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Aspen tried to hide her smile, but it was impossible and breathtaking. “I think I'm about to swoon,” she teased pretending to have her knees go out.
I caught her easily, laughing as I hauled her against me. “You know I'll never let you fall,” I said, dipping down to still a quick kiss.
She wrapped her arms around me, kissing me back, but then her name was called and we quickly pulled out of the embrace to grab our drinks. Her eyes watched me eagerly as I brought my lips to the straw and took a drink, instantly moaning around the burst of flavors in my mouth.
“That is good,” I said nodding at her.
She grinned clapping a little before she took a drink of her own.
“You have to try the mango too,” she said, offering me her straw. I immediately took a sip, enjoying that one as well.
“Can't believe I've never tried this before,” I said, glancing around the little tea shop and noticing that it was crowded for a Wednesday afternoon. The gears in my mind started turning and I pulled out my phone to do a quick search before pocketing it again.
Aspen looked at me knowingly, arching a brow. “What are you up to?” she asked.
“I was just checking to see if they were franchised,” I explained, holding the door open for her as we continued our leisurely walk down the street.
Aspen chuckled, shaking her head as she continued to drink her tea.
“What?” I asked, wrapping my free arm around her as we pulled over to window shop at a boutique a few blocks down.
“I just love the way your mind works,” she said with a shrug. “Most people go into their favorite businesses just to enjoy the products, but if you see a good one your mind instantly goes to investing in it. You just landed the energy deal in India, you have a highly successful NHL team, and more franchises and investments than I know how to keep track of. And yet you want more?”
“You know the insatiable appetite I have,” I said, flashing her pointed look that made a beautiful flush dance across her cheeks.
“I do,” she said. “And that's another thing that I’m very fond of. But…” She stopped herself, focusing more on the jewelry and outfits in the window than on me.
“But what?” I asked.
“It's nothing,” she said. “I just wonder what it is you're really searching for?”
“I have an empire to uphold,” I said easily.
She nodded. “No, I know that,” she said. “I understand that you were left with a giant responsibility at a young age, andthat you have a sense of responsibility when it comes to filling your parents’ shoes and ensuring their legacy lives on, not to mention in the beginning you outdid yourself in order to ensure that Bristol was taken care of. It’s something I can totally understand, obviously. But have you ever stopped and wondered if you’re doing all of this because of the responsibility or because youwantto?”
I swallowed hard, her words hitting me dead center in the chest. I'd never been asked something like that before, let alone took the time to think about it.
“And it can be both,” she hurried to continue. “It doesn't have to be one or the other. I was just curious because I know that there are things I’ve thought about, those fun little dreams that happen late at night when you think about if your life was different. I can’t help but wonder if there’s something you really want that has nothing to do with your empire?”
“I...” Damn. I literally had no idea how to answer her question.
Something expanded in my chest, this flood of warmth that Aspen understood me on so many different levels in such a short time. It felt like we’d spent years getting to know each other versus the last couple months. And I had no idea if that was just because of the easy way we got along or if it was because of the crash course of getting to know each other we'd had in the beginning of our agreement. Either way, it touched something inside of me, stirring up a whole slew of emotions that I didn't exactly know how to regulate.
“No one's ever asked me that before,” I admitted. “I'll get back to you when I find out.”
She turned and smiled up at me. “No worries,” she said. “I get it. You love your life, and you're really fucking good at living it. You don'tneedto want anything else. I was just curious.”
I nodded down at her, tucking her under my arm again as we continued to walk.
She wasn't wrong. I did love my life, but I had felt restless recently. The little shots of dopamine of buying a franchise or winning a Stanley Cup had lost its allure, not because it wasn't worth everything, because it was.
I was incredibly lucky, and lived a very privileged life that I was completely aware of. But I couldn’t deny the small itch that I hadn't been able to scratch for a while now.
And I always tried to satisfy it with more businesses or more women, more parties or more trips around the world, but in the end, when I was home and alone, it was still there, plaguing me with its uncertainty.
Though lately—the last two months to be precise—I hadn't been as bothered by it. Of course, I’d been incredibly busy, and more than distracted with Aspen.
Maybe that's all it was.
