Barefoot Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (14 page)

“A lemon shark, to be precise,” Izzy answered. Her eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. Noah smiled at her enthusiasm for the creature, love showing in his gaze.

The finale of the movie “Jaws” ran through my head. “Do we need to leave? I don't want to upset a shark.” I didn't know what the proper procedure regarding sharks and boats was. There wasn't exactly a lot of shark education taught in landlocked states.

Izzy grinned and shook her head. “Oh no, you're fine. She doesn't care as long as you don't go down and try to pet her.”

“That wasn't on my list of things to do today,” I assured her. In fact, I was pretty sure my feet were staying up in the boat for the rest of our trip. “Why are you tracking her?”

“We just got some new tracking equipment and are testing it out.” Izzy explained indicating to the computer on their dash. “Our girl here is pregnant, so as part of my research, I've been keeping a close eye on her.”

I nodded, and looked over the side again. All I could think of was one of my dad's bad corny jokes.

Why won't sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy.
Hardy har har.

Izzy started babbling on about her research and something about a reef and mangroves, but I was completely lost. Laws and statutes were my thing, not biology and experiments. I nodded politely, but Noah must have seen my glazed expression.

“Izzy, they don't need the taxonomical breakdown of the species,” he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder to curb the flow of shark related words.

“That's not even close to what I was talking about,” she responded indignantly. Izzy glared up at him and then promptly looked a little bashful. She turned to Aiden. “I was going off into science mode again, wasn't I?”

“Just a little,” Aiden answered. He held his hand up with his thumb and forefinger just inches apart.

“Sorry.” She gave me a mortified smile. “I just get so excited about it I forget that not everyone is obsessed like I am.”

I grinned at her. She was absolutely adorable. Noah gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze that showed he loved her more than any words could have explained. There was a love story wrapped around the two of them that I could just see the edges of. I knew it was something beautiful.

The computer beeped, and Izzy jumped excitedly to look at it.

“What are the two of you doing for dinner?” Noah asked while Izzy evaluated the screen. “I know Izzy would love to regale someone new with her shark tales this evening.” Izzy turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

“I'm afraid we have plans,” Aiden answered quickly. “Thank you, though.”

I didn't know that the two of us had plans, but I stayed quiet and just smiled apologetically. I was very okay with having plans as long as they involved Aiden.

“That's too bad. Maybe next time?” Noah smiled, and I knew he legitimately meant it.

“That would be wonderful,” I answered. I would love to meet some of Aiden's friends.

“She's heading west,” Izzy said, pointing at the computer screen. She looked up and smiled. “It was great to meet you, Lena. Aiden, tell your brother or Olivia to call me. I can't keep up with the business they've been sending our way. I mean, it's great, but I'm going to have to hire someone if they keep it up.”

“I'll make sure he gets the message,” Aiden assured her. “It's good to see you two.”

Noah started up his boat's engine and waved as they pulled away to follow Izzy's shark. We watched them for a moment.

“So what are our dinner plans?” I asked, turning to Aiden once the boat was out of hearing.

“I was thinking room service.” Aiden gave me the cocky smile that made my knees go weak and my willpower disappear.

“Oh, that sounds nice,” I replied a little breathless. “I can see why you wouldn't want to invite them.”

“Yes.” Aiden ran his finger along my collarbone, pausing to gently stroke the fading red mark he had left earlier with his lips. “That and the fact that Izzy never stops talking about her sharks. Ever.”

L
aying out on a blanket with Aiden on the beach, my throat was sore from laughing so hard. I stared up at the night sky and wished on every star up there that we would always be this happy. Aiden made me laugh without even trying, and when he did try, I was completely unable to stop. He had quickly discovered that I would snort if I laughed hard enough, which he thought was hilarious. He then, or course made it his mission in life to make me snort.

I hated snorting, but I loved how hard it made Aiden laugh when I did. Once he started laughing at my snort, I would laugh even harder, causing me to snort again, and the two of us would be lost to an unending laughing loop until we couldn't breathe. My ribs ached and my face was sore, but I had never been so happy in my entire life.

