Her Charming Secret (23 page)

“What was that, Aiden?” Abigail chuckled.

“That was me getting Alex off your back for the day; he will be so busy trying to figure out who the guy on the phone was that chances are he won’t annoy you for today.”

“Did he tell you about our relationship?” Abigail asked curiously.

“Nah! It’s easy to read Alex.”

“It’s not that we planned on keeping it a secret, we were going to tell you guys after Adele’s wedding,” she said.

“I understand, Abigail. By the way, welcome to the family.” He grinned.

Abigail smiled at Aiden and they began to discuss the minute details of the wedding, including the sort of colors Adele wanted at her wedding. Later, Aiden walked Abigail out, where she caught a cab home.

*  *  *

Alex couldn’t concentrate. He could only think about Abigail and that moron to whom he had spoken to earlier. There was something familiar about that voice, and that made him growl more, because the only Frenchman he knew was the old man, Pierre. And the fact that Abigail was having lunch with someone like Pierre made him shudder.

He knew that only one person could help him – and that was Pierre himself. He didn’t want to, but there was no one else but the old man to help him here; he decided to go find Pierre.

Alex let out a growl and grabbed his coat. He ran out of his office, and in minutes he was in his car driving back to his uncle’s place.

Reaching his uncle’s place in record time, he took a minute to straighten himself before walking in all-smiles, but his eyes were moving everywhere looking for Pierre. He walked in to see Adelynn and Danielle sitting on the couch with books around them. Pictures and sticky notes were all over the place. The wedding fever had set in full swing here, too.

“Alex, is everything alright?” Adelynn asked; she sounded concerned.

“Yeah, I was looking for Pierre. Is he here?” he asked, looking around again.

She looked at him as her eyebrows rose. “You are looking for . . . Papa?” she asked, her voice showing her suspicion. Alex couldn’t blame her – after all, he normally ran from wherever Pierre was.

“Yup, isn’t he here?”

“Actually, he is. He was doing something upstairs. Go and see if he is still there.”

Alex nodded before hurriedly taking two steps at a time, leaving his aunt to wonder what was going on.

He opened the door and closed it the very next second. The sight he just saw was traumatizing. Pierre was dancing – more like jumping on the bed. He was going to ruin the wedding, after all. The man considered himself to be an accomplished dancer, but Alex knew from experience that Pierre had his own dance style that was more disturbing jumps and hand moves than actual dancing. Steeling himself by thinking of Abigail, he knocked loudly on the door.

Pierre shouted back, “Ze door iz open, come in.”

When Alex entered, he had thankfully gotten off the bed. “Err . . . hi,” he said.

Seeing Alex come in, Pierre scowled. “Why ‘re you dizturbing mi danze practize? I have to look good in mi grandauzer’z wedzing!”

“I need help!”

“Youz wanna leurn danze too?” Pierre raised his eyebrow.

“Umm . . . no. I need your help with something else,” Alex explained.

“Helpz? What iz it?”

“Well . . . you see . . . that is to say—” Alex mumbled.

Pierre cut him off by saying, “I getz it! You want to come to ze wonzerful France wiz uz! Yes,” he said, excited.

Alex turned red before shaking his head and saying, “No! You see there is this girl—” to be cut off by Pierre again, who said, “And zhe iz ze French zo you needz mi helpz to woo ’er? You have comez to ze right plaze, I am ze parfect zentelman!”

“No, Pierre; it’s this girl, my friend. She is being pursued by a French guy. He is bad, and I want your help.”

“A bad Frenchman, you zay! I will cutz him into picez for beingz bad anz beingz French. How dare ze!” Pierre jumped on his bed and stood like a stupid knight.

“Right, will you come with me? To meet him?”

“Oui, you willz dreeve the carz.”

They walked downstairs, leaving Adelynn and Danielle surprised. Pierre sat in the back seat as if he owned the car and Alex was his driver. He gave Alex a look that said, 
‘I am here now, why aren’t you driving yet?’

“Thiz carz iz too zmall. I’ll buyz you a limouzine.” He puffed with no small amount of pride. Alex almost laughed, because Pierre looked exactly like a puffed parrot at that moment.

They reached Abigail’s place and Alex knocked on the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Pierre. Alex moved forward to explain, but Pierre pushed him aside and walked inside. “Ah! You ’ere the gurl who marriez a Frenchman!”

