“How many purses and pairs of shoes do you have?” he asks as he grabs a box from my bed that I filled and walks it down the hall.
“Hey,” I snap. “Never comment on a woman’s shoes or bags. How many hats do you own?”
“I collect them.”
“Same,” I throw back at him.
“Good thing the primary has the walk-in. You’re going to need it.”
I flip him off, and he laughs, but since he’s holding my shoes and bags, I follow him into the master, where he sets them down on the bed.
“I changed the sheets for you.” He juts his chin toward the king-sized bed. The guestroom has a queen, and I hadn’t gotten that far yet.
“Thank you. Sorry. I wasn’t as generous.”
He shrugs. “It’s fine. I can do it.” He glances down at the boxon the bed and then up to the pillows. “I should finish moving my things. I think I only have one more run, though.”
“Yeah. Same.”
Neither of us moves, and the air between us suddenly feels charged, thick with everything we’re not saying. With all the things stuck between us that seem to get shoved into a corner or we pretend aren’t there.
“I start a twenty-four-hour shift tomorrow night,” he tells me, his gaze returning to mine. For a moment, it dips to my lips and holds there only for him to swallow and force it back up. “Zoey will be with my parents.”
“Oh. I can watch her.”
He shrugs. “She doesn’t mind. They spoil her rotten. Last night was just a rough night.”
“She didn’t do well?”
All he does is shake his head, and I let him leave it there.
“So… what happens Monday?”
“Monday we show up wearing these and casually announce that we’re married.” He holds up his left hand with his thick, platinum band on it.
I stare down at the diamonds sparkling back at me. “I can’t wear the rock to work. It’s huge, and I’ll struggle with gloves.”
He takes a small step forward, his hand on my cheek as he pushes some of my hair behind my ear. “Will you wear the band?”
I swallow and nod. “That’s the point of this, isn’t it?”
“Good.”
“Aston…” I trail off, unsure what to say. His words from this morning ring heavy in my ears.
“Can I ask… I mean, I know I shouldn’t. But…” He sighs and chuckles as he adjusts his hat on his head. “Did you enjoy it?”
I quirk an eyebrow at him. “You need your massive ego padded more?”
His lips curl up, making his blue eyes sparkle. “In this case,yes. I know you… came. But was it good? The other stuff, I mean. Before I opened my mouth and fucked it all up, that is.”
“Yes. It was good. Obviously since you’ve done what no man has done before.”
He inches in ever so slightly, and my neck cranes up to his face as he stares down at me. “They were lazy, Skylar. Once you relaxed into me and got out of your head, it didn’t take you all that much. And I didn’t mean for you to… fall onto me the way you did. I hope you know that. I wasn’t trying to take advantage or push you somewhere we hadn’t discussed or you didn’t want. I’d never do that.”
I did know that. I didn’t think he was trying to take advantage of me. He looked just as shocked by it as I was. I look down at my hands. For some reason, him saying they were lazy makes me feel both better and worse. Those guys, the ones who tried, always made me feel like it was my issue. Maybe it was their frustration or annoyance over it, and that only made it worse for me. But all they would do was rub my clit harder or whatever. They never tried talking to me the way he did. They never cared enough to know why I was having trouble.
“It doesn’t matter, though.”
