You’re the perfect Valentine.
The white cake was framed in red trim and hearts, with roses that looked unbelievably real. In fact, he did a double take and surmised that they were.
“Today I turn thirty-two and it’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone do something like this for me.”
“I find that hard to believe!” She leaned against the counter and crossed her ankles. “Surely you must’ve had birthday parties, people over, friends, girlfriends who treated you to a good time on your special day, Aiden?”
“Well, yeah, of course. I’ve had parties, girlfriends that bought me birthday and Valentine’s Day gifts, but I am talking about going the extra mile like this.” He looked into her eyes. “It’s the thought that counts. I mean, look at you.” He stepped back from her and licked his lips in appreciation. “You got all dressed up in this sexy ass red number for me.” Her complexion deepened from his words. “You got one of the best bakeries in the entire city to make me a cake at the last second, a gorgeous cake at that, and you’ve got all those bags over there. No telling what’s in them. I told you to just come over and chill with me and well, you did all of this instead. That’s nice… thank you. You’re thoughtful.”
Closing the distance between them, she pressed her lips to his.
“You don’t have to thank me. It was my pleasure. Okay, so do you want to open your gifts now or later?”
“Later. Let’s eat first. Now I mean it.” He pointed towards the dining room. “Go have a seat and I am going to bring in your dinner. I just put the pasta on, it’ll be al dente and ready in just a sec. What type of dressing do you want for your salad?”
“Do you have balsamic?”
“Yes, I do. Kick off your shoes and get comfortable. I hope you know that you’re all that I needed tonight. All of this extra stuff you did is just the icing on top…”
CHAPTER NINE
Italian Food, Italian Icing, So Very Enticing
She’d eaten four thick slices of the heavily seasoned garlic bread…
Who knew what the bastard had put in it? It might as well have been crack-cocaine for all she knew because it was the best damn garlic bread she’d ever had. She was officially hooked.
“Okay, I need to know what’s up.” She grabbed her glass of red wine by the stem, tipped it towards her awaiting mouth, and took a generous gulp. “How’d you learn to cook like this?”
“Actually, I’m not all that great a cook. I just know how to chef up some things well, these being a few of them.” He put his burgundy linen napkin next to his plate.
There was that smile again—the one that seemed sincere but was turned and twisted from the murky depths of deceit. She trusted him, but not his words. What a strange realization and predicament she found herself suddenly in. She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs, careful to not tip her drink, lest she lose the precious drops in a messy sacrifice.
As he dipped his garlic bread in the pasta sauce, he kept on smiling, holding tight to that expression. It looked an awful lot like the hope she’d grabbed onto when she had nothing left to carry her through. A smile… What was it, truly?
The man wasn’t as happy as he pretended to be. Maybe he wasn’t really lying, but there was something behind that smile… something that disturbed her so.
After her divorce, she went through a stage of not trusting herself, but after she’d came through, healed from it all, she began to really pay attention to what people said, what they didn’t say, and the expressions on their faces. She firmly believed that had she paid more attention to her ex-husband’s words and actions and nonverbal cues, she would have seen the writing on the wall. That son of a bitch had never hidden his true self from her; she’d simply chosen to ignore it, and what a bitter pill that had been to swallow.
Now she was equipped to detect these sorts of hypocrisies and contradictions much better. Aiden’s smile was hiding something. It was a shield; the damn thing was almost forced, and his low-key, relaxed, easy going behavior was now in question. Was it all an act? She was growing close to him—no, more than that, she felt attached. She cared for the man in unexpected ways that made her pause and question her true motives as of late.
She yearned to pull the sheets off and expose the secrets, but she shoved the notion away.
No need to ruin his birthday by making things unpleasant, but this isn’t over. I will deal with it later. Just drop it for now. Besides, it’ll only lead to an argument.
“Well, you cook these few things very well.” She chuckled, bringing herself out of the introspective funk.
“Do you want some more wine?” he offered as he held up the bottle and waved it, a cute little smirk on his face.
“No, I think I better stop while I’m ahead.”
He nodded in understanding and placed it back down on the table.
“I’m so excited for you to see your birthday gifts. I can’t wait until you unwrap them.”
He looked at her for quite some time, his expression impenetrable. Shoving his plate aside, he leaned into the table, his eyes on her.
“Do you know what I really want for my birthday, tonight?” She couldn’t help but smile at the man as he gave her the naughtiest of glances.
“What?”
“I’d much rather unwrap you instead. I don’t need a plate for my dessert. I want to eat some of that cake off your body.”
For a split second, she was at a loss for words. She burst out laughing, and he did the same.
“You laugh, but I’m serious.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I like you a whole damn lot, Addison. You’re special, you know that? The man who let you go was a fool…”
Her body went hot at his words, her pussy called out to him, and her heart raced.
“He was a fool all right, but not for the reasons you mentioned. Anyway, I was really looking forward to tonight. And well…” She sank her teeth into her lower lip as she cast him a mischievous grin. “You didn’t disappoint. I think I can handle dessert. I’ve been thinking about you all day. I’m so into you.”
The sexy son of a bitch stood from the table.
“I’m glad you’re into me…” He inched towards her, tapping his fingers along the edge of the table as he approached. “Because there’s nothing I would like more right this second than to be a little closer to you. Come to bed with me.” He pressed two fingers beneath her chin and tilted it upward. “Let me show you how happy the birthday boy is tonight.” He reached for her hand to help her rise from her seat.
“When I’m finished with you, you’ll think it was your birthday… Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.”