Now it’s my turn to lay a card on the table, revealing some of the thoughts I’m having about him and where I see this going.
“I don’t want anyone else. Your game plan has worked brilliantly.”
Aiden gives me a quick side-eye, as if confirming he heard me right. Then a slow smile spreads across his face, and I feel butterflies dance in my stomach. This is definitely going somewhere good.
And I can’t wait to take every step of the way with Aiden.
* * *
“Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“You can never break up with me. Because you spoil me in a way no other man can.”
Aiden grins. I’m stretched out on his sofa, my feet in his lap, and he’s been massaging them for at least an hour now. “My evil plot is working,” he jokes.
If he only knew how much. From having matcha waiting for me in the car, to ordering a cozy takeout meal of roasted chicken and mashed potatoes from a farm-to-table restaurant, then watching hockey while being cuddled up on his sofa. Aiden eventually had me lie down so he could rub my feet, and I’ve never been so pampered.
Ever.
“You’re playing Ethan next week. Will you promise not to wreck his face?” I tease.
Ethan plays for Las Vegas, and they’ll be in town on Wednesday to face the Manatees.
Aiden stops rubbing my foot for a moment. “I never thought about that. I’m going to have to play yourbrother.”
“Play him like you would anyone else.”
“But he’s not anyone else.”
A look of worry passes over Aiden’s face, and I bite my lip. I can see, once again, the weight of dating me hanging heavily on him.
Will there ever be a point where I won’t be worth this weight?
I shove the thought away. Aiden has proven to me repeatedly that what we are building together is going to be worth the fallout when it happens. He wouldn’t be here with me if he felt differently.
“Ethan is also your head coach’s son.”
“I’ve never crossed this bridge before. Last year, I wasn’t playing for your dad.”
“Dad won’t direct anyone to play Ethan differently,” I tell him. “You know that.”
“Of course. But knowing he’s your brother, and what he would think of me if he knew what I was doing with you… He’d want to throw me into the boards—for starters.”
I sit up, my stomach churning with anxiety. I reach for his hand, and then Aiden levels his gaze at me. “Don’t think this changes anything, because it doesn’t,” he says firmly, lacing my fingers through his. “It’s just hard because I never thought I’d be in this position.”
I try to fight the sick feeling rising within me.
“Scarlett. I mean it.” Aiden squeezes my hand in his. “I know what code of conduct I’m breaking. I would do it a thousand times over to be with you, okay?”
He pulls me up to a sitting position and kisses me, his tongue tangling with mine in a long, lingering kiss. When Aiden breaks it, and I see the way he’s looking at me, my fears fade away.
“Okay. But I want you to know I understand this isn’t easy for you.”
“It’s not. But it doesn’t matter. Not when it comes to you.” Then Aiden smiles at me. “Go get your camera. You’ve avoided me long enough on that.”
Embarrassment rushes through me. Aiden has asked twice now to see my camera, and I’ve put him off twice, but from the look on his face now, he’s not taking no for an answer.
