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I was in a constant state of push and pull over what I wanted, and what I needed from him.
He opened his mouth to talk, closed it, then shook his head slightly. “You’re off this weekend,” he commented.
I nodded slowly. “I’m watching my nephew while my brother and his wife are out of town.” I gestured behind us at the main portion of the gym. “Kelly is covering for me.”
He hummed in assent. “Have a good weekend then.”
Aiden started to walk away, and I watched him carefully. I wanted him to be jealous over his brother flirting with me.
Like he heard me think it, Aiden paused and faced me again. “I shouldn’t have assumed you didn’t want to talk to Beckham. I’m sorry.”
My eyebrows popped up. “It’s fine.”
He nodded.
I took a deep breath, steadily held his gaze, and lifted my chin a touch. “I’m not interested in your brother.”
Aiden went stock-still, and I cursed myself up, down, and sideways for feeling like I needed to explain it to him.
In the moment we locked gazes after I said it, I imagined all sorts of things.
Me saying that I was interested in him.
That he was quickly becoming my favorite person to spend time with.
That I wanted him.
Imagined Aiden striding toward me, gripping my face in both hands and slanting his mouth over mine. My hands snaking under his shirt so I could memorize the muscles with my fingertips. I imagined the way he’d be able to lift me easily, the way he’d be able to move and press and push my body into a knotted tangle of pleasure. Not once, in my entire life, had I fantasized about someone having the strength to hold me down, pin me in place, but sitting in that chair, I knew that I’d let him.
Let had nothing to do with it. I’d beg him to.
I’d give up all control to Aiden, and I had a feeling that he’d know exactly what to do with it.
“Good,” he murmured, eyes holding mine for just a second longer. And then he turned back toward his office.
It was only when he did that I finally started breathing normally. For a while, it seemed like he and I might have found steady ground, a foothold into a new place that I was enjoying.
Maybe I was kidding myself to think that getting to know him better would ever lead to me wanting him less. Because as he walked away, I knew I wasn’t doing so hot getting my feelings for him under control.
And when he glanced back in my direction, I had to wonder if I wasn’t the only one.
Chapter Fifteen
Isabel
“I think we should go out for breakfast,” Emmett said.
We stood side by side, staring into the fridge. Amazingly, our staring did not magically make food appear.
I winced. “We can make something. There’s like … eggs. And bread. And cheese. That’s enough, right?”
He looked up at me. “You’re asking me what to do with those two things? I’m a kid.”
“You’re almost ten.”
“You’re like … twenty-five. If anyone should be able to cook breakfast, it’s you.”
I stared at the shelves with a heavy sigh. “Everyone has talents in this life, Emmett. Cooking is not one of mine.”
