Page 54 of Townshipped
Laura smiles. “He’s got the stuff heroes are made of, that’s for sure.”
I smile toward her. Aiden’s my hero. And I’ll do well to remember that fact. He’s bound to be larger than life in my mind after saving me and giving me refuge.
“Any romance?” Jayme asks, leaning forward a little.
“Excuse her,” Shannon says. “She’s a romance author. So, besides having issues with florid word choices, she sees love around every corner.”
“I’m usually right,” Jayme adds. “And florid. Look at you, Shannon. I’ll make a logophile of you yet.”
I can’t help but blush when they mention Aiden and romance. We kissed the one time. But what we really have is a mutual respect and care for one another. Our midnight kiss was probably the result of us both being thrown together in a stressful situation along with our diminished inhibitions from lack of sleep.
“You know what?” Lexi says. “You barely know us and here we are grilling you. You don’t have to tell us about Aiden or how it is with him. Right, guys?”
No one nods or shows any sign of agreement.
“Right?” she tries again.
“Right,” Laura finally says. “Of course, you don’t. We’re just deadly curious. We give new meaning to the phrase dying to know. But we won’tactuallydie. We’ll just suffer.”
“We’llreallysuffer,” Shannon adds.
“But we’ll survive,” Lexi says to her friends.
“You have to understand,” Laura says. “Aiden’s basically been single for five years aside from whatever dates he goes on out of town. We don’t count dates outside town limits until the guy starts bringing a woman here. Then we know it’s serious.”
Laura looks at Shannon and says, “Like Duke. He’s not serious, even though it’s been six months. He never brings that woman to Bordeaux.”
Shannon takes a bite of her pizza and avoids looking any of us in the eye.
“Anyway,” Lexi says. “We’re being overbearing. We didn’t bring you here to put you on the witness stand. I promise. We really just want to get to know you and let you know you can hang out with other people besides Aiden.”
“I really appreciate it,” I tell them. “I haven’t been lonely out there. We’ve kind of fallen into a routine. The only thing I worry about is …”
I look down and then look back up into their expectant faces. “I worry about being a burden to him. He’s been alone all this time, like you say. And I sometimes feel like I’m not doing enough to help out or return the favor. He has to deal with me and this whole situation.”
“Didn’t seem like he saw it as a hardship,” Laura says.
I try to soak in her words, absorbing them and letting the possible truth comfort me.
“He carries a lot of responsibility,” I explain, not wanting to go into how he’s worried about his cousin and her kids on top of everything else.
“Always has,” Laura says. “That didn’t start with you showing up. From what I can see, he’s a man who’s finally seeing how good it could be to share life with someone. And he’s glad that someone is you.”
“Really? What makes you say that?” I’m a glutton for their affirmation.
“He can’t keep his eyes off you. And the looks he gives aren’t merely those of a protective man.” Laura’s expression tells me she’s remembering the way he acted when my memory of my dad’s Shelby came back. I appreciate her not bringing that up here.
“We’re in a hard spot,” I admit. “Aiden’s remarkable. He’s thoughtful, but strong. Funny, but responsible. I honestly don’t know how he’s twenty-eight and still single.”
Jayme’s smiling at every word coming out of my mouth. She’s nodding her head and hasn’t eaten a bite of pizza since I started talking.
“We don’t know enough about my past. It makes things complicated.”
Jayme starts rubbing her hands like she’s anticipating something good. She may be keeping her hands low and close to her lap, but I notice the movement. She’s like Gollum with a precious ring.
Shannon rolls her eyes. “Little Miss Romance Authorlovesthat word. According to her,complicatedis almost always a key ingredient in the best kind of romance.”
“I’m not only a romance author. I do other things. I work part-time at the flower mart. And I write fantasy romance, anyway. Unless you’re a shifter, werewolf, or vampire, I’m probably not writing a character based on you,” Jayme says. “I’ve also got my freelance work and the cookie business.”
