Page 24 of Wreck Me
“I’m fine, Aidan. I promise. I just wanted to thank you in some way.”
“Okay…”
He sounded unsure as he looked at the floor. He bit his lip as though trying to hold back a smile and pointed to the floor behind her. “You know, it’s a good thing you haven’t committed a crime. You left behind some evidence.”
She turned and glanced down. Several flour footprints dotted the floor where she’d walked around from the island to the fridge and to the oven. When had that happened? Her cheeks heated. “Oh no. I’m so sorry. Do you have a mop?”
“In the garage. I’ll get it for you.” He set two plastic bags she hadn’t noticed looped over one of his wrists down on the table. “But let’s eat first. I’m starving.” He started to open the bags and stopped, looking at her with a frown. “I hope you like Thai food. I probably should have asked you.”
She grinned. “I love Thai food. I haven’t had it in a long time.”
His lips curved into a smile. “Me either.”
Together, they unloaded the bags and set out a variety of Thai dishes for them to share. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Megan cleared her throat. “This is delicious. I didn’t know there was a Thai place here.”
“Yeah, they also have Chinese dishes. But I was feeling like Thai.” He looked at her with a smile. “I’m just glad you like it.”
From there they talked about inconsequential things like the weather, and he told her about some of the festivals that were coming up over the next few weeks. It was no surprise that the lodging around stayed booked.
“Wow, I didn’t realize so much could go on in a small town.” She chewed and swallowed some flat noodles. “I’ve never lived in a small town like this. Suburbia is the closest I got. Even then we weren’t too far out from the city.”
“Your license said you were from Nashville.”
“Yep. Lived there my whole life.” She nodded her head side to side. “At least up to this point.”
“Is your family still there? Well, besides your brother,” Aidan asked before biting into some peanut chicken.
Megan looked down into her plate and swallowed hard before answering. Her parents had been dead for twenty years and yet the pain still seared in her heart. “No. My parents were killed in a car accident years ago.”
“Oh shit. I’m sorry, Megan.”
“It’s okay. It happened a long time ago.”
“Yeah, but that pain never goes away.”
She looked up at him, seeing understanding in his eyes. “No. It really doesn’t.”
Tension between them grew thick until she couldn’t stand it anymore and looked away. “Anyway, my aunt and uncle who raised us moved to Arizona a few years back when they retired to be near my cousins and the grandkids. So there’s no one left there.”
With all her family gone, the only memories left there were ones she’d rather bury deep and never let see the light of day.
“So you’re headed to Florida?”
She nodded. “Yep. Nate’s opening a bar and grill and wants me to run it. Oh!” she exclaimed. “That reminds me. Your sister got me a job while I’m here for the next month.”
Aidan’s gaze was wary. “Which sister?”
“Charley. She’s going to talk to someone named Marcus about a bartending job while I’m here.” She forked up some rice. “It will be nice to have something to do again and make some extra money so I can replace what I’ll use on the car.”
Aidan was silent before he said, “At the Silver Moon?”
“Yeah.” She pointed at the carton in her hand with her fork. “You need to try this…” Her words died on her lips, as she held out the take-out carton at him. He chewed but looked at her with an intent stare. “What?” She swiped at her face with her free hand, almost poking herself in the eye with her fork. “Do I have something on my face?”
He shook his head. “No, your face is fine. Perfect, actually.”
Butterflies took off in her belly, momentarily taking her breath away. “I…” She rolled her lips in to keep from talking. She didn’t know what to say and really didn’t want to babble in front of this man. He was way out of her league, and tongue-tied didn’t begin to cover how she felt when he said something like that to her.
Aidan shook his head but took the carton from her, careful not to touch her fingers. “Let me try this.” He took a bite of the chicken and noodles then nodded. “That is good,” he said after swallowing. “When it comes to the Silver Moon, I’ll tell you what I tell Charley. Just watch for the handsy ones. Especially the tourists. They seem to be the ones we get calls on the most.”
