The Carpenter's Daughter (13 page)

A woman. About time I settled that one. Twenty-one was all grown up, and for heaven’s sake, I should’ve been dating long before this. No more of this sheltered, I’m-afraid-of-the-world living.

I slid out of the truck, my black flat shoes crunching on the rocks beneath my feet as I pivoted to shut the door. Aiden opened the passenger side of his glow-in-the-dark ride, and I slid inside.

He stood with the door in his hand while his eyes passed over my form. Twice. I’d worn the dark skinny jeans Aunt Darcy said made my legs look amazing, and a thin fabric tank. My shoulders felt completely naked, and as he perused me with his eyes, I wondered if that much exposure lit a male’s imagination.

A low whistle escaped his puckered lips. “Girl, why have you been hiding under flannel all these years?”

Good question. Except I didn’t know I’d been hiding. “Maybe you’ve just started looking.”

Huh. This flirting thing wasn’t that hard. My face warmed.

A smile crept across his lips, dimpling one cheek. “I see you now.” He winked and then shut the door.

My stomach fizzed like it would before one of those thrill rides at Six Flags. I liked those rides. I felt brave when I strapped in and exhilarated when I stepped off.

He pulled onto the highway, heading north, and I sat back against the leather seat, determined to enjoy this ride. We had twenty minutes of pastures and farm ground before we’d reach Kearney. My muscles tensed again. What did I do with twenty minutes in a car alone with a guy? On a date?

“So…” Aiden, who was clearly much more practiced at this than I, flashed a grin. “I see you at the bar for the first time since I’ve known you, and you’re dressed to kill. There’s a story there.”

Not one I was telling him. “I’ve been to The Crossing before. Maybe you have bad timing.”

He laughed, and then his fingers trailed down my neck. “Or you have perfect timing.” His hand covered mine, which rested on my leg. Was I supposed to hold it? I glanced at his profile out of the corner of my eye. His dimples still poked against his cheeks. He squeezed my leg, which jolted my muscles, and then took my hand.

Was this normal? And what did he mean
perfect timing
?

Joe had said something about fishing and retribution last week.

“What’s up with you and Brenna?”

He snuck a glance at me that said, W
ell, well, well. We put on bold with our makeup tonight, didn’t we?

Guess I had. I slid my hand from his and waited.

“Nothing. We’re done.”

I laughed through my nose, which probably wasn’t feminine. “Until…”

His smile drifted into a frown. “Until forever. She wanted out, and I’m not sorry.”

Clearly.

Okay, so in basketball I think this was what we called hitting the boards. A rebound date…whatever. His compliments weren’t a bad exchange in the deal, and maybe I could figure out how this whole scene worked while he figured out whatever he needed to figure out. A win for both of us.

The miles drifted by, and my hand was back in his clasp by the time we parked at Red Lobster.

“Dinner first.” Aiden turned the engine off and opened his door. “Things don’t get interesting at the club until later.”

Maybe I should have asked more questions before I strapped myself into this man’s vehicle. Like,
how long are we going to be gone?
My stomach busied itself with knots and bows, making me sure I wasn’t going to be able to eat a thing, while Aiden came around to my side of the Jeep. I was already out and had the door shut by the time he made it, so he took my hand again and pulled me snug up to his side.

Was that presumptuous or the expected behavior on a date? I didn’t have much time to wonder. His hand dropped to my hip, and then we were moving forward toward the restaurant.

I’d been right about the eating. I could hardly swallow anything. Mostly because Aiden’s hands were almost always in contact with some part of my body. He’d toyed with my fingers while we waited for our plates, then somewhere between his first and second drink he scooted his chair closer and found my leg. In between bites, he would lean in close to tell me something he found fascinating about me. Why hadn’t he noticed my freckles in high school? And my eyes, so blue. My black hair, so shiny and—he reached up to stroke the ends of my short cut—soft.