“No, no, I’m the wedding planner. I’m not married,” she explained.

She looked at Alex, confused, but was dragged in by Pierre before he could answer.

“So wherez iz your French buyfriendz?” he asked, looking around the house, trying to act like a ninja by hiding behind the couch and placing books on his head.

She looked at him, confused, and asked, “What French boyfriend?”

He put the books down and pulled off two leaves from the plant near the door. Abigail almost cried, because it was her favorite plant.

He placed the leaves on his head and walked away, still hiding and spying. She sighed and plopped on the couch. Alex tried to stop Pierre, but he just swatted him away and crab-walked to the next room.

Alex gave Abigail an apologetic look, wondering why he had thought asking the old man for help was a good idea.

“Abby, why didn’t you pick up my call? Who was that guy?”

Before she could answer, Pierre came back. “I zee no Frenchman ’ere!”

She sighed and decided to change the subject; she didn’t want him to spy anymore or destroy anything else. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked politely. He accepted and asked for some fine French champagne. She sighed in relief. Alex had just bought some champagne because they had had a movie night at her place that night.

His search for the Frenchman forgotten, Pierre happily sat on the couch next to Alex. An hour later, the whole bottle was empty. Pierre drank most of it and now he was dancing. Jumping on the couch and pulling off more leaves.

“Alex, what is he doing?” Abigail looked at him in horror.

“Umm . . . pulling the leaves! Sorry,” Alex apologized.

“Gosh! Take him away before he ruins my home!”

Alex didn’t know where to hide in embarrassment; he looked at Pierre, who had gotten up on the kitchen table and was trying to do the hula. “Grandpa Pierre, let’s go home,” he called, pulling him.

Pierre struggled, but finally slumped on Alex, letting him drag him to the car. He sat in the back seat and was asleep in a minute, snoring loudly. Alex ran back to Abigail and kissed her, saying, “I’ll be right back, baby.”

Abby stood there, amused as she saw Alex leave. 
What just happened? What a weird family this was!

- Chapter 21 -

Love Is In The Air

Aiden stood near the window, looking out at the gray sky. The smell of the approaching rain lingered in the air, and a light drizzle had started. He regretted not going to Jo’s place to pick her up. Walking towards the kitchen, he debated whether to call Jo and ask her not to come. As he made himself some coffee, he heard the sound of thunder and rain started pouring down in torrents.

He realized that she was gloomy all day, so he wanted to do something special for her. When he asked her if she had any plans for the evening, she just shrugged her shoulder and said that she was going back home to eat leftovers and watch crappy drama. That was when he asked her to join him for dinner. She looked at him as if he spoke Latin, but accepted the invitation while they were going home.

Now here he was, standing alone, waiting for her. When the doorbell rang, he rushed to open the door. Jo was standing there with a grin on her face, completely drenched and looking for all intents and purposes like a puppy, all wet and bright-eyed.

“Oh no! You’re going to catch a cold; come on in,” he said and pulled her in, closing the door behind them.

“Hey,” she murmured, looking around. Finally, she turned towards him. “Just had a shower? You smell nice,” she said as her hand ran up his neck and touched his damp hair, slowly running her hand through it.

He pulled her closer. “Yup! Just now. You’re drenched; I think you should take a warm shower.”

“Later,” she whispered and pulled his head down, crashing her lips on his. He was warm, and she liked the feeling of being in his arms and could have stayed exactly there all day. But he pulled away and pulled her towards his room. He gently pushed her inside the bathroom and handed her a huge towel.

“Go shower; I’ll get you a change of clothes,” he said and walked away to his wardrobe. Sighing, Jo walked into shower.

Aiden pulled out the red t-shirt she had worn in Tofino. Every single item from that trip had its own special memory. Smiling to himself, he pulled out a pair of shorts and placed them on the bed along with the t-shirt, wondering if Jo had the same fondness for the memories as he did. He knocked on the shower door to let Jo know that he had left the clothes on the bed, and closed the bedroom door before walking away to the kitchen to heat up the food.

Jo was glad that Aiden suggested that she take a warm shower; the cold that was setting into her bones was quickly replaced by heat, and she couldn’t stop the tiny moan that escaped at finally being warm again. It was an added advantage that she loved the feel of the warm water running over her skin. She took a quick shower and was out in less than ten minutes. He had laid some clothes out on the bed. She quickly put them on and grinned widely when she wore the red t-shirt. She loved that it smelt like him. Giggling to herself, she walked out to see him placing the food on the dining table.

