Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
The urge to bounce up and down with excitement over him wanting me to teach Hadley caused me to sit on my own hands. “I would love to teach her!”
One of the first things I grew excited about when I’d learned I was carrying a child was the idea of teaching them how to play the piano—
My mood plummeted at the thought of her. Or him. I’d never know the gender of the baby I’d carried. Ben had taken that away from me.
“How about Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’?” I asked belatedly, noting Aiden was watching me closely.
He nodded.
The music filled the room as I played. The song was brooding and slow, a sense of sadness mingled in with the notes. Aiden stood there, his eyes moving from the piano keys to my face, then back to the keys. Our eyes locked at one point, and it felt as if we were the only two people in the world. I had the feeling he could see into my soul as easily as I could peer into his. Where I had emptiness, he had sadness. Fear. And something else I couldn’t read.
I looked back down at the keys and focused on them. Aiden slowly moved closer, then sat on the bench. The warmth of his body next to mine overwhelmed me at first, and I stumbled over the keys before stopping abruptly.
The only thing I could hear in the room was the sound of our breathing.
Neither of us moved for a good two minutes, then I stood. “I wasn’t sure if you were staying home or not, but I made you a few snacks if you wanted to watch that show you’ve been bingeing.”
He smiled, and my breath caught. It was that elusive smile that reached his eyes. My favorite one.
Oh gosh. Don’t do this, Emma. Do not do this.
“Want to watch it with me?”
“You’re not going out?” I asked.
Aiden stood and laughed. “Nah, I’m staying home.”
I buried my face in my hands after he walked out of the room. You are not attracted to him, Emma.
Ugh. Why did he have to be so handsome? Why did he seem to sometimes look at me as if he wanted to kiss me?
“No!” I harshly whispered to myself, pacing the room.
“No? You don’t want to watch it?” he called from the kitchen.
I stopped moving around—then I did the one thing my brain was telling me not to do. I caved.
“Sure, I’ll watch it with you.”
Slapping my forehead, I headed into the kitchen.
Aiden was pulling the lasagna out of the fridge. “I’m going to heat this up, since you’re staying for dinner.”
My mouth opened to argue, but nothing came out. At least, not until I internally kicked myself. “Oh, I wasn’t going to stay for dinner. I mean, I just assumed… If you want to be alone tonight, I totally understand.”
Aiden stopped what he was doing and looked directly at me. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
My stomach fluttered, and I knew I was making another terrible decision, but instead of listening to my brain, I followed my heart.
Or maybe it was my stomach because the lasagna looked amazing.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EMMA - THIS ISN’T A DATE.
Aiden put the lasagna in the oven as I ran up to my apartment to change clothes. Standing at the mirror, I lectured myself. Why was I making everything so hard? It was dinner and Suits. What was the big deal?
“Um, he’s your boss, Emma,” I whispered to myself in the mirror.
My boss.
Was he really just my boss, though? It felt like we were becoming friends as well, and that was a good thing, right? Friends were what I wanted. Friends were good. There was nothing wrong with having dinner and watching a show with a friend.
“You’re thinking about this too much, Emma. My goodness, put on sweatpants and a T-shirt.”
Pulling my top off and tossing it onto the bed, I pulled open my dresser and found the long-sleeve T-shirt I’d bought the other day. The giant moose on the front was too cute to pass up. Plus, it said What Moose I Do Today. I laughed at myself as I pulled off my skinny jeans and replaced them with comfy sweatpants. I bent over and gathered my hair and pulled it into a pony that was half in, half out, to make a messy bun.
With a final look at myself, I nodded. “This isn’t a date, so why go all out?”
With a deep breath, I made my way out onto the balcony—and stopped in my tracks when I saw Aiden. Two glasses of wine sat on the table, and he stood a few feet away, looking into the telescope. My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest.
This isn’t a date.
“Hey, I was beginning to think you fell asleep in there.” He laughed and turned to face me. His eyes roamed over my body slowly before they stopped on what looked like my lips. Clearly, I was still reading into everything.