His hand cupped my neck, and he leaned so close that I could feel the bristle of his evening shadow against my cheek. “You smell pure.” His warm breath tickled my ear. “Do you know what that does to a man?”

Yikes. I pulled away, heat flooding my body.

He got the check and draped his arm over me as we walked to the car. I reached to open my door, but he covered my hand and wrapped me with both of his arms. This absolutely couldn’t be normal first-date stuff. The hair on my neck bristled.

“There’s something about you, Sarah.” Aiden pulled me tight against his chest and whispered just above my ear. “It’s driving me crazy. How have I missed it all this time?”

Probably because your tongue’s been jammed down Brenna’s throat for the last six years.

No, that wasn’t it. It was because that night I actually looked like a woman. A surge of confidence raced through my veins. I was a woman this man found attractive, and I did things to him that only beautiful women could do to men.

His lips brushed against my jaw, and I let myself enjoy the tingling sensation. I tilted my head as I leaned into his sturdy body, and he accepted my silent invitation. Light kisses strung down my neck, and when he came to the exposed skin of my shoulder, he groaned. In a breath, I was turned, and his mouth covered mine.

I was pretty sure I was dead-lips for the first few kisses, but as he backed me against the Jeep, his persuasive touch coaxed me into action. His hands moved from my hips to my back and then roamed as they pleased, and without understanding what I was doing, I found myself exploring the hardscape of his chest, his shoulders, his back…

A horn blared. “Get a room!” some man shouted. I froze, and Aiden pulled away with another groan.

“Not a bad idea.”

Uh, no. My face burned. I’d left my common sense, and dignity, back in Minden. Making out with a guy in a parking lot—wasn’t that…cheap? I couldn’t look at him as I pushed against his chest. The pressure of his body eased away, and I felt naked. Humiliated. I spun around and unlatched the door. Aiden waited until I was in before shutting it.

He walked around to his side like nothing unusual had happened and slid into the driver’s side. After starting the Jeep, he looked at me, his dimples peeking out again. “Dancing?”

I still couldn’t make eye contact. “Sure.”

No, I wanted to go home. Aiden’s attention wasn’t thrilling anymore. I was actually a little scared. I didn’t know what to do with men, didn’t know what they expected. If that was his idea of a first kiss, I wasn’t ready to dive into a second.

We drove north and crossed the tracks. Aiden pulled up to a place I’d never been to before and killed the engine. He took my hand again and pressed the pads of my fingers to his mouth. “If you can kiss like that, you’ll have no problem dancing.”

They were related? He left the car, and I closed my eyes. Home. Pizza with Dad. A movie. Things that were safe, familiar.

He opened my door and I stepped out. That long arm slithered around me again, his thumb running along the side of my stomach. My abs twitched. He didn’t miss my involuntary response, and he moved to kiss me again.

I stiffened, backing away from his descending mouth. “Dancing.”

He hovered, his mouth inches from mine, and smiled. “Right.” And then he kissed me again, this time gently.

My insides turned to pudding. This was how a girl got into trouble. She went out with Mr. Sweep-’Em-Off-Their-Feet on her first real date, and her brain shut off. I turned away in a slow spin out of his tempting hold and headed for the entrance to the club.

So not my scene. Aiden’s club was a Hooters knockoff with a strong dash of gentleman’s club mixed in for flavor. Waitresses in uniform, which consisted of bun-huggers and white button-downs kept together by a knot tied at the breasts, sashayed their way in between the bar and scattered pub tables. Neon strobes flashed over the floor, piercing my brain with obnoxious light.

“Don’t worry.” Aiden leaned over my shoulder to speak near my face. “I only come here for the music.”

Yeah. I must’ve had
stupid
written across my forehead. I eyed him, and my eyebrow quirked.

His sultry grin spread wider. “Or we could find that other place…”

Man, this guy was something. Were all men like this?

