“What would you say if I told you it was real? That I’ve actually seen it happen?”
Mary paused for only a couple of heartbeats. “Lexi and Ian, right? I’ve never seen two people more in love. It’s in the way they look at each other, as if no matter where they are, no matter what they’re doing, the other person is the center of their whole universe.”
Aidan nodded. “Then you believe it’s possible?”
“I suppose anything is possible.”
“And what if I told you that I believe you, Mary, are my croie?”
*
Mary was still reeling hours later as she lay in bed next to Aidan. His warmth and scent enveloped her, and she was afraid she was becoming addicted to it.
His chest rose and fell rhythmically as he slept on his side facing her, one arm possessively around her hips. While her thoughts wouldn’t allow her to rest, Aidan seemed perfectly at peace. With his eyes closed and his boyish features relaxed, he looked so young. Mary pushed a lock of hair back from where it had fallen over his face. He sighed softly and murmured her name.
Was it possible, she wondered? Could she and Aidan actually be soul mates? He seemed pretty certain. And he’d told her that if it took her a while to come to terms with it, that was okay. He was confident that she would, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
Mary wasn’t quite sure if she should be thrilled or worried. If, as Aidan believed, they were truly meant for each other, then she couldn’t imagine anything better. But if this, whatever it was they had, turned out to be only temporary, it was going to hurt like hell.
The past three weeks had been difficult. What would it be like if he decided he’d been mistaken and walked out again? That what he thought was love was really something far more fleeting, an infatuation falsely inflated by a mixture of guilt, remorse, and possibly a bit of pity?
She didn’t think she could bear to go through that a second time.
Mary wanted to believe, but she was afraid. Maybe sometimes things did work out for the best like Lexi believed, but maybe sometimes they didn’t. Mary didn’t think she could survive too many more life-altering events before she was finally where she was supposed to be.
Caring for her father through his long illness at such a young age had been hard. To a lesser extent, so had picking up and moving to a whole new section of the country in the middle of her sophomore year in high school. Then muddling her way through so many confusing things with Cam. Oh, she had grown to love him, but she knew her feelings for him didn’t run as deep as his did for her.
She would have given anything to change that back then. Cam was a truly good man. She only hoped that for a little while at least, she’d made him happy. As hard as she prayed that one day she would wake up and be head-over-heels crazy in love with him, she also prayed that he never knew she wasn’t.
But with Aidan, there were no doubts. All she had to do was think about him and her entire body sparked to life. It wasn’t just lust, either, though there was lots of that. It was his voice. His scent. The way his eyes seemed to glow from the inside when he looked at her...
Then again, lots of women probably felt similar things around him. He was gorgeous, sexy, reeking of confidence and power. Except, of course, when he was drunk and incapable of removing his own boxers.
A smile graced her lips at the memory. How many women had seen that side of him? And how many had the pleasure of Aidan’s warm body pressed against theirs without involving sex?
Maybe if she knew more about him, she would feel better about things. He really hadn’t told her too much about himself. In fact, she knew very little. He lived in Pine Ridge, worked at the Goddess, and shared her penchant for off-beat British comedies.
She’d learned more from Lexi over a cup of tea than she had from him. She now knew, for instance that he had lived in Georgia, and that his father had owned a restaurant. He had an uncommon blood type and a potentially serious medical condition. Oh yeah. And he owned a private jet.
A private jet?
Suddenly filled with a desire to know more about this man who claimed to be her heart, Mary slipped quietly out of bed. Both Aidan and Max stirred, but neither woke.
Grabbing her robe and slippers, she padded out to the new laptop Ian had left behind for Aidan. According to Aidan, Ian had also hooked up a state-of-the-art wireless system at Aidan’s request. When she’d asked him why, he’d just shrugged and said her existing DSL just wasn’t fast enough.
Taking the slim computer out to the kitchen, Mary fixed herself a cup of tea and sat down to see what, if anything, she could find out about her mysterious lover.