See Megan Run (11 page)

Yes, she saw the appeal. Intellectually she
knew it was best not to think of the kisses they’d shared,
especially the last one. If Megan closed her eyes real tight, she
could still feel the imprint of his lips on hers. Heat rushed into
her cheeks as she remembered how her stomach had knotted from the
want, the desire, the untouched passion he opened like Pandora’s
box inside her.

Megan didn’t need hindsight to know things
would end badly. Definitely didn’t need her conscience reminding
her that she’d just leave him like before. Yet, the inevitable was
that Megan wanted him more than she’d ever wanted any man. Why
hadn’t she wanted him like this when they were teens, when things
were uncomplicated by time and circumstances? Her grip tightened on
her phone. She could control this urge.
Yeah, freaking
right
. Megan, chin up, back straight, walked back into the
store.

Her mother turned to her with a smile on her
face. "You were outside for a while."

"Got an idea, seeing all these flowers."
Megan shrugged, trying not to squirm under Aiden’s gaze.

"Figured The Boutique might benefit from
having arrangements around the shop."

"Glad my little shop gave you inspiration.
It’s such a good thing that one of our own made good. Is that why
you left?"

"Subtle" probably wasn’t in Lettie’s
vocabulary. Why not get the whole sordid story, since all parties
were present, she must be figuring.

Aiden straightened. "Either way, she made a
success. I’m going to let you guys handle business."

"No, don’t leave yet." Nicole reached for
Aiden’s arm. "I want to talk to you about coordinating your uncle’s
bachelor party. I think we’re too old for strippers, so we should
have our parties together."

Aiden’s smile widened. "Well, I don’t know. I
was kind of looking forward to having a half-naked woman jumping
out of a cake." He frowned. "Shep doesn’t have heart problems. I
think it’ll be safe."

Nicole laughed, but Megan’s eyes
narrowed.

"Dear, do you want me to take the flowers out
of the vase?" Lettie asked.

"No, and let me pay for it."

"Aiden has already," Lettie pointed out.

"Matter of fact, shouldn’t Megan and I be
planning those parties?" Aiden’s smile turned into a smirk. "It’s
the best man’s and the maiden of honor’s responsibility."

Not that she was completely against the idea,
but this meant being around him. Alone. "I don’t think Shep would
go for the idea of having a joint party. He is a man, after all.
What man wouldn’t like for a naked woman to jump out of a
cake?"

Aiden placed his hand over his heart. "Ouch.
So if it has a penis..."

Lettie’s eyes widened. Megan reached for her
vase, splashing water on the counter. "Yes, okay, fine."

"Good." Nicole said. "Speaking of Shep, I’m
supposed to meet him for lunch." They followed Nicole out of the
shop. "We have to get him a suit." She waved them goodbye and Megan
stared after her mother in wonder.

"Does no one know ‘subtle’ here?" Megan
clutched the vase to her chest.

"Most people find it tedious." He frowned at
her. "Do you want me to hold that for you?"

"I’m fine." Megan wasn’t going to touch him.
She’d keep this impromptu meeting casual. She would not think about
sex with him. He licked his lips and Megan watched his tongue peek
out, wishing, wanting, his tongue to touch her in the same way.
"Really, I’m fine."

She turned to go to her car and then
remembered her mother had brought her. Megan sighed, partially
accepting her circumstances. Doomed. "I’m not sure how to plan a
bachelorette party," she muttered, turning back to Aiden.

"It’s easy. You think of what finger foods
you want, and then make a five-mile-long list of alcoholic
beverages."

"So, get everyone liquored up by letting them
eat just a little and drink on near-empty stomachs. Got it. Now,
can you take me home?"

"Home, now?"

She knew he was asking about her word choice.
"Yes, I’m trying to get used to how it will feel if my mother gives
it to me."

"She said she would."

The same argument Nicole had stated, but call
Megan cautious and not hopeful. She readjusted the vase. "We’ll
see."

He nodded. "Do you want to sleep with
me?"

Aiden had the vase before Megan could think
to catch it. "Where did that come from?"

