that I do with Gracyn. Where we can talk about things, ask the hard questions, get mad at each other but still know that the other person loves you and everything will be okay. We have never had that.

  Gracyn’s told me that Maryse is jealous of me, that she always has been. And my mom, too. That that’s the reason they’re so hateful. I’m not sure they know how to be happy. That they know how to think kindly of people and not put them down. That by putting others down, they are not actually lifted up and made better.

  I have been so busy trying to survive them and their hatred, my whole life, I’ve never really taken the time to think how sad it really is. I swirl my glass and take a sip.

  Aidan has a bunch of siblings, but when Michael got sick, Aidan dropped everything and went to be with him. I have one sister. One. I have to go to her wedding, be gracious and mature. I have to face my ex-boyfriend’s parents and congratulate them on their new daughter-in-law.

  As the last of my wine slides down my throat, the door cracks open and Aidan steps in with the bottle of wine and his camera.

  “Fucking gorgeous.” He kisses my lips and fills my wine, setting the bottle on the floor next to the tub. Pulling a lock of hair out of the pile pinned on top of my head, he drapes it over my shoulder, his fingers leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake. “Look toward your glass, love. Let your eyes drift off though—yes—that, right there. Don’t move.”

  His camera clicks as he takes shot after shot. Moving around the room, murmuring thoughts and directions the entire time. When it finally hits me that the camera shutter is silent, I look up to see Aidan step out of his shorts. As he stalks toward me, I slide forward making room for him to step in behind me.

  I settle my back against his front, thankful for this man, the love I have found.

  “Gonna print one of those and put it on the wall, right next to the one from the gardens.” His silky voice sends shivers through my body.

  He slicks his hands down my arms, taking my glass from me. He drains it in one gulp and sets the glass on the floor beside the bottle. He skims his lips from my shoulder, up my neck, finally nipping at my ear.

  “Turn around,” he rasps.

  I grip the sides of the tub, steadying myself as I shift to face him. Aidan pulls me toward him until I’m straddling his thighs, the bubbles cleared between us. Droplets of water cling to his chest, trembling but not quite ready to slide down to the water. I reach out, tracing a design across each of the bulges and valleys of his muscles, playing an aimless game of connect the dots with the shiny little drips.

  “This is where we live now. Just you and me.” My whisper muffled in the humid air surrounding us, my fingers dancing down his torso.

  Aidan’s hands are heavy on my hips, his fingers pressing into the flesh.

  “Just us.” I watch his tongue dart out and wet his lower lip. Those are the only words he utters, but his heated gaze and the hitch of his breath as I wrap my hand around his hardening dick speak volumes.

  I stroke him slowly, almost lazily, languishing in the realization that we are well and truly alone. No roommates, no one. Just us.

  Aidan slides his hand between us, his thumb circling my clit mimicking the same lazy pace I’ve set.

  The sun has set and the room is dark, lit only by the candlelight flickering in the mirror over the sink. The only sound, our panting breaths and the gentle splash of the water.

  Shadows dance across Aidan’s heavy lids as I shift, leaning forward, and lining myself up with the head of his cock. His thumb stills as I slide down oh-so-slowly.

  It’s completely and utterly silent in the bathroom until Aidan’s groan fills the air between us. I hold still relishing the way he feels, the fullness. Our connection.

  Rolling his head back to the edge of the tub, Aidan squeezes his eyes shut and blows a breath out through his pursed lips. He’s trembling.

  I brace my hands on his shoulders, rocking slowly and whisper his name. He pulls me to him, our lips brushing softly. Everything about this is unhurried and perfect.

  We rock against each other, movements small but the sensations layer and build until the most intense orgasm hits me, Aidan right there with me.

  Chapter 32

  Lis

  I reach to turn off my alarm, just for a minute and then snuggle back into Aidan’s warm body. We have been running nonstop since we moved in and hardly see each other.

  My clinical hours at the hospital are not overnight this time, but start early, so our mornings are rarely full of leisurely wakeups. More like jumping out of bed, scrambling into scrubs, and running out the door. Hospital. Shower. Bistro. Sleep.

  At least, that’s what the first week was like. I hated only seeing Aidan when we tumbled into bed at night and ghosting a kiss across his lips as I ran out each morning, not wanting to wake him.