The remnants of our dinner sat back on my porch, and we were now enjoying an evening of whispering under the stars. Aiden had selected a fabulous bottle of white wine for the two of us, and I had lost track of the time completely as the two of us lay side by side watching the galaxy spin by.

Our conversation had started out as a simple question, followed by another, which we quickly turned into a game. The rules were simple. Ask any question and the other had to answer it without going off topic. We'd been at it for hours, but I wanted to know everything about him.

“Okay, my turn,” I said, reaching for the open bottle of wine in Aiden's hand. He handed to me and I sipped directly out of the bottle. “Favorite junk food.”

“French fries,” Aiden instantly answered.

“Any specific brand? Or are you a french fry snob?”

“Any kind.” He turned his face to me in the darkness and I could just make out the outline of his smile in the dark. “I probably shouldn't tell you this, but french fries are my kryptonite.”

“I'll keep that in mind the next time I need to trap you so you don't foil my evil plots,” I teased, taking another sip of wine. It was going straight to my head and making me deliciously tipsy.

“Ah, but then I'd just eat my way to freedom,” he countered. I laughed, imagining a fence made out for french fries keeping Aiden pinned until he gnawed his way out.

“My turn,” Aiden said, taking the bottle from me. “How did you know you wanted to be a lawyer?”

“My sister,” I answered. I didn't even have to think on that one. It was in the essay I was writing for my application.

“Go on,” he encouraged, taking a sip for himself. “I'm curious to know why you would choose a career known to be evil.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and said the first thing that popped in my head. “You're evil.”

He laughed and handed me the bottle. “This is true. Have some more wine and tell me why you want to join the dark side.”

I shook my head and took the bottle.

“My little sister wasn't an easy child. She was always pushing the envelope on what she could get away with. I'm her big sister, so I'm supposed to look out for her, protect her.” I explained. “As a kid, I took that to mean I should get her out of trouble. I would go in front of my parents and present arguments and evidence showing how the broken lamp was an accident or that the dog really did look better with the haircut. It was my dream ever since.”

Aiden kissed my temple. “You sound like a good big sister. That's the best reason I've heard to be a lawyer.”

A good big sister, maybe, but I certainly wasn't a lawyer. Guilt weighed heavy on my conscience. I had been very careful not to say I was a lawyer, but I never said I wasn't one either. I tried to convince myself that I wasn't lying to him because he had never actually asked if I was a lawyer, but I wasn't having much success. I felt like a liar. A big, fat one. A lie of omission was still a lie, but...

If I told him, he would know that I had been keeping it a secret for the past few days. That I had completely lied about winning a case when I first met him. I knew I should have just told him the very first day on the island. He would have completely understood then. If I told him now, I would ruin the evening, and possibly the rest of the vacation.

I looked over at his silhouette in the dark. I didn't want to lie to him. I wanted to tell him everything about myself and for him to tell me everything about him. My alcohol infused brain said to go for it. What was the worst that could happen?

“Aiden, I need to tell you something.” I took a big sip of wine for courage. If I told him now and he hated me for it, I was pretty sure I could deal with it. I would survive. I was falling head over heels in love with him, but at least neither one of us had said anything permanent yet.

“That's not how you play the game,” he chided. “It's your turn to ask a question, not to give an answer.”

I bit my lip, torn. The strength to tell him was quickly ebbing. Everything was so perfect. I didn't want to ruin it. I sighed. Telling him could wait. I still had half the trip left before we had to go back to real life. He didn't need to know yet. He would understand.

“Fine. I'll tell you later. It's important, though.” I took another swig of wine to wash down the guilt.
I will tell him
, I promised myself. I just needed to find a better time to do so. The right time. For now, I would just enjoy finding out more about him. “What do you want most in the world?”

“French fries.”

I gave his shoulder a playful push. “Real answers, remember?”

