“I found out that it doesn’t matter what my last name is. I’ll always be Keatyn Douglas.”
“Good,” Tommy says, ruffling my hair. “I smell Italian food cooking.”
“Aiden is a pretty good cook.”
Tommy looks at me seriously. “I don’t know when it will be, but I know you’ll get your happily ever after, too.”
I smile at him. “I hope so. Let’s go eat. Then we have lines to practice.”
Slowly licks his lips.
11pm
After dinner, Cooper and Aiden play pool while Tommy and I do a read through. I’m doing a good job of focusing until Aiden and Cooper start playing for money.
They joke around loudly and pretend to be pool sharks, both of them donning sunglasses.
“I think it’s poker players who wear sunglasses,” Tommy says, laughing with them. “Not pool players.”
I’m not laughing with them.
Because this is serious.
Aiden is playing pool with sunglasses on.
The ones he had on with his leather jacket.
The night he used his tongue on me.
My body is responding to nothing more than the memory of it.
I consider locking Cooper and Tommy in their rooms so I can dance on the table for Aiden again.
Because I love his bad boy wild side.
Aiden, maybe because he’s part god, seems to have the ability to morph into any role. Deal with any social situation. Get along with anyone. He can be the sexy bad boy one minute and the sweetest boy ever the next.
Right now, he’s an irresistible combination of them both.
Or not.
I overhear Cooper say, “Is there something I should know about this pool table?”
Aiden can’t contain his grin.
“He’s grinning because you and I both suck at pool,” I say quickly. “And, in case you can’t tell, he likes to win.”
“I don’t suck. I’m just a little rusty,” Cooper insists.
As he bends down to make a shot, Aiden looks over his glasses at me and purposefully, slowly licks his lips.
Tommy says to me, “This is when you’re supposed to say, I’m not your little girl anymore.”
“Uh, what?”
Aiden chuckles, loving that he affects me the way he does. That he can control my body and thoughts with the single swipe of his tongue.
I shake my head and become John Trinity’s daughter again. “Dad, I’m not your little girl anymore.”
Tommy yawns. “I think it’s time to call it a night even though you have more memorized than I do.”
“You have way more lines. And most of mine make sense. Like what anyone would probably say to their dad or when they got kidnapped.”
“You have a good memory. Okay, so we have a six o’clock call. Get to bed. You need your beauty sleep.”
“Okay, good night,” I say as Tommy gives me a kiss on the cheek and says good night to Aiden and Cooper.
“Who’s winning?” I ask, knowing full well it’s Aiden.
Cooper rolls his eyes as Aiden grins and holds up a stack of dollar bills.
“He’s a shark,” Cooper says. “Good thing it’s time for bed. I’m about broke.”
I almost tell him I know. That I tried to beat Aiden at pool once, too, but he’ll probably ask what I lost and I don’t want to have to say my clothes.
“I’m going to get ready for bed too. Uh, night, Cooper,” I say, hoping he takes the hint. I’m ready to be alone with Aiden. Maybe not on the pool table, out in the open, but behind closed doors, watch out!
Aiden drops his cue stick, says, “Night, Cooper,” and follows me into my bedroom.
I’m standing in my closet, trying to decide what to wear to bed as Aiden’s stripping down to his underwear.
“I want to sleep with you, but I don’t want to offend Tommy,” he says seriously.
Did I mention that he’s practically naked?
Not that it’s affecting my judgment or anything.
“He won’t be offended. I told him—you know, that we haven’t.”
“You told him we haven’t had sex? When?”
“When I showed him to his room.”
“And how did it come up?”
“He asked which room was yours.”
Aiden’s shoulders drop. “What did you say?”
“That most of your stuff was in the bedroom but that you usually sleep with me.”
Aiden throws on a pair of low-slung jersey shorts and a white tank top.
“Why are you getting dressed?”
“I’m sleeping in this. And we’re leaving your door open.”
“What?”
“I don’t want him to think anything is going on.”
I pick up the sexy dice he bought me as a naughty Santa gift and pout. “But, I thought we could use these tonight. And, besides, you told your parents that we slept together and didn’t even tell them that we weren’t having sex.”
Aiden pulls me into his arms. “My parents are liberal.”
“So are mine. B used to—uh . . .” I stupidly say. “I, uh . . . Shit. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not comfortable with it. Your choice. I’ll go sleep in my room, or I’ll sleep in here with the door open.”
“I hate when you do that.” I pull out of his arms, move away from him, and start taking off my clothes.