“Hey, you’re back already?” he asked, walking towards her.

“Yup! Thanks for letting me use your shower.” She smiled. He came closer and ran his hand through her hair. It was still damp.

“Are you planning on falling ill?” He pushed her lightly towards his room before asking her to sit quietly on the bed. She bounced on it a bit and sunk in because it was so soft and fluffy. He pulled out another towel and started to dry her hair with it.

“Wait! What are you doing?” Jo pushed him away and jumped on the bed.

“Come back here,” he called, and jumped on the bed to tackle her. The position they landed in got a little awkward as he was on top of her with his hands behind her head, towel still in them as he was trying to dry her hair. Their faces were close, breaths mingled. He had to lean down just a bit more or she lean up a little for their lips to meet.

Instead, she wriggled and tried to push him and he started tickling her. She was extremely ticklish, and laughed as she tried to push him away. Finally, he stopped and kissed her slowly. He had to taste those soft lips again. She deepened the kiss by pulling him closer. He pulled away when he heard a grumble; she ran her hand over her tummy and grinned.

“You should eat,” he said and pulled her up. When Jo walked towards the kitchen to help him, he asked her to take the non-alcoholic sparkling wine out. They moved towards the dining table, and Jo smiled when she saw him serving the food. She was starving and it looked absolutely delicious.

“I hope you like pasta bake,” he said, setting down a plate in front of her. She nodded like a child. She gasped at the plethora of flavors that attacked her taste buds the minute she took a bite of the pasta. The taste was so exquisite that she let out a moan unintentionally, causing Aiden to look at her in surprise.

“This is awesome! The most delicious pasta bake I’ve ever eaten,” she declared. “Where did you get this from? Which restaurant is this from?”

He looked at her, a bashful smile on his face as he said, “Umm . . . It’s not from a restaurant; I made it.”

She put the fork down and looked at him with wide eyes, reminding him once again of an innocent puppy. “You made this? You cook?!”

He nodded.

She made some sort of squealing sound and wriggled in her chair.

“Jo, are you alright?”

“You are the best! I’m so lucky! You are hot, you can cook, and those glasses . . . darn, you look sexy in those – not to say you don’t look sexy usually, but in those . . . whew!” she said excitedly, fanning herself, a grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

Aiden burst out laughing at her zest. “I’m glad you like the food. So what did you do for lunch?”

“Burgers at McDonald’s with Alex!”

“Really? So he managed to take someone along, huh?”

“Actually, when you asked me to book a table for two I thought that you were taking me out on a date,” she murmured softly, looking down.

It took him some time to realize what she just said. “Wait, so when I went away leaving you alone, you ended up thinking that I don’t care?” he asked in disbelief. She nodded. “Jo, you could have accompanied me, you know!”

“But wasn’t that a business lunch?”

He shook his head. “I seriously doubt that Abigail would have minded if you had accompanied us to lunch.”

“Wait, Abigail as in my best friend Abigail? The wedding planner Abigail?”

He chuckled at hearing her paraphrase the words he had used earlier. “The same! We were discussing Adele’s wedding details.”

“Oh! And here I was getting all worked up, thinking you didn’t care,” she said, regret flashing on her face the minute the words were out of her mouth.

Aiden’s expression changed; he looked down, not letting her see how upset he was. She didn’t trust him like she said, after all. But she was already bothered about something; her feelings were important, so Aiden just raised his head and smiled.

“I may not be the sort of boyfriend who would kiss you in public and take you out on dates, but I’ll try. All this is new to me, so you need to give me some time.”

She touched his hand lightly and mingled her fingers with his. He raised her hand and kissed the back lightly.

After the dinner, Aiden made a small bed on the carpet in the drawing room. They decided to watch a movie. But she stopped him when he was choosing one.

“Let’s just talk,” she said. They sat there with her sitting in front of him, his arms around her waist. She moved back and rested her head on his chest.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Aiden asked, holding her tightly.

“Huh? I’m fine, and it’s nothing,” she smiled. He was quiet; she turned around to see his face filled with disbelief.

Sighing, she said, “It’s Jacob. This morning he introduced me to his girlfriend.”

“Is that wrong?”

