I dare to glance toward the front of the bar, and then I suck in a breath of air. Aiden is headed my way.
The suit jacket is gone, along with the tie. The white dress shirt remains, the crisp, white fabric stretching across his broad chest and large shoulders. I can now see his waist and muscular thighs better, hugged by the navy fabric of his suit trousers.
I lift my gaze to his face, and that wayward lock of hair is back, nearly grazing his eyebrow, and when he spots me, the corners of his mouth curve into a full smile.
I push my chair back, rising from my seat to greet him. As soon as I stand up, Aiden stops walking. His eyes flicker over me, and then I watch as his lips part a bit in surprise.
Aiden likes what he sees,I think excitedly.
Then he shakes his head, as if banishing whatever thought was running through it, and resumes walking toward me, the smile—and dimple—back on his face.
That combination is going to be the end of me tonight.
“Sorry,” Aiden says softly. “I was distracted for a moment.”
“By my outfit change?” I ask, retaking my seat.
“Definitely by your outfit,” he says, his smile growing wider as he takes the seat across from me. “I like it, Scarlett. I like it a lot.”
Everything in me goes electric from his praise. “Thank you,” I say, smiling back at him. “I think I like your outfit update as well.”
He chuckles at that, a low, delicious sound that reverberates across the table. “It’s the white dress shirt, isn’t it?”
I study him for a moment. The shirt is unbuttoned at his throat, revealing his creamy, pale skin. “I confess to liking a crisp, white dress shirt,” I say, picking up my coffee and taking a sip. “I can see it much better without the suit jacket and tie.”
The server appears at our table and asks Aiden what she can get him. He orders a cup of coffee as well, and she leaves to go get it. As soon as she’s out of sight, Aiden stares at me from underneath his long, dark eyelashes. “Scarlett, there’s a part of me that thinks it’s crazy that I’m here with you right now,” he says softly. “I know who you are. And I know what that means.”
My heart tumbles into my stomach. I know it, too, but why does it make me wince when I hear Aiden say it?
“So why did you want to meet me?” I ask softly, my finger once again tracing the rim of the coffee cup.
“Because I couldn’t let you go without knowing who you are,” he says simply.
I stare at him, stunned by his words. Aiden wants to know who I am. Even if it will never go beyond a cup of coffee, he had toknowme.
“Is this crazy, Scarlett?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer. “But I want to know you, too.”
Our eyes meet. An electric feeling sweeps over me the second I stare into Aiden’s gray eyes.
“We are crazy,” he says.
“Then we’ll be crazy together tonight.”
The server returns and places a cup of coffee in front of Aiden, along with more half-and-half. “Thank you,” he murmurs.
As soon as she leaves, his attention returns to me. “So we’ve got coffee, we’re tucked away in a hotel bar, far from the prying eyes of the public,” he says, his voice low. “And we both want to be here tonight.”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s only one thing left to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Tell me your story, Scarlett. Because I need to know it.”
Chapter Five
