“Sounds good. I’ll get changed.”
Again, she had to mention nudity in front ofhim. When she felt a blush creeping up her neck, she closed thedoor. Hurrying to the dresser, she pulled out a black sweater andtugged a pair of jeans from a hanger in the closet. She dressed,ran a brush through her hair, and gave herself a criticalinspection.
She couldn’t recall the last time she’dcared about her looks, but now she found herself fluffing her hair.She picked at the small defect in the stitching of her sweater thatenabled her to buy it at 60 percent off the regular price. The oddstitch was almost unnoticeable, but it became all she couldsee.
Stop it!
She released the sweater, slipped her feetinto her sneakers, and hurried to the door. She knocked beforestepping into Aiden’s room. He sat on the edge of the bed, hishands clasped before him and his head bowed as if he were in painor deep contemplation. When she entered, he looked up at her andfroze.
Aiden swore his heart stopped when Maggiestepped through the door. Her thick, auburn hair flowing around herface and down to the middle of her back emphasized the lovelinessof her features. Her sweater and jeans hugged her slender waist,round hips, and full breasts. Feeling like an awkward teen again,he couldn’t stop staring at her while he rose.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured.
She glanced nervously away before meetinghis eyes again. “You’re not so bad yourself, Nosferatu.”
He smiled at her as he walked over and heldhis arm out to her. “I think that’s a high compliment coming fromyou.”
“It is.”
Leading her out of his room, he closed thedoor behind them and walked with her down the hall to the elevator.Maggie fixated on the numbers as they descended to the lobby andstepped out. Aiden escorted her into the dimly lit restaurant witha large, square-shaped, mahogany bar in the center. Glasses hungfrom racks above the bar. They had a good crowd for a weekday inMarch; she suspected many of those gathered within were locals andnot guests.
A young, pretty woman led them to a booth inthe back and set their menus on the table. “Enjoy,” she said beforewalking away.
Maggie lifted the menu, flipped through it,and set it down again. She already knew what she wanted. When thewaiter came, she ordered her steak as rare as they would cook itand a whiskey on the rocks. Aiden also ordered a steak andwhiskey.
The waiter collected their menus and leftthem to sit, staring awkwardly at each other. Maggie swore her mindhad abandoned her as she fumbled for something to say to him. “Youtold me you're one of ten,” she finally said and sipped her water.“Where do you fall into the ten? Are you the oldest, youngest,middle?”
“I’m the fourth, so I guess I’m toward themiddle,” Aiden replied.
“What is it like to have so manysiblings?”
“Our house can get pretty hectic.”
“It was probably more chaotic than some ofthe group homes I stayed in, and you couldn’t get away from yourfamily. At least when someone pissed me off, I knew there was achance one of us would be leaving soon.”
“And they pissed me off often,” Aiden saidwith a chuckle.
“I bet.”
When the waiter came back with her whiskey,she gripped the glass but didn’t drink it. “Do you have any niecesand nephews?”
“Six,” he replied, “and I’m sure my siblingswill make more.”
“Wow.”
She had no idea what else to say, so shelifted her whiskey and downed it. “You have a high tolerance,”Aiden remarked when she set her glass down.
“It’s something I’ve always had.”
“So do I, so do all vampires.” He’d leanedacross the table as he said the last word, but there was no onewithin earshot of them.
“Another little piece of the Magdalenepuzzle I didn’t know was missing,” she said.
The waiter returned to ask if she would likea refill.
“No need to ask, just keep them coming,”Maggie said with a smile as Aiden drank his whiskey and slid hisempty glass next to hers.
The waiter smiled at her as he collected theglasses. He didn’t acknowledge Aiden who scowled at his back whenhe turned away.
