Page 45

“No. At least, not to me.” Vini’s eyes narrowed. “Why? Did something happen?”

Aiden groaned. “Sort of?” When he saw Vini frown, he groaned again before resolving to just come out with it and get this whole thing over with. “It’s just that, we sort of maybe kissed.”

“How the hell do you sort of maybe kiss someone?” she asked, her voice going high. “You either kissed or you didn’t, so which is it?”

“Fine,” Aiden said throwing his hands up in the air. “I kissed Janae. And she kissed me back.” He added that last bit in before she started thinking that he just slapped one on her and that was it.

Vini was quiet and unmoving as she stared at him. He could almost hear the wheels turning in her mind. She was probably wondering if she needed to call the police on him and let them know there was a rogue car-fixing, kissing bandit roaming the streets, kissing women while discussing bathroom wall colors.

“Explain to me, slowly, how we got here.”

“It just happened, okay?” Aiden muttered. He felt his cheeks heat, and he had to fight the urge to slap his hands over them. He was a grown man. He wasn’t supposed to be getting embarrassed just because he kissed someone. “We were in the bathroom together, looking at paint swatches and she just looked up at me and was so attractive and so fucking close, the next thing I knew . . . we were kissing.”

“But you kissed her first, right?” Vini asked. When he nodded, she asked another question. “And she definitely kissed you back?”

Aiden nodded again, this time his chest full of relief. “Definitely. I would have apologized if she hadn’t.”

Vini snorted. “Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t apologize as soon as your lips were apart?”

He grinned. Vini new him a little too well sometimes. “I mean, I did, but not for the kiss itself.”

She looked at him a moment longer, before nodding once sharply. “Good.”

That surprised Aiden. He was expecting some kind of chastising words regardless of whether or not Janae had actively participated. He didn’t go around just kissing people first and asking for permission later. That was, as Ava often said, uncouth behavior.

“‘Good’? I don’t think that’s quite the word we should be using here.”

Vini frowned and tilted her head. “Was the kiss bad then?”

“No,” he quickly countered. “It was good—really good, in fact. But I shouldn’t have done it then, or the time after that, and I—”

“What do you mean the time after that?” Vini asked, her voice high. “You kissed her more than once?”

Aiden nodded. “Yeah. She just . . . just was being so nice and I wasn’t thinking, and she kissed me after I pulled away. Janae has been super kind by letting me stay there, and I’m not trying to mess things up just because I can’t stop thinking about how attractive she is or how much I like her.”

“Listen, Aiden,” Vini began, “unless Janae herself told you that was a mistake, I don’t see the problem.”

Aiden frowned. “Really?”

“I mean, the fact that she kissed you back both times is pretty telling.” She shrugged. “Besides, life is short. Don’t talk yourself out of something just because you’re scared of what might come next. What do you have to lose by leaping in?”

He huffed out a laugh. “I mean, a place to live for one.”

Vini rolled her eyes but conceded the point. “Then talk to her. You’ve had a crush on her for months. Lay everything out on the table and see what she says. Who knows. Maybe you were so busy trying to seem like you weren’t looking at her that you didn’t even realize she was looking at you.”

That thought stopped Aiden short, and he gave Vini a distracted nod when she gestured they should head back to the truck. He followed her, mind still mulling over her words as he finished the last of his ice-cream cone. A large part of him wanted to believe she could be onto something, but another part of him was still aware of his very precarious position of being a guest in Janae’s home only because he was useful. Would she have extended the offer if he didn’t know a wrench from a screwdriver? He didn’t want to know.

When his shift ended, Aiden grabbed his helmet and plopped onto his Harley. It roared to life beneath him, the sound vibrating through his body. It was a familiar and comforting sensation, and he felt a little lighter as he sped down the two-lane road toward Janae’s house. The wind whipped against his skin, clearing his head, and he smiled as he took in the red and orange leaves that lined the streets. Fall was really and truly here, and he was glad for it. This had always been one of his favorite seasons as a kid, and as an adult, that hadn’t changed. One of his favorite things to do was to hop on his motorcycle and drive to the hills and mountains of north Georgia to do some leaf spotting. He hadn’t had a chance to indulge in that lately with the house repairs, but maybe he could find a few hours to ride around this weekend. It would probably do him some good to get out of the house for a bit, get his head on straight.

By the time he pulled into the driveway, the sun was dipping down below the tree line, setting the sky aglow. He pulled up to the side of the house and took his time draping the cover over his Harley. With the way the wind liked to whip the leaves around, he’d come back out to leaves stuck in random places on his bike, and he didn’t want to deal with sorting all that out. And never mind the random fall downpours. When he finished, he looked up toward the house, warmth spreading in his chest.

The lights were on, giving the home a warm glow. He couldn’t hear inside, but he was knew she was home. When he opened the front door, a deliciously fragrant scent reached him. He dropped his shoes in the front foyer and walked to the kitchen. Janae was at the stove, gently stirring something in a large pot. She looked up when he came in, her curls pulled into a loose bun set high atop her head, a streak of paint on her wrist. The sight made him smile.

“Perfect timing. The food is almost ready.”

“You didn’t have to cook again,” Aiden said, stepping into the kitchen. “It was my turn to make something nice for you.”

She waved him off. “The temperature dropped and I suddenly wanted chili and jalapeño corn bread.”