"This is…"
"Just tell me when you met with him, Lilli!" Aidan smacked his hand on the desk. "Was it while we were….you know…during that time." His eyes were fixated on me with anger.
I threw the pictures in his face, causing him to flinch back in his chair.
"How dare you!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "You fuck another woman and possibly have some bastard child out there somewhere, yet you are going to look at these photos of an innocent encounter made to look bad and make accusations of me? Fuck you, Aidan!"
"Just tell me when!"
"When I was at lunch with Viola before the twin’s birthday." Aidan blinked at me rapidly with confusion. "You can call her right now if you would like to confirm it."
I leaned over his desk seductively.
"Viola and I like to have threesomes with other men when you and Liam think we are doing foundation work. Asshole!" I shouted the last word and walked out of the study.
I got to our bedroom, yanked off my damn heels and threw them harshly into the closet. Basically ripping at my clothes to get the shit off of me, I tossed everything onto the closet floor and slipped into some yoga pants and a t-shirt. I now had some pent up anger that I needed to work off. I headed to the gym after I kissed the napping twins.
I had been running for about thirty minutes when I felt Aidan behind me. I stopped running and panted.
"What?" I groaned.
"I-I’m sorry." He mumbled out.
"So, you called Viola to ‘check up on my story’ I see." I spat at him and stepped down from the treadmill.
"No, I didn’t…"
"So, what are you having me followed or something?" I turned on him fiercely. "Do you have a private investigator watching me?!"
He shook his head. "No, no, no. I don’t. I am not doing that."
"Then, why the photos?" I felt the confusion contort my face.
"I found them in my office today, at AIS. They were in a large white envelope on my desk." His head was down.
"Oh." I was still standing in a defensive position. "You really don’t trust me?" I asked in almost a hushed tone.
His head shot up. "No, I do. I just…" he sighed heavily "I know what Demitri was to you and it just—"
"And what exactly was he, Aidan?" I raised an eyebrow.
I watched him swallow hard. "A, um, hook up." He looked at me from under his lashes.
I laughed loudly.
"Jesus, Aidan!" I threw my hands in the air. "Demitri was a friend. Yes, we slept together, but it wasn’t like a serious relationship. It was two friends with the benefit of getting close once in a while." I stepped toward him. "Do you believe for one second that my past relationship with Demitri compares at all to what we have?"
He shook his head. "I’m sorry. I just hate the thought of you with him. Fuck, the thought of you with anyone else is enough to drive me over the edge. I couldn’t imagine if you…"
I grabbed his face. "I wouldn’t!" Holding his face with both of my hands, I continued. "I don’t want that. I want this, us."
He crashed his lips to mine.
Fall arrived and the weather was still latching on to some of its warmth. I had hoped that the weather would stay decent for Halloween and, luckily, it did. The twins were dressed up as Raggedy Ann and Andy, looking ridiculously adorable.
Aidan made sure that he was home so that we could take them to visit family before heading to an orchard out toward the Hamptons. Everyone was going. Jason and Maggie were dressed as vampires. Abby dressed as Dorothy and Ryan was Toto, it was adorable. Jimmy was dressed as a pumpkin, completely stuffed to look like a fat pumpkin.
James and Aidan were lining a wagon with blankets for the kids while Elora and I grabbed extra jackets and one diaper bag of necessities. They would start off walking around with us, but would eventually get tired.
The orchard was decorated for Halloween. They had a corn maze that we all walked through, a small play area filled with hay for kids to climb through, some old cement tunnels and a swing set. There were large wooden cutouts like you would see at a fair, where you stick your face through the hole for pictures. One was a farmer and his wife, which we all took turns standing behind. Then there was a cat and a pumpkin, a ghost and a witch.
Little stands paraded the area, offering popcorn, fire roasted apples with caramel to dip them in, apple cider, hot dogs, fresh French fries, homemade pies and cookies. It was definitely a day for fattening food and treats.
As I watched the little ones play in the straw pile, Aidan arrived with French fries and apple cider. He straddled the bench and I scooted close to him, my right leg over his so that his chest was against my right side. We sat laughing at the kids and eating fries.