As he swiveled the tray back into place, his eye caught the corner of a white satin box. It was not on one of the shelves, but shoved far into the back, probably from the adjoining cabinet. Intrigued, he pulled it out.
In the bright sunlight, Aidan could see that the white satin had yellowed somewhat. There was a fine layer of dust across the top, too, making the faux pearls and ribbons adorning it look like they had been sprinkled with extra-fine confectioner’s sugar.
Aidan recognized it as a memory box; Lexi used to keep something similar. Every time they visited a new country, she’d slip some small token inside. Then, once in a while she would take it out and they would laugh and remember all the places they’d been, the things they’d seen and done together.
So why would Mary hide something like this back in the far reaches of her cupboard? Wouldn’t she keep it somewhere where she could add to it? Or take it out and sift through it?
Aidan sat the box on the table, curious but reluctant to open it.
Instead, he fixed himself a bowl of cereal (all three really did go well together) and ate it standing up, leaning against the counter and staring at the box as if it might suddenly grow teeth and snarl at him. When he was finished, he rinsed out the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.
Aidan let Max in and gave him a treat from the cookie jar sporting a big ceramic Milk Bone. Then he poured another cup of coffee, sat down at the table, and stared at the box some more.
A sense of foreboding settled heavily on his shoulders. He shouldn’t even be thinking of opening it. It was Mary’s, and it was private. And there had to be a very good reason why she had hidden it as she had.
But he had already accepted the fact that she was his. Yes, it was quick, but if he had learned anything over the past several years, it was that when something was right, it was right. Delaying the inevitable would only create the opportunity for problems to arise.
Hell, he had the proposal all worked out in his mind – well, the main parts anyway. Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, and that’s when he would present her with the best diamond he could find and ask her officially to become his wife.
A man should know his wife, shouldn’t he? Especially a man in his position where even the slightest hint of scandal would make the front pages. Not that he believed Mary had done anything scandalous, really. But he still wanted to know what was in that box.
The urge to look continued to grow until he could stand it no more.
He lifted the lid and stared down, inhaling sharply...
*
Mary woke up feeling deliciously sore. Stretching, she reached across the bed, only to find herself alone. She buried her face in the pillow, delighted to smell Aidan’s scent. She wouldn’t be throwing that in the wash anytime soon.
His black bag was still there, so he probably was, too. That thought pleased her greatly. Given that Max wasn’t whimpering or pawing at the door, Aidan had probably already seen to his breakfast and morning needs. Which meant that she could take a few minutes to see to her own.
A towel had been spread out along the counter. Mary stared down at the unfamiliar objects, her heart speeding up and her eyes widening as she realized that these had probably been the things Aidan had used on her last night. Apparently he’d taken care of cleaning them this morning (that thought made her feel better about it) and had left them out to air dry.
She reached out, but pulled her hand back before she actually touched them; she wasn’t quite ready to do that yet. It was one thing when Aidan was in charge, when she was blindfolded and deep in the throes of passion, but it was morning now. Bright light came in through the frosted glass, and that put everything in a different perspective altogether.
She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and managed to get her hair relatively tamed. When she caught her reflection in the mirror, she had to blink several times. The woman who stared back looked so different. Her skin glowed with radiance and her eyes sparkled. For the first time in her life, Mary thought she actually looked pretty.
She looked like a woman in love. Is that what she was?
The thought wasn’t nearly as scary as it might have been, but it did come as a bit of a surprise. After Cam, she didn’t think she’d ever let herself get close to another man again. But then Aidan had come into her life and changed all of that.
Pulling on her microfiber robe (not sexy by any means, but very comfortable), she set off in search of the man who had turned her into such a lovesick, shameless wanton.
She found him in the kitchen, sitting at the butcher-block table. Spread out over the top were a series of pictures and small mementos. He was fingering something in his right hand when his eyes met hers.