Part 18 (1/2)

He chuckled at her joke, but it sounded forced to her. ”I didn't know if things had changed. You quit your job, so the only thing actually tying you here is a bedroom. And you told me you like working at the bar.”

She'd also told him there were things she didn't like about working at Kincaid's, and he knew how she felt about the community as a whole. They might be family, but she wanted out of the goldfish bowl. ”There are bars in Concord. There's actually a sports bar in walking distance I might check out when Ashley's ready to go back to work.”

He nodded, but fell silent for a few minutes. It was an awkward silence, but Lydia wasn't sure how to fill it. As dismaying as the thought was, maybe this weekend getaway had been a bad idea because she couldn't have it both ways. She'd wanted to spend some time alone with Aidan, but the more they did things like a real couple, the harder it was to remember they actually weren't.

”Hey.” Aidan squeezed her hand and she looked up to see him smiling at her. ”Stop overthinking things and enjoy the day. Is there some place on this street we can get some ice cream before we go check on Oscar?”

A dish of black raspberry drowning in whipped cream and jimmies went a long way toward saving the weekend. And when Aidan let her have a lick of his soft-serve twist and then kissed her with a sweet, sticky mouth, Lydia decided to stop worrying about tomorrow and just enjoy the h.e.l.l out of today.

Chapter Fourteen.

AIDAN WAS STRETCHED out on the floral couch, having a stare-down with the cat perched on his chest like a Sphinx. Oscar was purring so hard they were both vibrating. ”I can't decide if this cat really likes me or if he's trying to keep me pinned down so I can't do anything nefarious.”

”It's probably some kind of subliminal mind control,” Lydia told him. ”Cats are like that.”

”You gave him food and water, and now you're scooping his s.h.i.+t out of his box so it's all fresh and clean. What else could he possibly need?”

”To rule the world. Obviously you haven't spent a lot of time around cats.”

”My sister's allergic to them and I've always been a little afraid of them. I dated a girl in high school-do you remember Nicole, uh...do you remember Nicole's last name?”

She laughed. ”No, I don't remember your high school girlfriend or her last name. I was probably too busy doing adult things since I was already an adult and didn't have time for you and Scotty's little-boy doings.”

”Funny. Four years, Lydia. It's not like you were my babysitter or anything. Although that could have been hot.”

”You're digressing,” she said, and he heard the kitchen faucet run as she washed her hands.

”Anyway, this girl Nicole had a cat and I remember they were always complaining because it would try to trip them on the stairs. Who keeps pets that want you dead?”

Before she could answer, his phone chimed and he stretched his arm out to pick it up off the coffee table. Oscar refused to move and just continued to stare intently at him and vibrate.

How's it going?

It was Scotty, and Aidan sat up, using his hand to gently nudge Oscar down so he didn't try to hold on by way of sheer cat will and very sharp claws.

Ok. What's up?

Bored. Need a hand?

He sighed and thought back to the lie he'd told the guys to get this time off with Lydia. He was helping his mom replace and fix a few things around the house because the other Hunt men weren't as handy as they were cheap.

Probably not. It's one-guy stuff and I think she just wants to visit with me while Dad's on biz trip.

It was one more believable lie, made possible by the fact Scotty knew how screwed up the Hunt family dynamics were.

Don't you have family dinner tomorrow night?

Oops. There was that small detail.

He'll be back for that.

That's too bad. Probably more fun without him. I'll see you Monday morning, then.

Aidan set the phone back on the table with a sigh. He was getting better at lying, which was a skill he'd never wanted to improve on.

”I'm guessing that was my brother,” Lydia said, and he looked up to see her leaning against the kitchen counter, her arms crossed.

”How did you know?”

”Because you look like you're beating yourself up about something and it seems to me the most likely reason is that you had to lie to Scott.”

He really didn't want to put a damper on this weekend. ”Yeah, it was him. He's bored and wanted to know if I needed a hand at my mom's house.”

”I guess it's a good thing he didn't just show up there.”

Aidan shook his head. ”He's only met my parents a few times, at ceremonies and stuff, and they've never been particularly warm to him. We always hung out at Tommy's and never at my parents'.”

But it did go to show there were so many ways they could get tripped up when it came to lying and hiding their relations.h.i.+p from the people who knew them better than anybody else.

”I'd rather talk about Nicole-from-high-school more than my brother right now,” she said.

He stood up, brus.h.i.+ng cat hair off the front of his s.h.i.+rt. The stuff was everywhere and the more he tried to brush it off, the more it seemed to multiply. ”I'd rather take you out for a nice dinner somewhere than talk about either of them.”

When Lydia grinned and shoved away from the counter, Aidan felt his spirits rally. ”Yeah, you're the one who told me to stop overthinking things and just enjoy this day.”

”Yes, I did. So let's go enjoy the h.e.l.l out of it.”

They decided they didn't want to go anywhere too nice, because they were both comfortable in their jeans, though they traded the T-s.h.i.+rts for nicer s.h.i.+rts with b.u.t.tons. While she brushed her hair and put on a little makeup, he sat on the edge of the bed and used his phone to pull up possibilities.

”Pasta,” he said. ”I could go for pasta.”

”Carbs. Yay.” He laughed and looked at her. Since she was facing away from him, he had a perfect view of her a.s.s and legs, which he thought were perfect the way they were. And, since she was looking in a mirror, she saw him looking and rolled her eyes. ”I could do pasta, but you have to help me work it off later.”

He met her gaze in the mirror and his blood rushed from his brain to his d.i.c.k. ”Maybe you should have seconds, too.”

”You keep looking at me like that and you'll be lucky if I let you out of bed long enough to make a sandwich.”

As threats went, it wasn't a very strong one. He thought about it for a minute because it was tempting as h.e.l.l to drag her into bed right that very second and stay there. But having her in bed wasn't something he lacked, although at times he wished he could have her there all night and every night. But taking her out for dinner in a public restaurant was a pleasure he hadn't experienced yet.

”I've been waiting for days to take you out on a date,” he said. ”You're not talking me out of it now.”

”A date, huh?” She flipped the bathroom light off as she walked toward him.

”Yeah, I figure it's probably about time we have a first date.”

She laughed and offered her hand to help him up. Once he was on his feet, he kissed her, but didn't allow himself to get lost in the moment. Date first, then they could revisit this moment.