Page 16 of Crossed Up

7

LYLA

I wonder what kind of comment Sebastian would make if he could see me right now.

I mentally flip him off with both hands, and pride fills my chest as I dig into the pint of chocolate cherry ice cream in front of me to take my first bite. The nostalgic flavors coat my tongue, and I nearly sigh in bliss.

Towards the end of our relationship, Bas was such an asshole about everything I ate and kept meticulous track of my calorie intake. It’s taken me nearly nine months to stop feeling like a failure if I wake up hungry in the middle of the night or eat more than a thousand calories a day.

A quiet scuff on the hardwood floor spooks me enough that I jump forward and bump my ribs into the island. “Oh shit. Oh my god, you scared me,” I breathe with a hand held protectively to my side. I didn’t hit them hard, but the phantom pain from past broken ribs has me acting on instinct. “You’re a freaking giant. I don’t know how you’re so dang quiet all the time.”

Aidan lets out a husky chuckle and moves to grab a water bottle from the fridge before placing his palms next to me on the glittering white marble of the kitchen island. His tan, muscular arms flex as he leans forward, bringing my attention to his sculpted chest, bare save for the light smattering of fine blond hair and Crew’s birth date tattooed over his left pec.

I feel my eyes widen as desire pools in my lower belly quicker than ever before, and the feeling is nearly enough to send me running back to my room. The only guy I’ve ever been attracted enough to want to date was Sebastian, and even that was lukewarm compared to the feelings my new boss has been stirring up. I need this job, and I adore Crew, so I need to do what I can to ignore any budding attraction to the single father.

Even if he does look like he was carved by Michelangelo himself. I mean, David who?

“Whatcha got there?”

“Oh… so, I kind of have a terrible sweet tooth, and sometimes, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night craving something sugary. Tonight, I just felt like I needed ice cream.” A blush heats my cheeks, waiting to see how he responds.

His stunning eyes light up as he clasps his hands together over his heart in a dramatic gesture that makes me smile. “Ah!” he gasps. “A woman after my own heart.”

A quiet giggle falls from my lips, and his smile grows.

“Okay, follow-up question. What’s your favorite flavor?” Aidan grabs the pint sitting in front of me and examines the label, raising his brows in my direction and intentionally dropping his gaze to my cherry print sleep set with a smirk. “I’m sensing a theme here.”

Shrugging, I take advantage of him still holding my ice cream to stick my spoon in the creamy goodness and take another bite. “What can I say?” I ask around a mouthful of heaven. “I have a thing for cherries.”

His laugh is full and loud and so happy in that moment that it freezes me to the spot, spoon in mouth and all. The smirk returns to his handsome face and fans the heat still simmering in my veins to boiling levels, and I know I need to get the heck out of here before I say something monumentally inappropriate.

I fake a yawn and stretch, trying to take the ice cream from him to put it back in the freezer. My fingers cover his when I grab the carton, sending chills up my arm. Aidan’s eyes fill with heat the longer they stay locked on our overlapped hands.

My words are barely more than a whisper as I stare into his eyes. Their glittering blue reminds me of ice chips, only instead of cooling me off, the look in them has me quickly overheating. “I should probably get back to bed.”

He drops my gaze as he clears his throat and releases the melting container back to my waiting hands. “Right, yeah. I should, too.”

“Night, Aidan.”

I’m already at the stairs before he responds, but I can swear I hear him whisper back, “Goodnight, angel.”

“Okay so you have the list of emergency numbers? And you know he’s allergic to shellfish? Do you have the route to the hospital memorized from here?”

I don’t get a chance to answer any of Aidan’s panicked questions before he thinks of more. “And you know all the alarm codes and where the car keys are?”

Rolling my lips together to hold back my own nerves, I place a hand on the anxious man’s forearm. “Aid, I got this. We’ve been over everything and I’ll treat Crew as if he’s my own. He’ll call you every night, and I promise I’ll text or call you if something goes sideways. Which it won’t.”

“But—”

I shake my head firmly. “No buts. You’ll be two hours away for three days. If, for some unknown reason, I can’t reach you and it’s an emergency, I have Wren, Rhodes, and the coaches numbers on speed dial. I think some time apart will be good for both of you. Remember what I said during my interview? Crew is now my only priority. Trust me.”

His worried blue eyes study my green ones for several intense moments before he relents with a small but anxious smile. Turning to where the subject of our discussion sits on the living room floor, happily munching on his lunch of sweet chili cauliflower wings, Aidan gives his son a lingering kiss on the top of his head.

“You’re gonna call me every day and be good for Miss Lyla, right, my little raptor?”

His sticky face lights up. “I’ll be the goodest! And I’ll call every day right before bed so you can read me my story.”

Watching Aidan interact with Crew always makes me feel all melty inside, but seeing just how much he loves and cares about him? Cue the pesky butterflies. Those inconvenient little jerks have been around way too often the last few days.

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