“He has known her for almost a year, but he never mentioned anything about her. I don’t know why I feel so sad,” she replied, resting her head on his chest and snuggling closer.

“I think I know how you feel. Aubrey might react just like you when I introduce you to my family as my girlfriend.”

She looked up to see a smirk on his face. “What do you mean?” she asked in horror.

“Meeting the parents? It’s not that bad. Mom invited you to dinner.”

“You told your mother about us? Is she okay with that?” Aiden moved closer and kissed her red nose.

“Of course. They will love you; you see, we have to go to the lake house this week, for the wedding arrangements. Why don’t you come along?” he murmured, kissing her neck lightly.

“Umm . . . yes,” she purred. Aiden raised his head to see her expression and laughed out loud at her face. She snapped out of it and blushed.

They ended up talking about lots of things. She told him about her father again and how much she missed him. He told her to meet him and sort out the issues.

Aiden didn’t realize how late it was as they talked. Eventually he fell asleep, and when he woke up, Jo was still in his arms. He lifted her off the ground slowly and carried her to his room. He lay her down on the bed slowly, pulling the comforter over her.

*  *  *

Aiden started spending more time with Jo and things slowly started to take a turn for the better. They started going out on dates or just staying in with takeaway and a movie, but for now all their dates were low key and away from the public.

Jo had taken to sneaking a kiss or two in office when no one was watching, mostly when he didn’t expect it. He looked forward to those unexpected – but completely welcome – encounters where she would give him a peck when asking him to sign documents or pull him into an empty boardroom for a longer kiss.

He had to go to the lake house for the wedding preparations. The Reids decided to stay there for a while. The day before he left, they went on another date. It had become a routine for them as she came over to his place on Friday and spent the weekend with him. They would go to the other part of the town, basically avoiding any kind of trouble.

Aiden took her to get sprayed at Niagara Falls. It was a ninety-minute drive from Toronto. Jo had visited with Jake a long time ago, but with Aiden it was different. Everything was brighter and so much more vibrant. She took in the breathtaking view, wide-eyed and completely mesmerized by the sight in front of her. Aiden grinned, happy that he was able to put such a look on her face and put an arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

“Can I take a picture?” Jo asked him.

“Sure! Who’s stopping you?”

She turned around and pulled out her phone. Switching to the front view camera, she took a picture of them.

“I thought you wanted to take a picture of the falls!” Aiden grinned.

She shook her head. “Nah! This is better!”

Aiden noticed flashes that felt like they were aimed in their direction. He felt a shudder run up his spine at the thought of someone taking their pictures. He turned around to look, but seeing as everyone in the vicinity had a camera, he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.

“What’s wrong, Aid?” Jo placed her hand on his shoulder.

“It feels weird here. I think we should leave.” He muttered.

“Already? But we just got here!” She groaned and looked down.

“I’m starving; let’s go to Dairy Queen and get something to eat.” Aiden looked around one last time to see if he recognized someone, but he couldn’t.

They headed out to Dairy Queen and ordered Blizzards. Jo got a Midnight Truffle Blizzard and Aiden ordered a French Silk Pie Blizzard.

He smiled to himself when he saw a little ice cream on her lips. Noticing it, Jo asked, “Is everything alright?”

He moved closer and wiped it off with his finger. “Much better!”

The date was simple, but they enjoyed it. When it was time to head home, Jo didn’t want it to end. She put on her innocent puppy dog expression and hugged him tightly.

“Don’t go. Stay with me,” she murmured.

“I don’t want to go, but I have to, love. I will see you at the wedding. And I’ll be at work every day, you know?” He placed a soft kiss on her brow and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her.

She held on to him and smiled. “Promise?” she asked, looking so innocent in that moment that he couldn’t help but pull her in for another kiss, breaking which, he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.

“Promise.”

She smiled and pushed him away, a grin on her face. “Go before I change my mind and lock you in here with me.”

He gave her a boyish grin and waved goodbye as he walked away.

Aiden went back to his place to pack his clothes and other stuff. They were staying at the lake house for almost a whole week. With just one week left before the wedding, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. He knew that Adele was feeling the same pressure. The twins had always been connected in a way that they could feel each other’s feelings and emotions, and right now he sensed exactly what Adele was going through. Sighing, he picked up his bag and a jacket and walked out. He got into his car and drove to his parents’ place.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the driveway and walked in to see Aubrey running around, playing with Pierre.