Swoon. I love that he loves this time as much as I do. We didn’t have sex tonight. We didn’t even take off any clothing.
Yet it was intimate and passionate and has caused real feelings to grow within me for this man.
I think it’s because Aiden was happy to just make out. Kissing me meant as much to him as it did to me. As did talking and continuing to get to know me.
“I don’t want to leave, but I have to go. Real Miami pays me to do stuff for them, you know. I also heard you get paid to play hockey, so you kind of need to show up for practice.”
“Ten more minutes,” Aiden says. He reaches for his watch and sets an alarm. “When this goes off, I’ll let you go. Against my will, of course.”
I love that he doesn’t want me to go home.
“We need to talk about how we’re going to handle this,” he says.
I think of the Miami Manatees and my dad, and my joy dissipates. How can something that makes both of us so happy be considered so wrong?
But I know why. Coaching moves that favor Aiden would be suspect. There would always be a cloud of suspicion over him. What would his teammates think? The team is built on trust—and Aiden is an alternate captain. Would my dad trust him knowing he went behind his back and approached his daughter?
“I think we keep this time to ourselves,” I say slowly. “Then if we decide it’s serious, we can prove to my dad—and the team—this isn’t just a fling.”
“Okay,” Aiden says. “So we’re going to have to be careful.”
UGH, this part makes me queasy. I don’t want to lie to my family, but I don’t have a choice.
It’s another risk I’m willing to take.
“Yes,” I agree.
“I’m going to put you in my phone under a different contact, and you should do this same. I don’t want anyone seeing your name on my screen and connecting the dots,” Aiden says.
“Who am I going to be?” I ask, curious.
“Hm. I need to think on this.” Aiden falls silent for a moment. “What’s your middle name?”
“Claire,” I say.
“You’re going to be Claire in my phone. I was going to say Sandwich Cookie. Technically you said you were in your chocolate candy-cane sandwich crémes era, but that’s too long. And Sandwich Cookie is something that people would notice if they looked at my screen.”
My queasiness is replaced by butterflies and one single thought: The biggest mistake I could have made tonight would have been to walk away from this man.
The name he selected shows that he not only listens when I talk, but heremembersthings I say.
And it means something to him.
“I like that,” I say. “I would have called you Cuban Coffee. It was one of the things that stood out in your gift basket, but like you said, that’s way too weird.”
“You did pay attention, didn’t you?”
Oh, if he only knew how much I’ve been paying attention!
“What’s your middle name?” I ask.
“Brooks.”
Aiden Brooks. I like his name.
And oh, how I like him.
“Okay, you’ll be Brooks.”