"The drool on the side of your mouth when you
watched me lick my lips." Aiden shrugged and kept the pace of their
slow walk. Megan had no idea where they were going, but she was
sure half the town would know when they left downtown. She rolled
her shoulders at the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Though
she couldn’t see anyone looking directly at them, Megan knew her
hometown. At least five people could read lips a mile away, and
after his comment those five people would tell five more people
that they were headed to Aiden’s secret place for a rendezvous.

"Aren’t you arrogant?"

Aiden stopped and moved in front of her. He
leaned in close to her ear and said, "You’re curious." He took her
lobe into his mouth, doing things with tongue and teeth that proved
him right. She was curious. He laid a kiss on her neck, then said,
"Your curiosity is going to bite you in the ass one of these
days."

But could you bite me first
? Megan
coughed to clear her throat and reached for the vase, taking it
from his hands. "And what are you getting from this?"

He took another step toward her and reached
out, touching the apex of her throat. Her heartbeat sped under his
fingertips. "I want you to..."

"You want me to what?"

Chapter 10

Aiden moved his fingers lower until they
brushed the side of her breast. Megan’s eyes darkened when he
circled the outline of her nipple straining against her
T-shirt. 
To know what it feels like to want me, knowing you
can never have me
. He let his hand drop at the thought. "Never
mind." He took the vase back. "Let me drive you home."

"Wait." She shook her head. "You want me to
what?"

To regret leaving me
, which wasn’t any
better than his first impulsive answer. Was this the only
attraction to her now? His gaze fell down to her shirt again,
seeing her primal reaction to him. No, that didn’t account for all
the attraction.

"Megan, we’re going to end up in bed if we
are left to our own devices. Not that we don’t have self- control.
I have incredible self-control. I’m sure you do, too, since you can
run your business without being there and it’s not going to hell in
a handbasket. It’s not even that we can’t fight whatever it is
that’s lingering between us."

"Pretty strong linger, if you ask me."

"Either way, it’s going to complicate
everything, and, my dear, you are a complication I don’t want to
deal with right now."

"That’s insulting." She took the vase from
his hands.

"But the truth."

Megan looked to be considering his words.
"Still insulting."

Aiden sighed and took the vase back. "Be
flattered that I’m not being altruistic."

"What do I have to lose that you can take
from me?"

Nothing, and that’s why he turned his back
and headed for his truck with her vase in the crook of his
elbow.

"Wait," she said behind him.

"I’m trying to be noble here."

She grabbed his other arm, making him stop.
"What if I don’t want you to be noble?" She placed a hand on the
vase and moved closer to him.

"Tempting." Her breasts rested against his
chest. He placed his other hand on the vase, as well, to keep both
where they needed to be. "Very tempting, but Jane would have my
penis on a platter. Let’s listen to her as the voice of reason,
since we can’t rely on each other."

Megan sighed and let go of the vase. "You’re
right. I can’t believe I thought it would be a good idea. Really,
it’s a train wreck waiting to happen." She moved to the Green
Demon. "Let’s start on planning that party."

Aiden finally let go of the breath he’d been
holding, because if she’d said any variation of "yes" they’d have
been in his bed within minutes. "Let’s hit the liquor store
first."

"Please."

*****

Megan stopped Aiden from buying more liquor
when they had enough to float a small boat. "Okay," she said,
looking at the truck bed. "Now where do we put it? And where is the
party going to be? And who’s going to make all those finger foods?
I don’t think Jane will do it on such short notice. And—"

Aiden reached in the back and handed her a
bottle of whiskey. "Take a drink. You’re getting a panicked
look."

Because she could feel the panic rising in
the back of her throat, she took a long sip and almost choked to
death. Aiden chuckled.

"Easy there. We’re taking this to my house
and putting it in my garage."

She capped the bottle and jumped into the
cab. When Aiden slowed in front of a house on Elm Street, Megan
said, "One good thing about small towns is you can get anywhere in
five minutes or less."

"It takes the same amount of time for gossip
to spread. Warning: Ms. Isabel lives next door on the right, and
Mr. Samuel on the left of me."

"They still haven’t come out about their
affair?"

