Page 71 of The Vow We Made
“Fuck off you. Sorry Victoria, take no notice of him.”
“Don’t be,” I tell him while giving a gentle smile of my own. “I hope he’s right.” Something inside me wants to be as close to Aiden as possible. I’ve never wanted to be held by one man so fiercely before and I’m guessing he senses the pull between us too. I don’t realise how intense the atmosphere has become as I concentrate solely on the parting of his lips. Everyone around us may as well have disappeared during these few, silent seconds until Luke clears his throat and Georgie giggles.
I look away, biting the corner of my lip, as Marcus returns to the table after catching our waitress. “What did I miss?” he asks and everyone, including Aiden and myself, burst into laughter.
“Only these two eye-fucking each other.”
“Luke!” Georgie protests. “Don’t be so bloody vulgar.”
“You’re a peasant,” Aiden adds. “Not wrong by the way. But a peasant all the same.”
* * *
I’m settled on the sofa while Aiden cooks dinner when my phone vibrates to life. I’m excited to see my dear friend’s name pop up on the screen, but it’s a bad time. Aiden has been in and out of the room and I can’t get into any juicy explanations with Evelynn right now.
“Hey you,” I answer in a whisper. “I’m so sorry but now isn’t a good time to talk.”
“Is he there?” Her voice is upbeat and excited.
“He is and he’s cooking dinner.”
“Oh sweet Jesus, you have him cooking for you already?” She laughs while I try not to. Aiden will fly into the room and wonder what’s going on.
I whisper again, “It’s going really well, but he’s none the wiser about Andy. I still have that hurdle to jump.”
“Okay.” She sounds deflated just by the mention of his name. “Call me when you have some time on your own. I need to talk to you.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Everything’s fine, it’s just I’m arranging a visit to London soon and I have so much to tell you.”
“That’s fantastic! I can’t wait, in fact, why don’t you come and stay here, with me?”
“I’m not sure I can, I have a lot of business meetings and it would be easier—”
“Don’t tell me, your British man is demanding more of your free time?”
I hear her voice drop instantly when she replies, “He’s a whole different story, but we can talk more when I’m over.”
Something tells me she doesn’t want to be pushed. “Okay. I can’t wait to see you. Give me a call when you’ve booked your flights.”
“I will. Now don’t let me keep you from your hot piece of ass.” She laughs, but there’s an undertone of something else and I can’t help but worry.