Dinner with Jesse crossed my memory. Granted, they weren’t dates, but he hadn’t acted anything like this. I couldn’t imagine he would.

“Two?” A Barbie look-alike sauntered close in her next-to-nothing getup.

Standing behind me, Aiden took my hands and wrapped both his arms and mine around my waist. “Yep.”

I sighed, trying to figure out how to pry him off me without looking ridiculous. The waitress didn’t seem to care as she tossed her bleach-blond hair—which, by the way, must have been part of the dress code.

“Who’s playing tonight?” Aiden wanted to know. Barbie rattled off some band name I didn’t care about.

“Aiden?” hissed a female’s voice as we passed a pub table.

Aiden stopped, pulling me to a halt. I turned, bypassing his face, and recognized Brenna.

Peachy.

“What are you doing here?” He didn’t sound that surprised.

Fishing for retribution.
Aha. I was the bait. Would she bite?

Her eyes moved from him and grazed over me. “Who is this?”

“Shows you how self-consumed you are, Brenna.” He tugged me close to his side. “We went through four years of high school with Sarah. Think you’d recognize her.”

My estimation of his character notched up a tiny bit.

Her brows pinched together. “Sarah Sharpe?”

“In the flesh.” His tone was smug.

Was I supposed to speak during this exchange or just dangle there in silence while I waited for the fish to snap?

“It’s been a week, Aiden.” Tears salted her voice.

He shrugged. “You said we were done. I’m moving on. That’s what you told me to do.”

“I didn’t think you’d move so fast.”

Fast—uh, yeah. That was definitely the appropriate adverb.

“Maybe you’ll think next time before you deal out an ultimatum.” Aiden turned, pushing me in the direction of his retreat, and we moved to the table where our waitress waited.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

Aiden ordered something that sounded dark and dangerous, which matched the way his eyes had shadowed.

“Cosmo, Sarah?”

“No, just a soda.” I was not drinking with this man.

Barbie raised an eyebrow. “You over twenty-one?”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Yes, she’s allowed in here.”

Why hadn’t she carded us before we sat down?

“Sorry, Aiden, I’ll still need to see her ID.”

Oh, he was a regular, that was why. I flipped open my wallet, which Aunt Darcy had called a
clutch
, and flashed my ID toward Barbie. “Does it matter? I only want a Coke.”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say.” She searched for my DOB and then nodded. With a flip of her hair, she wiggled away.

Aiden took my hand and pulled me off my chair. “Let’s dance.”

I didn’t have a choice as his arm snaked around my body. He dragged me to the scratched wooden floor that separated the bar from the pub tables and spun me against his chest. Feeling like the idiot I was, I moved my feet, trying to match his steps.

Aiden dipped his mouth near my ear. “Just follow me.”

No problem. Because I knew how to mirror a guy’s moves in close proximity. Something I did all the time.

He tugged me snug against him. Irritated, I glanced up. His head was turned toward the tables, and I followed his eyes. Straight to Brenna.

Worm on a hook. That was me. I stared at his chest and sighed. Aiden didn’t notice. Could this night get much worse?

We didn’t even get through the song before a manicured finger tapped on my shoulder. “I need to talk to Aiden.” Brenna glared at me, and then her look softened when her eyes moved to his.

“We’re dancing, Bree.” Aiden’s arms tensed around me. “You can wait.”

Yeah, I believed that was sincere. Apparently Brenna did. Her hazel eyes glazed with tears, and her chin quivered. The fish took the bait. She turned, sniffed, and walked with her shoulders drooping back to her table.

I could have been working on a CAD drawing right then. Or watching the latest Bourne movie with Dad. Or sleeping, for heaven’s sake. Any part of my dull life would have been better than being stuck on a hook in the middle of this obnoxious club.

Should have known that the only reason a good-looking guy would notice me was so that he could use me as fishing tackle.

“I should go talk to her.” Aiden sighed as if it were actually a burden. “She might make a scene.”