If she had the chance to do it again, she wouldn’t think twice.
“Hey, beautiful,” Aidan said, sliding gracefully into the booth across from her, looking good enough to eat in a navy suit that accentuated his lean, muscular form. Up to that point she’d only seen him in casual jeans and shirts, but he cleaned up mighty nice. She wondered again what exactly he did at the Goddess, then he smiled and she forgot her own name.
She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn’t seen him approach. She was probably the only one, though. Throughout the restaurant, nearly all female eyes were on him. Poor Fiona was probably going to need a trip to the chiropractor’s office, she was rubbernecking so hard. Fiona’s eyes grew as big as saucers when she noticed Mary sitting there.
Mary sighed inwardly. No doubt she’d just provided them with exclusive fodder for their next scandalous tale, but Aidan was worth it.
“Tell me. What kind of thoughts make a woman’s eyes glow like that?”
Her answer was a smile.
“Ah, I thought so,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “It’s a good look for you, Mary. I suggest you keep doing whatever it is that puts it there.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” she teased.
“God, I hope so,” he murmured so only she could hear.
The waitress came to take their orders. She was a very pretty young woman, probably college age, and made no effort whatsoever to hide her appreciation for Aidan. Mary fought back the sudden urge to scratch her eyes out. Thankfully, Aidan barely glanced at her as he ordered for the two of them.
“Careful, Mary,” he chuckled softly when the waitress left. “Your claws are showing.”
Mary dropped her eyes to her lap and blushed, which only made him chuckle more. “Relax, baby. You are the only woman I’m interested in right now.”
She wasn’t sure how to interpret that. There was no doubt it sent delicious tingles through her to think that she, alone, held his interest. It was the “right now” part that worried her a little. She couldn’t help but wonder just how long Aidan’s attention span currently lasted. In the end, it didn’t really matter. After all, she might tire of him first.
Yeah, right, her inner self laughed hysterically. Probably about the same time you get tired of chocolate.
“So, how did your appointment go?” he asked.
“It’s over until next year, that’s all that matters,” she said, blowing out a breath. She hated her yearly GYN exam, but at least Dr. Whitney was nice. More importantly, the female doc didn’t know Mary personally, which was why Mary chose to drive over to Pine Ridge instead of setting up an appointment closer to home. The only OB/GYN in Birch Falls was the father of her high school BF, and Mary would have been mortified to have him do her exam. She’d gotten her mammogram out of the way, too, as the diagnostic imaging center was in the same complex. She dreaded both every year, but always felt a measure of relief afterwards.
They kept the topics light and appropriate for their public location. He asked about her family, but Mary wasn’t about to scare him away with the likes of Cat Murphy. Since her mother lived so far away, she figured she had plenty of time. Assuming he was still around, that was. She certainly hoped he would be.
She tried to divert his questions by asking a few of her own, but he didn’t seem any more interested in talking about his family than she was of hers. She couldn’t help but wonder if he, too, had some issues.
“I was telling my friend Lexi about you,” Aidan said at one point. “She’s very anxious to meet you.”
“Me?” Mary asked, genuinely surprised. “Why?”
“She knows me well,” he said obliquely. “She asked if we might be interested in joining her and her husband for dinner and maybe a late movie this weekend.”
While she liked the idea of going out on an actual date with Aidan, Mary felt a slight pang of disappointment. Secretly, part of her had been hoping they might replay some of the events of the previous Saturday – minus the un-decorating.
“Of course,” Aidan said quietly, leaning in so she could hear him, “I was thinking that perhaps we could have some time to ourselves before or after, or, optimally, both.”
Mary sucked in a breath. Damn if the man hadn’t read her thoughts. “Sounds perfect.”
“Great,” he beamed. The flash of pure hunger in his tiger eyes made her wish it was already the weekend. No one, not even Cam, had looked at her like that.
Aidan paid for their lunch and walked her out to her car. “Thanks for meeting me,” he said. “I don’t think I could have made it till the weekend without seeing you.”
“Yeah,” she grinned, “I’ll admit, I needed a fix myself.”