She nodded and grabbed the bus pan, even though her dad had said he’d take it. It was something to do with her hands. “Thanks again for the help.”
Her dad walked him and the other customers to the door, talking and laughing with them in that easy way he had with the patrons, and she watched them go. There was a little tension in Aidan’s shoulders, which probably mirrored her own.
Once he’d locked the doors, her dad sighed and gestured to Fitz. “Help out, old man. Let’s get this place cleaned up so my girl can get home.”
Not that she was in any hurry, Lydia thought. It wasn’t as if she’d be getting any sleep. With the memory of that kiss to relive and savor, she had a feeling she’d do more sheet-twisting and pillow-punching than sleeping.
* * *
YOU’REANASSHOLE,plain and simple.Aidan curled his fingers over the edge of the porcelain sink bowl the next morning, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
Kissing Lydia Kincaid in the pool room of Kincaid’s Pub with Tommy sitting at the bar made him an asshole. Looking Scotty in the face two hours ago when they’d shown up for the day tour without saying a word about what he’d done made him an asshole. And the real kicker was that he wanted to kiss her again.
No matter how he tried to justify it in his mind, he couldn’t make those simple facts go away. He wanted Lydia and he shouldn’t. Therefore, he was an asshole.
“Hey, Hunt, you dead?” Jeff Porter pounded on the bathroom door. “I think Eriksson does the best mouth-to-mouth, if you need a little pick-me-up.”
“I’m not dead,” Aidan shouted back. “Gimme a freakin’ minute.”
“You’ve had a lot of minutes. I’m gonna take the Halligan to the door in not too manymoreminutes.”
Aidan yanked open the door and glared at the big man as he pushed by. “You ladder guys need to learn some manners. Here, it’s all yours.”
Porter grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m good. I was just bustin’ your balls.”
“Asshole.” Aidan went into the kitchen to see if there were any doughnuts left. There were two cinnamon sugar ones, which were everybody’s least favorite, but they met the definition of junk food, so he grabbed a mug of coffee and sat down in front of the box.
The last thing Aidan needed was anybody trying to bust his balls. They were on the verge of exploding all on their own, without any help. He’d hoped kissing Lydia would get the need out of his system, but it had backfired on him.
It might have gotten the overwhelming need to kiss her out of his system, but now he’d been left with an even more overwhelming need for more. More Lydia. More kissing and more touching. More of her voice in his ear when it was low and husky with desire. More of her hands on his body.
He broke off a chunk of doughnut and shoved it into his mouth. Maybe a sugar high would help.
After taking a long swallow of coffee to wash it down, he took another bite. Then another. Fifteen minutes later, the doughnuts and coffee were setting up like concrete in his stomach, and he leaned back in his chair and debated on catching a quick nap.
Scotty walked in at that moment and poured a cup of coffee. Then he peeked in the doughnut box and scowled when he saw that it was empty. “You didn’t save me one? What the hell kind of friend are you?”
Guilt punched Aidan in the gut, and he felt the blood drain out of his face. If Scotty only knew just how bad a friend he was. He should tell him, he thought. He should tell Scott he’d kissed his sister and let him do what he had to do. Maybe he’d take such a beating from her brother that he’d shy away from ever being within touching distance of Lydia again.
“Jesus, Hunt. I was kidding. What the hell’s wrong with you?” Scotty hooked a chair rung with his foot and dragged it away from the table so he could sit down.
“I’m just tired. I thought maybe I could fend off the urge to nap with a sugar rush. But mostly I just feel like I need a longer nap now.”
“You’re turning into an old man. You need a girlfriend, my friend.”
“I don’t think getting laid is going to cure my need for a nap.”
“Not just getting laid, dumbass. A real girlfriend. You’re getting into a rut and you need somebody to have fun with. To go to the movies and shit with, you know?”
Aidan stared into his empty coffee mug so he wouldn’t have to look his friend in the face. He didn’t want to go to the movies with a girlfriend. He wanted to go some place private with Lydia and maybe reenact some late-night movies. Which, of course, he shouldnotbe thinking about right now, with Scott in the room.
“You’re one to talk,” Aidan said. “Grant told me you and Piper are no more.”
Because he looked over when he said it, he saw Scott’s expression change. He actually looked regretful, if not downright sad, which was different for him. “She was just chasing the bennies, and she was willing to get knocked up to get them.”
The idea a woman would get pregnant deliberately to get a ring and benefits made Aidan angry on Scotty’s behalf. “Grant said she was after a nose job?”
“Yeah. That’s a helluva story for the grandkids, huh? Well, kids, your grandma wanted plastic surgery, so she trapped me with an unplanned pregnancy and that’s why I drink so much.”
