Chapter Eleven
Aaron gently shakes me awake, his breath cascading over my cheek. “Dayton, sweetheart? We’re in London.”
“Stupid time difference,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes and sitting up.
He chuckles. “Come on. Dinner then you can go back to sleep.”
“What? What time is it here?”
“It’s around six p.m.”
I blink at him, sitting up, and shake my head. I’m not even going to try and work that out. I grab my jacket, and he guides me out of the plane.
“On the bright side, you don’t have to meet my cousin until tomorrow. Tyler is always a delight.” His tone is dry, but there’s an obvious fondness there.
“You didn’t mention your cousin.”
“I didn’t mention London until my father reminded me three days ago. What makes you think I’d remember to inform you that we’re staying with my cousin for ten days?”
I smack him lightly in the chest. “We definitely have to work on the conversational part of our relationship.”
Yes, we do, don’t we, Dayton?
Aaron laughs and wraps an arm around my waist. We’re expedited through customs and swept straight into a waiting car. I stifle a yawn as I slide across the back seat and press myself against the window.
I’ve never been to London, and it isn’t a place I ever envisioned myself visiting. After my parents died, I never imagined I’d fly again, but I have. I’ve conquered that fear, and now here I am. In London. With Aaron.
Nothing should surprise me anymore, but it does. At every turn.
“Where does he live?”
“Tyler stays in my aunt and uncle’s house in Belgravia. They primarily spend their time in the US, so the house as good as belongs to him. It was passed to Aunt Kate from her parents as part of their restaurant business. She and Uncle Todd spent a couple of years in the US expanding the business when we were young and decided to move back when Ty and Tessa were older. Ty stays in Belgravia rent-free.”
“Nice,” I mutter. “Won’t he take over the business, like you did with Stone?”
Aaron shakes his head. “He made it clear very early that it isn’t something he’s interested in. He’s happier being a photographer and working for me. Ty’s never been business-minded like me and his sister. Tessa manages the UK business and will eventually take over the US side, too.”
I nod slowly. “Did you always know you’d take Stone over?”
“There was never any question. I inherited ten percent when I graduated from Columbia, and obviously the rest became mine a few weeks ago.”
“I didn’t know you went to Columbia.”
“You never asked.”
“When have I had time to ask you?” I turn to him and raise an eyebrow. “Really, Aaron.”
He laughs. “Apparently your nap hasn’t brightened your mood any.”
“Shut up.” I curl myself into his side and close my eyes again.
“Don’t get comfortable,” he whispers. “We’re here.”
We get out of the car and I look up at the house in front of me. The cream brick building is four stories high, with a black railing on the first floor surrounding a small balcony. The black wooden front door is sheltered beneath the same balcony, and two perfectly trimmed triangular bushes are above it.
“This is his house?”
“His parents’.” Aaron leads me forward.
He pulls a silver key from his pocket and unlocks the front door. Then he gestures for me to go first, and I step into the gorgeous townhouse. It’s the embodiment of opulence and elegance, despite essentially being a bachelor pad. The tiled floor of the hall stretches forward with several doors coming off of it. I wring my hands in front of my stomach.
Jesus. I thought my house was big.
“Come on.” Aaron takes my hand when the suitcases are lined up in the hall. The small bag we took on the plane is in his other hand. “We’ll freshen up before dinner then put those away.”
He takes me up a winding staircase. Pictures of a young boy and girl adorn the walls as we go, and it’s evident this was very much a family home at one point. As the pictures show the almost-identical children growing up, I turn to Aaron.
“Are your cousins twins?”
He nods. “Yes. Tessa will be getting married next week. We never really got along as kids despite our inclination for our parents’ businesses. I’ll be expected to attend the wedding since we’re here.”
“You sound delighted,” I note, hearing the flat tone of his voice.
He laughs. “Ty and I were boys’ boys. We were forever climbing the trees in the yard and playing soccer and getting all muddy. Tessa is a true lady. She was never seen with a hair out of place even when she was still playing dress-up with her mom’s shoes.”
I smile sadly and look down. Wasn’t I that girl, too?
“This is our room.” Aaron pushes open a heavy door and guides me into the room.
