AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Home. The word fluttered through her thoughts like a butterfly in a flower garden. She couldn’t explain it, but right then, it was as if she’d been waiting for this man to come into her life. As if she belonged in Aaron’s arms, kissing him, and not anywhere else.
The whistling kettle cut through the silence in the room, and she’d never hated an inanimate object more than just then.
Slowly, he pulled back. “Remember where we were so we can finish later.”
Oh, she’d remember, no question about it. She’d also spend some time later processing whatever she’d just felt. She’d experienced excitement and lust while kissing a man enough to recognize it. While both emotions had been present just now, an entirely new and unique emotion had trumped both.
Nodding, she latched on to the first thing that came to her mind as well as the counter for support, because her knees were a tad unsteady. “Do you mind if I get some milk for my tea?”
Turning off the stove, Aaron poured the boiling water into each cup. “Of course not. Help yourself to whatever is in there.” At the counter, he added water to the bowls of oatmeal before setting the teakettle back on the stove. “While you’re in there, can you grab the maple syrup and strawberry jam?”
Juliette grabbed the milk, the items Aaron requested, and the container of fresh blueberries, since he’d told her to get whatever she wanted. She rarely passed on any kind of fresh fruit, and blueberries were her all-time favorite. “Do you know what time everyone will be home?”
After depositing the cereal bowls and teas on the table, he went back for the bread. “Sometime tomorrow,” he answered as he pulled a jar of peanut butter from a cabinet. “I’m surprised Candace didn’t tell you.”
Well, at least she didn’t need to worry about them being suddenly interrupted if they picked up where they left off last night. “Tomorrow is Monday. Doesn’t Tiegan have school?”
“Nope. The teachers have workshops.” Aaron sat down next to her and started making a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich to go along with his oatmeal. “That’s one of the reasons I got the tickets for this weekend instead of next. I figured the three of them could stay longer in Boston and have fun.” He slapped the two slices of bread together. “It’s been a rough year for my sister and niece. But in a lot of ways, I think it’s been worse for Tiegan, so I wanted to make sure she enjoyed her birthday.”
She resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. Other than the male members of her family, she couldn’t recall ever meeting a man who valued family as much as she did until now.
He gestured toward the sandwich with his knife. “Do you want one?”
“I’m all set.” She’d eaten peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and breakfast yesterday, so she’d pass on one this morning. She watched him pour maple syrup on his oatmeal before adding a spoonful of strawberries. She’d never tried it that way, but it looked tasty, so she added a little to hers too. “Where are they staying?”
She didn’t stay in the city often. Until the past year or so, she’d had two relatives living in Boston, and her parents’ home in Weston wasn’t that far away either. On the rare occasion she opted for a hotel room rather than a bed owned by a family member, she had a list of preferred hotels depending on the reason for her time in Boston. If she went to see a show at the Opera House, which was where the Boston Ballet performed, she liked to stay at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza. Built in 1910, it was the oldest Sherbrooke hotel remaining in the city, although not the first constructed there. Although it’d been renovated numerous times over the years, it maintained the elegance of a building constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Plus, it was less than half a mile from the theatre.
Of course, she’d caught him with a mouthful of food. While she waited for an answer, she added milk and sugar to her tea, then tried her oatmeal. The maple syrup gave the oatmeal just the right hint of flavor, making an otherwise rather bland breakfast food sweet but nothing like the sugary cereals marketed to children—the very type her brother-in-law Josh loved and kept in the house.
Aaron washed his sandwich down with tea before he answered. “The Adams Hotel over on Exeter Street. It had mostly four-and-five-star ratings and an indoor pool. When I talked to Candace yesterday, she said it was quite nice.” He took another sip of tea before he continued. “I tried to book something at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza because it’s a little closer, but the prices for a family suite for three nights were a little too steep.”
She parted her lips, prepared to tell him next time he wanted a room at the Sherbrooke Park Plaza or any other hotel owned by Sherbrooke Enterprises just to let her know when and for how long. She shoved another spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth instead of issuing her offer to take care of it for him. Although he knew what family she belonged to, he didn’t bring it up or seem to treat her any differently because of it. She’d prefer to keep it that way. All too often, people either bent over backward to please her or tried to get close to her because of either her societal connections or her contacts in the modeling industry. Even the creep Daniel had inquired about whether she knew certain individuals, and when she admitted she did, he’d hinted at how he’d like an introduction.
“What do you think the chances are we’ll get power back today?”
“No idea. I can try calling my friend Robby later. But he might not answer. He’s probably been out working on the lines since early yesterday.”
“My cousin Curt lives about two hours from here. He left me a message this morning inviting me to stay with him until everything is back to normal. I will call him after we finish breakfast.”
“By the time you get there, we might have electricity back.”
“Maybe, or it could be another whole day.”
He lowered his overflowing spoon back to his bowl. “You’re welcome to stay again tonight if it’s not back on.” Aaron trailed his knuckles along her jaw. The tenderness in his eyes had her wondering where he’d been all her life. “It’s up to you, but I’d like you to stay.”
No sane woman would be able to say no to that. Somehow words seemed inadequate, so she leaned forward and kissed him instead.
Chapter 10
Thankfully, unlike the previous day, a tumble off the sofa and onto the floor hadn’t woken Juliette up. An insistent nose nudging her in the leg had. Of the two methods, she preferred the dog’s way. Once she gave Clifford the attention he wanted, she followed the scent of vanilla into the kitchen, where she found Aaron once again preparing them breakfast. Although this time instead of oatmeal and fruit, he served her perhaps the best french toast she’d eaten in a long time. She was almost through her second cup of coffee and down to her last slice of french toast when Candace and Tiegan walked in the house.
Although Candace’s expression revealed her curiosity, she greeted Juliette with a smile and then helped herself to coffee without asking any questions. Tiegan did the exact opposite. The first thing out of her mouth was to ask if Uncle Aaron had had a sleepover because there was a sleeping bag on the floor and blankets on the sofa. Tiegan didn’t give Aaron a chance to answer before telling Juliette that when her friends slept over, they usually camped out in the living room so they could watch television and get snacks from the kitchen. When she finally gave him a chance to explain the reason for the items in the other room, Tiegan asked if she could invite a friend to sleep over tonight. In the girl’s own words, it had been a super long time since she had a friend spend the night. Unsurprisingly, Candace reminded Tiegan she had school tomorrow, and sleepovers weren’t allowed on school nights. Before Tiegan could argue or complain, Aaron’s sister gave her daughter permission to invite a friend to stay that weekend.
Satisfied with her mom’s offer, Tiegan proceeded to talk about her time in Boston and, more specifically, the show she’d attended with her mom and grandmother. Juliette realized several things while listening to her describe everything from the inside of the theater to the dancers’ costumes. One, it’d been far too long since she attended the ballet or any other show for that matter, and she needed to rectify that soon. It also drove home how much she truly missed dancing.
And by the time she left Aaron’s house and drove back to her cottage, she no longer sat on the fence in regard to opening a dance studio in town. Nope, she had one leg already on the other side and touching the ground. If she moved ahead with the idea, she’d be back to doing something she loved while at the same time giving children like Tiegan, who loved dance as much as she did, a place to study. As far as she saw it, if she went ahead with her plan, it’d be a win-win for everyone. Her plan would also make it much easier to pursue a relationship with Aaron—an endeavor she looked forward to in a way she never had with any other man she’d
met. And judging by the time they’d spent together over the past two days, he shared her interest.
