Page 23 of The Vow We Made
7
The Morning After and the Night Before
VICTORIA
Iwonder who the hell is banging on our door at this ungodly time in the morning. Turning the latch slowly, my visitor is revealed, buthisis the last face I expect to see. Should I be mad or standoffish? Surely, I shouldn’t roll over and be pleased to see him? But those brown eyes are making it very difficult to act anything other than that. I only wish I hadn’t just fallen out of bed and my hair didn’t resemble a bird’s nest.
“Victoria.”
“Aiden,” I reply in a high-pitched, squeaky voice that doesn’t hide the excitement of seeing him for this 7.00am visit, despite feeling a little put out after last night. I poke my head out the door but hide the rest of my unicorn shorts and top combo. He doesn’t need to be subjected to my quirky choice of pyjamas as well as the bad hair and probable death breath.
“I think I owe you an apology.”
My stomach is in the middle of a horizontal loop when I answer, “You do?” I’m going for casual. I don’t want to seem too eager.
“Last night,” he sighs, “you needed help with your friend, but instead of offering, I watched you walk away.”
The memory clicks the scene into play, fuelling my disappointment that he isn't apologising for the other woman. “Ahh, Will must have spoken to you.”
His eyes crinkle a little at the inside while slipping his hands into the pockets of his dark grey overcoat. “He did. I'm sorry, it should have been me.”
“Don’t be. I’m sure the last thing you needed on your boy’s night was to help some girl you hardly knew and her drunken friend.”
“How is she by the way?”
“Sleeping it off, but she’ll be fine.”
“Good, I’m glad. I wasn’t thinking or remembering my manners last night. I was sure you’d be back, once you found the rest of your group, but why I didn’t offer to help, I don’t know. It was pretty bloody rude of me.”
“Well I did—” I stop myself from mentioning his new liaison. I wouldn’t want to come on too strong and who knows, he might offer an explanation without a prompt from me. Instead I continue as casually as I can. “Don’t worry. Everything worked out in the end. Will was a true gent.”
Aiden raises his eyebrows and smirks. “He can be when he wants to, which isn’t often.”
There's a brief silence while I wonder if I should ask him in for coffee. I stand back and open the door. “Would you like to come in?”
“No thank you. I’m just on my way to work.” He nods in the direction he’s heading. “Look, I’ll get straight to the point; I’d like to take you out for dinner.”
“Oh.
It’s probably not the reaction he was hoping for and I can’t believe I don’t hide my surprise a little better.
“Don't feel pressured. It was just after last night…” His voice fades while I stall for a reason. I'd love to go out with him, but seeds of doubt have been planted. He was too quick to move on after I'd left. But now, here he is, on my doorstep, dressed to perfection and looking gorgeous in his dark blue trousers, light blue shirt and grey overcoat, acting as if the other woman doesn't exist. Unless he has a twin, I doubt this guy has any scruples and that's the killer of this possible date.
I sigh and try to figure out how to answer him. “Can I be completely honest?”
He holds up his hand to stop me. “If it’s about the friend you saw me with, then I insist on taking you to dinner so I can explain.”
“I don’t know. Was she the blonde you were holding in your arms last night? Actually, don’t answer that, it’s none of my business.” So much for me playing it cool, but I can’t deny, I’d love him to have a plausible explanation.
There's a hint of amusement on his lips. “Holding is a slight exaggeration, but at least give me a chance.” I raise an eyebrow, wanting more but he has somewhere he has to be.
“Believe me, it was completely innocent. The lady in question is someone I’ve known since childhood. There really is nothing more than friendship between us but if you give me a chance, I can explain everything over dinner.”
He’s in a hurry and I wouldn’t want to make him late for work, although his response has thrown me off course. “I suppose.”Damn his gorgeous face and come to bed eyes.
He tilts his head. “Is that a yes?”
I nod. “Okay.”
