Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)

They went into the dining room. He’d put place mats, napkins and flatware at one end of the table. At the other, he had a stack of eleven-by-eighteen-inch sheets of paper. Shelby sat at the end of the table and he took the seat next to hers.

The first poster mock-up showed a photograph of a parasailer over a huge blue lake. His company logo was on top with information on the website and the Fool’s Gold address on the bottom.

“It looks both thrilling and terrifying,” she admitted. “People really do this?”

“They do. Del and I did it at Lake Tahoe last fall. Lake Ciara is a lot smaller, but still plenty big. You start on a platform and the boat pulls you out onto the lake. It’s awesome.”

“If you say so.”

The oven dinged. She got up and put in the casserole, then returned to the dining room.

“Let’s see what the others are like.”

He spread out the different posters and they studied the options. Shelby had some good suggestions about what she thought would work and what wouldn’t.

“This one draws me in more,” she said. “And the one with the kids is great. You want families to be doing this. They make up a large percentage of our tourist population.”

They picked the three they like best. Aidan marked up the changes he wanted while she checked on the casserole, then they headed out to take Charlie on a quick walk before dinner.

The little dog walked along, sniffing and stopping to mark his territory. Aidan had to admit that even though it had only been a few weeks, he couldn’t imagine not having the bichon in his life.

“I’m glad it’s warmer now,” he said. “No coats for Charlie.”

Shelby laughed. “You’re such a guy.”

“Dogs have dignity. They shouldn’t have to be humiliated by clothing.”

“I don’t think Charlie minded.”

“That’s not what he tells me.”

She grinned at him. “So now you two are keeping secrets from me?”

“Just man stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh, you are so going to pay for that.”

Most of the snow had already melted. There were still big piles in parking lots from all the plowing, but here in the neighborhoods there were signs of spring. He pointed out the first hints of crocuses and tulips.

“The Tulip Festival is one of my favorites,” she said. “All the flowers are so beautiful.”

“Then we should go.”

“I’d like that.” She glanced at him. “Aidan, I need to talk to you about something.”

Her tone warned him that he wasn’t going to like the topic.

“What?” he asked warily.

“I’m worried about your sex life. Or lack of sex life.”

Dammit all to hell. “No.”

He turned back toward the house. Charlie trotted along with him. Aidan didn’t bother checking on Shelby. His luck was such that she would be right there, too.

“We have to talk about it,” she said when she’d caught up with him.

“No. We don’t.”

“Aidan, I’m serious.”

He stopped and stared at her. “So am I. I like what we’re doing here. It’s helping me and I think it’s helping you. Just go with it.”

“But you have needs. I worry.”

“There are a lot of things to worry about in this world. Poverty. Climate change. Me having sex isn’t one of them.”

Her blue eyes were so wide and earnest as she twisted her fingers together. “We could brainstorm some solutions.”

Why him? That was the question of the day. Why did this have to be happening to him?

“No. Listen to me, Shelby. No. We are not having this conversation.”

“We could—”

He cut her off with a quick shake of his head. “As my friend, you need to respect my wishes on this. Let it go. I’m fine.” He suddenly figured out how to distract her. “What about you? You must have needs.”

She flushed a delightful shade of pink and ducked her head. “I wasn’t getting any before. This isn’t new for me.”

“But you’re dealing.”

“Of course.”

“Then do me the courtesy of assuming I can do the same.”

They started walking back to the house. When they got there, Charlie led the way inside. He waited patiently while his leash was unsnapped, then did a couple of quick laps around the living room.

Shelby stood in front of Aidan and raised her gaze to his.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I do worry about you, but you obviously don’t want to talk about it anymore. I need to respect that. I promise, I won’t mention it again.”

What he said was “Thank you.” What he thought was, there was no way his luck was that good.





CHAPTER TEN