He stared up at the sky, his eyes searching for something that wasn't there. “I want to find my place in the world,” he said after a moment. “I've lived in my father's shadow for so long that I don't know how to escape it, or even if I want to. I want to make him proud, but...”

I snuggled into his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort. I wanted to take some of his pain away.

He sighed. “I never seem to be enough for him. For anyone, really.”

“You're more than enough, Aiden,” I informed him. “If he can't see how wonderful you are, then he doesn't deserve you.”

“What makes you think I'm so wonderful? You barely know me.”

His words stung. He was right. I hadn't even spent a full week with him yet, but something inside of me knew better. “I met you three weeks ago and you changed my life. You weren't even trying to, but you gave me courage. You believed in me after thirty seconds.”

“
You won't be lower level for long
,” he remembered. “I guess I was right. But, Lena-”

I cut him off before he could tell me that he hadn't meant it. I knew he had. “That night, I was able to go in front of my boss and show what I could do because someone had told me I could. I know that it didn't matter much to you, but it mattered to me. If you have that kind of effect on me, then you have it with everyone you meet.”

“That doesn't mean I'm wonderful. There's things you don't know about me,” he said darkly.

I sat up, placed the bottle in the sand, and looked down at him. “I know enough. If you want me to know more, then tell me.”

He looked up at me, his eyes reflecting the cold, distant starlight. “You sure? I could be a very different person than the one you think you know. How do you know that I'm not a terrible person?”

“Because of this.” I leaned down and kissed him. His lips were soft and tender, and full of desire. There was strength and sweetness. It was all about emotion and the gut reaction his kiss gave me every time. I didn't care if this was a fling or real. Everything a girl could ever want in a kiss was in his lips. “When you kiss me, I know all I need to.”

He was quiet for a moment. I knew it was silly for me to have these feeling for him so quickly, but I didn't care. My heart and my gut said that he was a good person, that he was everything I wanted in a man. For once, I was listening with my heart instead of my brain, and my heart said he was what I wanted.

“In that case, I should kiss you all the time.” He was back to his usual self, confident and charming. He patted his shoulder for me to retake my place. I only paused for a moment before cuddling back into him.

“I wouldn't complain one bit,” I said as he wrapped his arm around me. “You can kiss me anytime you want.”

I liked the way he felt beneath me, but something now felt off. My brain wasn't quite as willing to stay silent to the confidence of my heart. I wondered what he meant by his words, “I could be a very different person than the one you think you know.” If I had a secret I hadn't told him, it was very possible that he had some he hadn't revealed to me. I wondered what Aiden the Assistant could be hiding.

“Okay, my turn,” Aiden announced. “How many boyfriends have you had?”

“You really want to know?” I could feel my cheeks heating and I was glad we were in the dark.

“Yes, I need to know who my competition is.”

“Four serious ones.” I sighed, knowing he would want more information than that. “The last serious one being a little over a year ago. I've been on a couple of dates since, but nothing really has clicked. You don't have any competition.”

“Of course I do,” Aiden replied. “You're a beautiful woman. Any man who sees you is my competition.”

I smiled. The sentiment was slightly chauvinistic, but it was still sweet. “When was your last serious relationship?” I asked.

“Give me some of that wine.” He sighed, holding out his hand.

“That bad, huh?” I teased. He took a moment to answer.

“I'm good with women. I know what women want and how to get them to give me what I want.” He said it as fact, rather than boasting. Given his good looks and charm, I could believe it. “But, I'm not good at relationships.”

“That's not what I asked,” I said after a moment of quiet. My brain started to whisper that my heart might not like the answer to this particular question after all.

He sighed. “The last real relationship I had was in college. I thought it was love, but...” He shook his head and took a big swig of wine. “I haven't had a serious relationship since. Plenty of non-serious ones, but nothing that ever mattered. Ben says I have trust issues when it comes to women. That I don't let them stay in my life.”

“Is Ben right?” I held my breath, afraid of his response.

“That's two questions, but I'll answer it,” he replied after a moment. “Ben's always right. It's part of why I trust him so much.”