I twisted around, looping my arms around his shoulders. “Hey, you.” I tipped up on my toes and brushed my lips over his cheek.
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “What kind of hello is that?” His beard grazed my skin as his kiss lingered, deep and loving, but ending too soon. “Love you.”
“Love you more.”
“You sure we have to go to this barbecue?” he murmured, squeezing my hip. “I’ve got this real nice bed—”
A shriek from across the yard cut off his naughty train of thought.
“Hey, hey, hey!”
I ducked a guilty glance around Aiden’s shoulder. Brooke stood in the front doorway with her hand on her hip. Her other hand had a death grip on a clipboard.
“Yolanda warned me you two would waste time with that”—she flapped a furious hand in our direction—“kissing nonsense. Cut that out. We’re on a schedule.”
Aiden tilted his head, his voice low by my ear. “Who gave her a clipboard?”
I was quick to cover my smirk behind my hand. “She gaveherselfa clipboard.”
Aiden muttered a curse under his breath, and I choked back my laugh when Brooke flashed a ferocious glare in my direction. Wow. She wasnotplaying around anymore. This morning she’d been bossy, but now she was in full-on organising meltdown mode.
Her foot tapped impatiently. “Well? You two gonna stand there all day? I thought we had a house to move into. No?”
She barked orders from the list of jobs pinned to her clipboard. My eyebrows popped up. Harry crept out of the darkness of the hallway behind her, and his index finger pressed over his lips, warning us to keep quiet.
Aiden started whistling and looking up at the sky. A grin burst out of me.
Brooke’s eyes narrowed. “Are you two even listening? We’re already behind schedule. The barbecue starts in exactly one hour, and we still have—”
The high-pitched squeal she shrieked when Harry’s hands clamped around her waist jolted through Aiden like a lightning bolt. My hand shot to his arm, and he sagged into me, his muscles relaxing under my touch. He shook out his clenched fist.
Harry planted kisses over Brooke’s neck until he spun her around. “You kicking butt and taking names, Princess?”
She pouted. “I’m trying, but they’re ruining my schedule.”
“Aw, yeah? And you’re working so hard to keep us all on track, huh? What do you need, Princess? Want a shoulder rub while you talk me through your list again?”
Her red lips curved in a smile. “What about more kisses?”
Harry grinned. “Yeah, I’ve got a never-ending supply of those for you.”
His lips were on her in a flash. She melted against him like butter on toast, but his eyes stayed open, darting over to us. He raised his eyebrows. Waited. Raised them again.
Wait… What?
Exasperated, he frantically waved us through.
Whoops.
Distracted by Harry’s sloppy public display of affection, Brooke didn’t notice us slip past her and the never-ending list of jobs stuck to her clipboard. We escaped inside the farmhouse and headed for the kitchen.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Ruth stirred a pot on the ancient cooktop. Was she making chili? I sniffed the air. Whatever bubbled on the stove smelledyummy. Her head turned ever so slightly. She knew we hovered in the doorway, but she refused to acknowledge us.
Aiden coughed into his fist.
Ruth’s head whipped around. Her dark eyes narrowed, and she snorted an indignant huff over her shoulder before turning her back.
