Page 22 of Lust & Lies
“Do you want something to drink?” Aiden asked.
I swallowed before saying, “Water would be nice.”
“Would you like to hear the other options?” he asked, rising and heading to the refrigerator.
He was being so polite. Nothing like the savage who pinned me to the wall and kissed me earlier.
“Noe, do you want to hear the other options?” he asked again.
“Oh. Yeah. Yes.”
I stared at his butt as he walked to the refrigerator and opened the door.
“We have milk, grape juice, cranberry juice, orange juice, Sprite, Coke, wine, and water.”
Wine sounded nice. But I couldn’t afford to be tipsy right now, not with the way my body was responding to this man.
“I’ll take a bottle of water.”
“Coming right up.”
He returned to the island with two bottles of water. I accepted the bottle from him and placed it on the counter next to my bowl.
“When we’re done eating, I’ll go to the car and get our bags,” he told me.
“Oh, right. I forgot about the bags. I can help.”
“That’s okay. I want you to relax as much as possible.”
With a nod, I took a bite of my food and sighed. It was divine, seasoned, and cooked perfectly. All conversation was forgotten about as I tore into my food. At the hospital, they’d had me on a special diet.
The food hadn’t been seasoned very well because they’d wanted me to eat less salt. Aiden’s food was seasoned to perfection. I was taking another bite when I looked up and found him staring at me.Damn. I probably looked like I hadn’t eaten in years.
After swallowing, I said, “Sorry. This tastes good.”
“No need to apologize. I’m glad you like it, and I’m glad you’re eating. Go ahead.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I wasn’t one of those women who had a problem eating in front of a guy they liked. I continued eating, just a little slower now. We talked a bit about the house as we ate, with him telling me that we had a nice gym and that he would have the physical therapist come here to work with me instead of me having to go to their facilities.
Hours ago, I would’ve seen that suggestion as a red flag. I would’ve viewed it as him trying to control me and keep me locked away. Now, I kind of appreciated it. Now that I was here, in our home, it felt good to be away from the hospital, the doctors, and all the nurses.
He’d let me talk to his brother, though he hadn’t wanted to. So, he wasn’t hiding me away. I think he was genuinely trying to keep me away from stress. If the roles were reversed, I’m pretty sure I’d do the same for him.
However, there was something I needed to know, and it would determine whether I could continue allowing myself to relax with him or not.
“Aiden?” I said, letting my chopsticks rest against my plate.
“Yeah, baby?” he replied, reaching for his bottle of water and unscrewing the cap.
“Thank you for letting me talk to your brother today. It felt good talking to someone who knew me before the accident.”
He swallowed his water and capped it before replying.
“I admit, I hadn’t wanted to do it. I had no choice. Once you fully remember Ethan, you’ll know that he really would’ve come here. And he wouldn’t have just come for a few minutes or hours. He would’ve crashed here for days.”
I chuckled, happy that he was opening up. Maybe now was the time to say what I really wanted to say.
“Since a member of your family has been revealed to me, it should be okay for you to tell me a little about my own family, right?”