The furniture is all antique style, including the bed, and the sheets covering it are black satin. I groan at the sight of them.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you know how hard it is to sleep in satin sheets?”
Aaron smirks, and my heart skips a beat at the look in his eyes. “Oh, Day,” he mutters, turning me into him and rubbing his thumb across my bottom lip. “Who said anything about sleeping?”
I smile at the touch of his lips to mine. “I wouldn’t want to disturb your cousin.”
“My cousin goes through women the way you go through Agent Provocateur’s latest collection. It’s impossible to disturb Tyler.”
“Well then.” I reach on my tiptoes and flick my tongue against his mouth. “That’s a different story, isn’t it?”
He slaps my ass. “Stop turning me on and get ready before I bend you over this bed and f*ck you into tomorrow morning.”
I take the bag from him and throw him a flirty grin. “Is that supposed to deter me?”
“Dayton.” He growls my name. “The bathroom is next door.”
***
I roll over in bed and stretch my arm out, expecting Aaron to be beside me. When it flops straight to the empty sheets, I force my heavy eyelids open and look at the clock on the nightstand.
Ten thirty. Crap.
My sleeping habits leave a lot to be desired.
Faint voices travel up the stairs and through the small crack in the door. One is Aaron’s, and another one is distinctly British. The second voice has to be Tyler. The low hum of their conversation is broken by a bout of loud laughter. My own lips twitch at the outburst, and I climb out bed.
I haven’t heard Aaron laugh like that in weeks. He has the kind of laugh that trickles through your body and warms your insides. It’s infectious, and I have a burning desire to meet the person who can make him laugh this way.
I should probably get dressed though… I bite my lip as I stare at my suitcase. What do I wear? Doesn’t it always rain in England?
A quick peek out the window proves me wrong. The sun is filtering through a smattering of fluffy white clouds set against a bright blue sky. Not even the ground is wet.
I slip on a simple dress and quietly push the door open. In the light of this day, the house is even more elegant than I thought it was. The frames holding the pictures on the stairs are ornate, and the rail on the staircase is just as fancy.
Clearly, I have simple living tastes.
I walk downstairs quietly. Aaron is standing in the kitchen with his back to me, his suit jacket slung over the back of the chair he’s leaning against. The creak on the bottom stair gives me away, and he turns, a mug of steaming coffee in his hand.
The smile that spreads across his face makes my heart beat double-time. It’s the kind of smile where no words are needed, because everything is said with the curve of your lips. This one says that he’s very, very happy to see me.
“Good morning,” he murmurs, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into him.
“Morning,” I whisper.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Apart from sliding around several times, yes, thank you.”
“Tyler? Jesus. Where are you now?” Aaron looks around the kitchen. “C’mon, man. You can’t eat cookies for f*cking breakfast.”
“Never stopped us before.”
The guy who emerges from what I’m guessing is the pantry is almost a carbon copy of Aaron. The only differences are the lack of stubble dotting his jaw and that his eyes are dark brown, not the startling blue of my man’s. His hair is also a little longer and wavier, but the grin that breaks onto his face is identical to Aaron’s.
Tyler puts down the cookie bag and gives me the once-over. I raise an eyebrow, and I immediately understand Aaron’s words from last night. The appreciative way he trawls his gaze over me would melt any other woman.
Aaron clears his throat, and Tyler snaps his eyes to him. “I know the words ‘off-limits’ aren’t something you’re used to, Ty, but look at her that way again and I’ll see to it you’re unable to entertain another woman again.”
God. I love protective Aaron.
Tyler holds his hands up. “I can look and not touch, cuz. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.” He flicks his eyes to me quickly. “Shame though. I’ll just wait until she’s done with your boring arse.”
Aaron slaps him around the back of the head with lightning speed, and Tyler laughs, ducking away.
“I was going to introduce you, but a hotel is looking incredibly tempting.”
I roll my eyes and step forward. “You must be Tyler. I’m Dayton. Excuse his possessive streak. We’re working on reining it in some.”
Aaron’s hand connects with my ass, and I shoot a glare over my shoulder.
“Watch it, Mr. Stone. You’re still on my shit list.”
He smirks and lifts his mug to his mouth, hiding it.