  I set my alarm for earlier this week, so I can do this. Take five minutes to soak in his strength and calm before my crazy day starts. I place a kiss over his heart and start to ease out of bed, when Aidan’s arm snakes out and pulls me back in.

  “Not yet.” His voice gravelly still. He closed McBride’s last night, only sliding in next to me a couple hours ago. He kisses my forehead and rubs circles on my back.

  “I have to go. Go back to sleep, I’ll see you tonight.” He holds tight and rolls us over, settling himself between my thighs.

  He squints at the time on my phone. “You have two, make that one more minute ’til your alarm.” Pressing his hips into me, he peppers kisses along my neck. “More than that, really since your coffee will be made for you while you get ready. Think we have time for a proper good morning?”

  I groan, knowing we don’t have time for a proper anything, not even a quick something.

  “Tonight, are you working?” He feels so good, his body pressed into mine, hands tickling up my sides. I want to stay in bed all morning wrapped up in him. But…mwamp—mwamp—mwamp— Aidan’s alarm goes off and when he leans over to turn it off, I crawl out of bed and hear a mumbled curse as I grab my clothes and head for the shower.

  After a lightning fast shower, I twist my still-wet hair into a bun, and slide into a seat at the counter. Aidan fixes my coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “We need to talk about your sister’s wedding. It’s in a few weeks, yeah? Have you given any thought to what you want to do?”

  I have, and it strikes me that I haven’t shared those with him. I bite my lip, feeling bad for not talking this out with Aidan before now.

  “I need to go. It’s the right thing to do, no matter how much I’d rather spend the day anywhere other than there.”

  “What’s the time, again? I’ll make sure I’m covered at the pub.” Aidan pops a bite of my sandwich in his mouth and makes a face. “How do you eat that shite?”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’ll just make my appearance and leave.” I hike my bag higher on my shoulder and grab my PB & J from him taking a big bite.

  Aidan plants his hands on his hips, eyebrows pinched together.

  “You think I would let you go through that alone? No, tell me again when it is and I’ll make sure I’m free. Not letting you deal with that without me.”

  My heart flutters at his concern for me. “It’s two weeks from Saturday.” Popping up on my toes, I give him a kiss and murmur, “I love you,” before I head out into the world.

  I have been blissfully avoiding my mother’s calls for the past couple of weeks. Our relationship is nothing short of toxic and I just don’t want to play anymore.

  Of course, just as Gracyn and I settle ourselves at McBride’s, my phone rings. It’s my mother, again. Aidan
places our pints in front of us and stares at my mom’s name on the screen.

  “Just answer it. You’re gonna have to talk to her at some point. The sooner you do, the sooner we can go look for a good dress. One we like.” Gracyn nods her head at Aidan like they are teaming up on me. “Right?”

  His lips pinch together and his eyes sparkle as he agrees with Gracyn.

  I close my eyes and swipe at the screen. “Hello?” Passive aggressive, just for this moment, I will my voice to sound like I have no idea who is calling me. It’s all I’ll allow myself.

  “Lisbeth. Have you been avoiding my calls?”

  I roll my eyes and shift to climb out of my barstool. Gracyn grabs my leg as Aidan grabs my hand, both of them holding me in place.

  “We need to discuss your part in the wedding. Have you lost enough weight to fit in the dress we picked?” Two sets of eyebrows hit their respective hairlines with record speed and I just shake my head.

  “Wow. Um, hmm.” Gracyn is looking for a pen to scribble-yell her thoughts on my mother, and Aidan, bless him, sets a glass in front of me along with a bottle of bourbon. I smile at both of these amazing people I have supporting me.

  “While I’m sure the dress you and Maryse picked is lovely, I’m going to find my own. Is there a color you’d like me to stick with or a specific detail? Length? Sleeve?”

  My mother’s displeasure is unmistakable, mostly because she launches into me on how ungrateful and selfish I am. Pot, may I introduce kettle?

  I let her rant while I pour myself a little bourbon and before I can even pick up the glass, Gracyn dumps in enough to put me on my ass. Aidan drops in an ice cube and nods for me to take a drink.