Page 29 of Stained Hearts
“Yeah.” I put my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. “I know I’m older than he is, and—”
“And healthier. And have more money. And all kinds of other excuses I’m sure you’re going to throw out there. Let me tell you something, Tom. Do you want to know what would make me happy?”
I swallowed hard. “Sure.”
“For Aiden to be happy. For once in his life to finally find someone who cares for him. If you can do that, then I’m all for you asking him out.”
“What if it doesn’t work between us?”
“What if it does?” She reached over and cuffed me on the arm. “He’s a big boy. He’ll grieve, but eventually he’ll get over it. The thing is, at least there’ll be an ‘it’ to get over. I should warn you, though. Aiden is…. How can I put this?”
“A big ball of energy wrapped up in a sugar-loving hamster?”
“Yeah, that. He’s exuberant, and some days his hamster brain goes so fast, the wheel falls off and rolls over the cliff, where it crashes and burns at the bottom. You need to be sure you’re ready for that, because for most people it’s kind of a turnoff. It’s why he doesn’t have many friends besides Noel.”
I hated the fact that people couldn’t see beyond their limited perceptions of who Aiden was.
“I’ve experienced his brain, and I find it fascinating. He zips from one thing to the next, thenzoom, he’s off on a different tangent. And it’s far from a turnoff, because it’s part of who he is.”
She drew her lips into a tight, thin line. “If you want to date my brother, you’ve got my permission. To be honest, anyone else probably would have given up after his meltdown.”
“He thinks he can’t be loved, but I know for certain he’s wrong.”
“Oh? How so?”
I nudged her with my elbow. “Because you love him, so that’s something right there.”
She sighed. “Sometimes I think it’s hard for him to remember that. He gets frustrated when I… well, for lack of a better word, nag. I don’t mean to. I want him to get out and meet people, but he’s always been shy. Then that one lousy fucker played with his head so bad, it left him afraid to try again. And then, when he gets up the nerve to talk to a guy he likes….”
“The guy scares him again. I get it. I was a dick, and I didn’t mean to be.”
“Well, at least we can agree on that.” She snickered. “You weren’t. How could you know what he thought was going on between you? I’ve never seen him like that before. He was excited, and a few days he pushed me out the door so he could call you.” The silence between us stretched out longer than was comfortable. Fortunately, Olivia eventually clapped her hands, breaking the quiet. “What do you think about me pouring us a scotch and we dig into the chocolate?”
“Those are for Aiden.”
“And you think he’s going to miss one box?”
“Do you honestly think we’re going to stop with one? Go pour.” I reached for the box of truffles and tore the plastic off. By the time it was unwrapped, Olivia was back with two glasses of amber liquid. I held the chocolates out and watched as she took one and bit into it.
“Oh my God. Aiden’s going to freak. Is that orange?”
“Yeah, it’s an orange liqueur. Good?”
Her eyes widened. “Good? I don’t know that I’ve ever had an orgasm this amazing.”
I cackled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The two of us sat on that sofa, eating chocolate, sipping drinks, and talking about someone I hoped would forgive me enough to let us have a chance to know each other.
Chapter Eight
“YOU ATEall the chocolate?”
I jerked upright to find Aiden leaning on his walker at the side of the couch. He was holding an empty box and glaring down at me.
“You bastards ate all the chocolate. You didn’t even leave like one lousy maple? Nobody likes the damn maple.”
The boxes were spread out on the table, and there wasn’t a shaving left. I groaned and sat up, Aiden still glaring at me. “I’m sure there’s something somewhere.”