"Everyone knows it."

"Which means no one talks about it out loud
anymore."

Aiden nodded. "And I act like I don’t hear my
back gates open and close every night at nine p.m. and again at six
a.m."

"You share a backyard with your
neighbors?"

"My suspicion is that when the house went
empty, before I bought it, Samuel fixed it so I had gates on both
sides. From his house to hers."

"Have you ever sat at night and waited to see
him?"

"Never crossed my mind." He pushed the button
on his garage opener.

Megan grinned, opening the door. "Let me help
you with those liquor bottles."

Aiden followed her. "What are you
thinking?"

"Nothing." She unlatched the truck bed.

He handed her a box full of bottles. "Don’t
start stirring up trouble."

"It’s harmless, and it’ll keep our noses
clean."

Aiden grabbed three boxes. "What?"

"Oh, a little stargazing in your back yard.
Around eight o’clock, so we won’t miss anything."

"Doesn’t sound like a good idea."

Megan put down her one box. "I was never the
one to talk you into trouble."

"Yeah, well, things change."

His tone made Megan pause. She’d never been
conceited, but Megan had a feeling she had something to do with his
change. "When was the last time you had fun?"

"Frat party. 1998."

"You went to college?"

"Got my degree in criminology and came back
here to work with Shep. What? You’re surprised I left the
sticks?"

"More surprised you came back." Funny, she’d
always thought he’d leave here and never look back. He’d always
been restless and waiting for something bigger and better. The one
thing she thought they had in common.

Aiden shrugged. "I went to Stanford, served
my time in college, and came back home."

When they’d finished unloading the Green
Demon, Megan took the opened alcohol bottle and her vase from the
front seat. His comment still bothered her, but she kept that to
herself as he brought her into the living room. Megan stepped into
his personal world and realized she knew nothing of the man he was
now.

Pictures of his mother sat on the coffee
table. Mentally she noted there were none of his father. The
pillows on the couch were straight, no shoes sat by the door. It
felt empty, as if he were waiting. For what, Megan couldn’t guess.
She followed him into the kitchen, where he took out two glasses
and filled them with ice.

Finally she asked the question. "What keeps
you here, Aiden?"

He offered her the short glass filled with
liquor. "Family."

No hesitation clouded his answer. Family was
the reason she’d left. Not for the first time she realized how
different they were now. He seemed content to just be, and she was
always thinking of moving forward, how to make things better, what
she could do next. She sipped from her glass and watched him move
with ease around the kitchen. First he took the vase she’d placed
on the counter and filled it with more water. Then he asked,
"Hungry?"

"We should eat." She lifted her glass.

"Right." He laid out tuna, tomatoes, pickles,
mayo, butter, and bread. Megan frowned at the ingredients, but the
moment he started to move she was enraptured. He didn’t waste one
movement. He cut the vegetables, greased the pan and toasted the
bread in it, making it all look easy, with a purpose, and not one
empty motion. Next, he placed the diced pickles in the pan,
sprinkled spices over them and turned to lay the slices of tomato
on the bread.

To fill up the silence, Megan said, "Speaking
of family, what are you planning on doing once everyone gets
here?"

Aiden shook his head and mixed the tuna with
mayonnaise. "I lied about all that liquor being for the party."

Megan chuckled. "Good one."

"The question is, are you ready for all the
family?"

Megan frowned into her drink. "To be honest,
I haven’t thought that far. If I think too hard about Aunt Sarah,
or Cousin Eileen, or Uncle Willie, I’ll come by and raid your
garage."

He placed the pickles on the sandwich and the
tangy smell of them hit her. "Chips?"

She nodded, intrigued more by this man than
the one who could kiss her senseless. "Get the door." He motioned
with his head. "I’ll bring everything outside."

As she started to place her glass on the
patio table, it finally hit her why his house felt empty. He had
made a home for a family. She gripped her glass in her hand. The
ease of the evening left her. Another thing they didn’t have in
common. She liked being single. She liked having no one to answer
to. He did want a ready-made family and, if she was honest, he was
always that way. But why did she care? She was leaving,
remember?