Page 46 of My Irresistible Enemy

“I really was trying,” he said, shaking his head over and over. “I swear to God, I was listening. I even wrote down what you said, but I’m so fucking stupid, I just forgot, and now it’s too late, and I—”

“Aiden, Aiden.” I grabbed his shoulders to get his attention. “Come on. Get a grip.”

Aiden sucked in a sharp breath at my touch, his lips parting. There were actual tears in his eyes. That made my chest hurt in a way I couldn’t make sense of, but I let go of him just in case.

“If you knew me at all, you’d know I’ve never once had a grip on anything in my entire life,” he said, giving me a wry smile. It was watery, but it was the attempt that counted, right?

“Okay, well, there’s a first time for everything,” I said with a laugh. “Maybe today can be the day you learn. Start by telling me what happened.”

Aiden pointed to the oven. “I forgot to add salt to the dough for the crust.”

“Is that all?”

He nodded. “Yeah. But you made such a big deal about how I had to do everything right, and I—I just got so excited when I finished the filling, and it actually looked like it was supposed to, just like the pictures online, that I put it in and started baking without even checking to make sure I’d done the dough correctly.” He looked up in dismay. “But if I take it out now and try to start fresh, it won’t bake in time, will it? It’ll be all raw and gooey?”

Wow. He really was upset. There was no way he’d pass up a chance to make a joke about how much he liked raw, gooey things in a normal state of mind.

“It’s okay,” I told him.

“Really?”

“Really. Based on how you reacted, I thought you’d chopped your finger off and left it in the center of the pie. This is just a little salt. They probably won’t even notice.”

“But I wanted to do itright,” Aiden said. “And I fucked up again. Is it definitely too late to fix it?”

I thought for a moment. “How long has it been in the oven?”

“I don’t know. Like, thirty seconds maybe? And then however long this conversation has taken?”

“Okay.” I grabbed a mitt and opened the oven door, pulling the pie out. “Oh, phew. You forgot to put the latticework on top, too.”

“I did?” Aiden sounded like he just might cry after all.

“No, no, that’s a good thing, in this case. It makes it easier. We’ll just pull the filling out and set it in a bowl. Then you just sprinkle some salt on the crust, add the apples back in, add the top, and off you go.”

“And that’ll work?”

“Well, I’m not gonna claim to be a baking expert. And I still think you’re overreacting a bit. But if you’re really committed to getting salt in there, I think it’s your best bet with the time we’ve got left.”

Aiden gave me a small nod. “Okay.”

I frowned as I scooped the apple filling out into a bowl. “What, no snarky comeback? No jokes about tops, or how I’m leaving this pie open and gaping right now?”

“I mean, you’re doing such a good job of it on your own.” He smiled, and it actually looked genuine. “So I’ll just say thank you.”

“Okay, now I know something’s up. First you skip the innuendo, then you saythank you? Who are you, and what have you done with the real Aiden Hastings?”

“I’m still me.” Aiden’s smile widened. “I guess I’m just trying to lie back and enjoy my first time.”

“Your first time doing what?”

“Getting a grip.” He giggled. “You’re breaking me in. Popping my cherry. Or apple, I guess, in this case. Thank you for being so gentle with me. For lubing me up with understanding.”

“Oh my God.” I ran a hand over my face. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, kinda. But it’s cute, right?”

“It’s something.”

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