“Hi,” I say, losing myself in his beautiful eyes.
“You look gorgeous,” he says, his fingers still working magic in my hair. I don’t think he has any idea of what he is doing to me right now with such a simple move.
“You’re ruining me, you know,” I say playfully.
A quizzical look appears on his face. “What?”
“You’re completely relaxing me by playing with my hair. I love the way that feels.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Then I promise I’ll make note of that.”
With that promise, all the feelings about this being wrong, all the guilt over what we’re doing, dissipate. Aiden is the kind of man who pays attention. Things that make me happy matter to him, and he wants to remember them.
And if I had any lingering guilt over dating Aiden, it’s completely gone now.
“Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes,” I say. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“A glass of water would be fine,” he says, continuing to caress the back of my head with his fingers. “And can I see the chinchillas?”
I think I fell a little bit in love with Aiden right now.
“Of course.” I head into the kitchen, and Aiden picks up his baseball cap, setting it on the breakfast bar.
“Nice apartment,” he says, looking around.
It’s different from Aiden’s minimalistic Scandinavian decor. Yes, I have floor-to-ceiling windows like he does, and I have views of the glittering high rises surrounding me and the Intercoastal Waterway.
But my decor has more warmth to it. My sofa is white linen, very cushy, with lots of coral and white throw pillows on it. Over the back of the sofa, I have three framed art prints of coral hanging on the wall. The round coffee table is made of brown woven rope for a beachy vibe. I have a leafy palm planted in the corner of the room, bringing green into the space. There’s one rattan barrel chair with a white cushion. The white bookshelves around the TV hold a few things—coral sculptures, framed photographs, and some candles and vases.
“Thank you,” I say. “I wanted that beachy feel.”
“Appropriate, because you live on Biscayne Bay,” Aiden says.
“I completely fell in love with the location. I have everything nearby and I can look at the ocean every night.”
I open the sleek greige-colored cupboard door and retrieve a glass. “Ice?”
“Lots.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Aiden’s eyes meet mine. “Good.”
It’s not said, but an understanding passes between us. We’re remembering these little things about each other because this is going to go somewhere.
I fill the glass with ice and then water, setting it in front of Aiden. He thanks me and takes a sip, then sets the glass down. “It smells really good in here,” he says.
“Thank you. It’s one of the few things I can make well. I’m not a great cook. But enchiladas I can do.” Then I laugh. “Unfortunately, my whole apartment smells like a Mexican restaurant as a result.”
His mouth curves up in a smile. “I’m not going to lie to you. It kind of does.”
I smile back at him. “I was thinking earlier I should ask you if you would like a booth or a table and if you’d like to start your meal with chips and salsa.”
Aiden laughs at that, and I feel a warmth running through me because I made him laugh.
