“Expecting lots of company in the bedroom?” Of course what he was really asking was,Is this for me?
But she just laughed and said, “Blue needs someplace to sleep too.”
As if on cue, the little dog hopped up onto the far lounger and curled into a ball. She’d filled out in the month and a half since Thea had taken her in, and her round little belly quivered as she exhaled once and immediately started snoring.
“Guess I’ll just have to share yours,” he said.
They snuggled side by side and fed each other bites of sandwich while they watched the fireflies start their flickering dance in the blue-black that had fallen over her yard. Her head was a heavy weight against his shoulder, and her eyes drooped lower and lower as he combed his fingers through the damp strands of her hair.
He thought she’d succumbed to sleep as easily as her dog had, but she surprised him by shifting closer to him and murmuring, “Promise that we’ll actually stay friends after this ends.”
His hand stilled. “Who says this is ending?”
“Mmm,” she said sleepily, burrowing further into his chest. “The arrangement. The work on the house is all done.”
His alarm from earlier in the day rushed back sharper than ever, but he forced his fingers back into motion. “And what if I want to change the arrangement?”
She drowsily rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Nah. You’re the guy who doesn’t do relationships, and I’m the girl who runs when things get serious. This was always just temporary.”
“That’s awfully pessimistic.” The words barely escaped the tightness in his throat.
“Optimism’s too scary. Better to be realistic.” She tipped her head back to study him, her eyes heavy lidded. “I mean, do you love me?”
He jerked as if her words had electrified him, but before he could muster an answer, she relaxed back against him.
“Exactly. Neither of us is built for the long-term stuff.” She yawned, her voice a tiny bit slurred as sleep pulled her under. “And that’s why we’ve got an end date. Avoid the emotional fallout.”
Those were the last words she spoke before her breathing evened out into the deep heaviness of sleep. Aiden, meanwhile, lay underneath her, unable to do more than wrap his arms around her and lose himself in the now-familiar scent of her hair.
What she’d said made sense. It’s how he’d always lived. In any other circumstance, he’d be relieved to have exactly this kind of out. But as her warm breath feathered his neck, all he could do was stare into the darkness and think about hownotpanicked he was by her question of whether he loved her.
Twenty-Four
Thea woke up in bed.
Normally that wasn’t unusual, but she was almost entirely sure she’d fallen asleep on the balcony last night.
She stretched, luxuriating in the knowledge that a big strong man had apparently carried her inside and tucked her in and that this had happened at the end of one of the best days she could remember. Sailing was actually pretty great. Maybe her next job should be on a boat.
She pulled herself upright, squinting at the morning light assaulting her senses and crossing her fingers that Aiden had stayed the night and was in the kitchen getting the coffee started.
“I love you.”
“Ahh!” She started at the words and swung her head to see him sitting on the chair adjacent to the bed, elbows on his knees and serious eyes fixed on her. “Sorry, what?”
“Thea, I love you.” He said it again more forcefully, and her eyes darted around the room. Was this a dream? Had she not made it in from the lounge chair after all? But no, why would her dream include a pile of bras and shoes tangled in the corner of her bedroom?
She scooted backward on the mattress until her back hit the headboard. “I don’t get it.”
He stood abruptly and paced in a tight circle around her bedroom. He wore only his boxer briefs, and the sight of his long, lean body was almost enough to distract her from whatever he was trying to say.
“Last night,” he said. “You asked if I loved you. And I do. Iloveyou, Thea.”
She blinked as her sleep-groggy brain struggled to catch up. “Okay, you need to stop saying that for a second.”
She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, halfway expecting to wake herself up and find him gone. But when she pulled her hands away, he was still watching her with that laser-like focus.
“I want to be the guy on the second lounger with you.” He moved to sit on the edge of the bed and gripped her hands.
