There was a brief pause. “Leaving it to me, huh? Are you that easy to please or is this a test?”
The teasing smile was evident in his voice. Mary found herself smiling, too, one foot lifting up to rub the back of her other calf like she was some crushing teenager. “Maybe a little of both.”
A low, sinful laugh had her pressing her thighs together. “I hope I pass.”
Mary did, too.
*
Aidan was still smiling as he tucked the cell phone in his pocket, an uncharacteristic spring in his step.
“What’s got you so happy? Did Francesco D’Armini call to tell you he’s closing or something?” Lexi asked when he entered the kitchens. Alexis Kattapoulos Callaghan was the head chef and inspiration behind the Celtic Goddess franchise, and his best and closest friend in the world. Lexi’s office adjoined his on the top floor, but she was rarely in it, preferring to spend the majority of her working time hands-on in the kitchens.
It was one of the reasons he made a point of venturing down to see her at least once a day. She kept him grounded, reminded him that he was human. Despite the fact the she was wealthy in her own right and one of the top chefs in the country, she remained as unaffected as the shy girl he’d first met more than twelve years earlier.
Aidan laughed. Master Chef Francesco D’Armini had the only restaurant even remotely close to offering competition to the Goddess. If, for some reason, D’Armini did decide to close his doors, the Goddess would be the only five-star restaurant of its quality within the state.
“Good guess, but no. I’ve got a date,” he said, grabbing a handful of imported almonds from the glass bowl beside her workspace.
Lexi’s eyes grew huge. “A date? A real date?”
“Yep,” he grinned.
Lexi turned from her latest creation, handing it over to her sous chef, a skilled young second by the name of Phoenix. Nearly trembling with excitement, she hurried to wash her hands, then grabbed Aidan’s arm and literally dragged him over to the mini-office she kept there.
“A date. A real date.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Not an escort, like at last year’s gala, right? Because they don’t count.”
“Not an escort,” he assured her, wincing inwardly. Was his personal life that pathetic? Yes, he realized, it was. Sure, there were any number of women who would have been thrilled to be on his arm, but taking one to such a high-profile event might send the wrong message. It was far easier to negotiate a business deal and keep the misunderstandings to a minimum.
Which is what had him going to Tommy’s in the first place.
“Okay, Aidan. Spill it. Everything. I want details.”
Aidan was reminded of a much younger version of Lexi, the eighteen-year old girl who’d just been told by Aidan’s father that he would be personally taking her under his broad wing and sponsoring her culinary education. Her cheeks were pink with excitement, her eyes bright.
“There’s not much to tell. I met someone. She’s nice. I’m seeing her again on Saturday.”
Lexi smacked him. “I want details, Aidan, not vague generalizations like ‘she’s nice’. Geez! What’s her name? How’d you meet?”
“Her name is Mary. And I met her at Tommy’s Place.”
Some of Lexi’s excitement faded as she imagined the type of woman that typically came on to men in bars.
“It’s not what you think,” Aidan said quickly, his eyes twinkling as he sensed Lexi’s thoughts. He knew how her mind worked, sometimes better than she did. “She wasn’t drunk. I was. And she shut me down when I hit on her.”
“But... you’re going on a date with her?” Lexi asked, confused.
Nodding, Aidan explained how Mary had taken his keys in the parking lot and drove him back to her place.
“I like her already,” Lexi murmured, but then her features hardened. “But what the hell were you thinking, Aidan? Don’t you know I’d be lost if anything ever happened to you?”
He shrugged. “You’ve got Ian now, and Patrick, and Katie - ”
Lexi’s amber eyes glowed with fire. “Aidan Harrison, you did not just insinuate that I no longer need you. Because you know that is just not true.”
“It is true, Lex,” he sighed. Yeah, he knew she cared for him, and they had a history. But things were different now. She had a family, and responsibilities that no longer included him. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he missed the fact he was no longer the one looking out for her. Aidan needed that. It was in his nature to dominate, to care for, to protect. It was part of who he was, ingrained into every last fiber of his being.