Aidan shifts to a sitting position as I get to my feet and stretch. “Much,” he says. He shakes his head in disbelief. “It really was your blood that I needed.”
I look away from his thoughtful gaze and shrug. “I’m just glad I could help.”
“Hey.” He reaches for my hand and pulls me back to him. He sighs deeply and looks up at me with a thoughtful expression. “I’m sorry, Jo.”
I blink at him rapidly. “What for?”
“You didn’t ask for this. I know I pushed you, and I just need to make sure you really know what you’re doing.”
I drop to my knees, clutching his hands in mine. “Fuck whatever higher power supposedly put us together. I didn’t come here because of some vampire mate bond. I came because I wanted to. I came for you.”
He shakes his head and smiles knowingly. “No, you didn’t.” I’m about to disagree but he stops me. “You came for yourself.” He pauses and runs his thumb against the open cut on my hand. “I’m proud.”
My shoulders slump, but I give him an appreciative smile. “Yeah, yeah.”
We linger around the house for several hours, enjoying the slowness of the morning. We shower together, only taking the time to wash one another and share a different type of intimacy, and after, Aidan makes a small breakfast, though I offered many times.
As he buttons the last few buttons of his tailored long sleeve shirt, he looks like his old self again.
“I want to show you something,” he says once he’s finished.
“Alright.” I’m wearing the same pants from last night, but I’ve changed into one of Aidan’s cotton pullovers. The collar hugs my throat, bringing the smell of him closer. “Is it another movie theater?”
He chuckles, and I follow his lead out the front door. He doesn’t take either car, instead choosing to show me to wherever we’re going on foot. We walk down the main strip in comfortablesilence, hands entwined. He stops in front of Bones, but the windows have been covered, and there’s a new sign hanging above the door. Same name, same font, just updated.
“What’s this?” I ask, pointing to the bar awkwardly. “Did I break something when I was drunk?”
Aidan chuckles but shakes his head. “No. Remember me telling you I bought the bar?”
I’d forgotten, given how much has been on my mind lately.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to show you what I’ve done with the place.”
I’m speechless. He’s never shared anything about his philanthropy projects before. Given how much shit I gave him for it, I can understand why.
“Why would you want to do that?” I ask hesitantly.
“Because,” he says, “I was hoping to prove you wrong.” He winks and unlocks the door.
I relax at the feeling of falling back into our old ways, and as Aidan walks me through each step of the renovations, I realize just how much he cares about it. Maybe I was wrong about his charitable purchases being selfish. Afterall, this is a place I’ve come to with friends. I’ve seen every resident of Shadow Hills congregate here, paranormal and human alike. It’s a place of common ground, and I can see now why Aidan was driven to want to save it.
“I didn’t realize Maurice was struggling,” I say as I run my fingers over the new bartop. It’s a sleek dark-polished wood with gold trim.
“I never would have known if I hadn’t seen the lack of customers with my own eyes,” Aidan says.
I remember the new employees from my night of solo drinking. “So it was your doing then, hiring the pretty young women to draw in new customers?”
Aidan’s eyes narrow dismissively. “I knew I wouldn’t be the right fit for the role, so I hired theappropriatepeople.”
I bark a laugh, and he rolls his eyes. The exchanges between us feel just like they used to, before sex and feelings got involved, and I’m grateful for the lack of awkward tension.
“Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s working. This place was packed that night I was here.”
“Oh, I remember,” Aidan remarks curtly.
The silence between us stretches infinitely, until finally, I’m able to put my thoughts into words. “You weren’t in the office that night, were you? You were at home.”
He looks at me earnestly and nods.