“Dayton.” Tyler shoots me a beaming smile that oozes charm. Yep. This guy knows how to melt panties right off. Fortunately, not mine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Of course, I would have preferred to meet you a few weeks ago. Between you and me if I’d known you looked like this—”
“Tyler,” Aaron growls. “Do you think you could behave yourself while I have to work today, perhaps? Or do I need to make other arrangements for Dayton? I’m sure she’d much prefer to explore London than be locked in a spa, but the latter can be arranged.”
“I’ll behave.” Tyler holds three fingers in front of his body. “Scout’s honor.”
Aaron narrows his eyes, but I can see the amusement shining there. I get the feeling that Tyler is the only guy he’d let pull this shit and get away with it. No doubt anyone else would be in a very uncomfortable, painful position right now.
“Day.” Aaron pulls me back to him. “I have to work all day. Apparently my company doesn’t understand jet lag.” He yawns as if to prove his point.
I smile. “Have fun with that.”
“So sympathetic.” He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls my face to his. “Tyler’s agreed to spend the day with you. I’m not sure how much of a good idea this is, but if he pushes his luck, put the little a*shole in his place.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” I pat his chest.
“I have to go or I’ll be late. I don’t think I’ll be home for dinner, so make sure Ty takes you somewhere expensive. On my tab,” he adds, looking at me pointedly.
I chew my lip. “Yes, sir.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Good girl.” He kisses me, his lips soft against mine. “Now I’m going. See you tonight.”
“See you later, baby.” I wink and kiss him quickly.
“Hey, Aaron?” The cookie bag rustles as Tyler picks it up.
“Yes?” Aaron looks at him, shrugging his jacket on.
“If any of the models at the casting today are any pop, send them my way, would you? The last is getting a bit clingy and I need to fend her off.”
“You know I can’t do that, Tyler. You’ll have to go out and find some poor woman to use by yourself.” He buttons his jacket and pockets his cell, then looks at me. “Remember, woman. My card.”
I stare after him, and Tyler flicks a switch behind me.
“F*ck that. I’m not taking a woman to dinner on his card.”
I turn.
“If I take you for dinner, I’m paying. He just wants to make me look like some cheap bastard.”
“What is it with you men? Women are perfectly capable of buying themselves—and a man—dinner.” I sit at the table in the center of the room and nod when he points to the coffee machine. “Please. Black.”
“Jet lag is a bitch.” He puts some beans and water in the machine and starts it. “And it’s not that we don’t think you’re capable of buying your own dinner. You just shouldn’t.”
“Really? We shouldn’t?”
“Day—I can call you that, right? Cool.” He continues before I respond. “Look at us. Aaron runs a multimillion-dollar company, and I’m the technical heir to another. He breathes tailored Armani suits, and I live and die in my designer jeans. If either of us took you to dinner and you paid, we’d look like nothing more than trophy husbands.”
I raise my eyebrows as he places a mug of coffee in front of me. “Are you saying I look old?”
“No. F*ck no. Shit.” He rubs his hand down his face. “You’re f*cking gorgeous, and I have no problem saying so. Trust me, if you weren’t my cousin’s girlfriend, I wouldn’t be serving you coffee on this table. I’d be serving you me.”
“Apparently subtle isn’t a word in the vocabulary of the Stone men.”
“Not in mine, love. Cookie?” He thrusts the package in my face, and I take two. “Finally. A woman who will eat something I wouldn’t feed to a rabbit.”
“That’s what happens when you sleep with models.” I take a bite and wipe crumbs from the table.
“Don’t forget the gold-diggers with pussies bigger than my wallet. They’re even worse.”
I pause for a moment, staring at the man in front of me. “This conversation is perhaps a little too personal for a first meeting.”
Tyler’s lips twist in amusement. “If you can’t get personal on a first meeting, you’re definitely not the kind of girl to be sitting in my kitchen.”
The irony of that statement isn’t lost on me, and my lips twist. If only he knew just how many personal first meetings I’ve had in my life.
“And I believe that sentence tells me everything I need to know about you, Tyler Stone.”
He grins wolfishly, mischief twinkling in his dark eyes. “You’re a smart woman, Dayton. What are you doing with my cousin?”
“That is a very good question.”