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She made it sound like he spent every night at home. True, it’d been months since he’d been on a date, but he met up with his friends on a somewhat regular basis. “You make it sound like I’m a recluse. But since you’re so concerned about my life, you’ll be glad to know Juliette and I have plans for tomorrow.”
Although now that he thought about it, maybe he’d invite her over for dinner tonight. The power had been out for over forty-eight hours. The food in her refrigerator would no longer be any good, and she did need to eat.
His sister’s smile returned. “Excellent. What are you doing?”
Good question. “No idea. She asked me, so she’s planning the night.” And he looked forward to seeing what she came up with.
Chapter 11
“Thanks for the invite, but I have plans tonight,” Aaron said as he logged off his computer and switched off the lights over his desk. After getting ready for his night out, he’d come back in to check his email one last time. He’d been in the middle of answering one when his phone rang.
Like any other Tuesday, he’d spent much of the day in his home office. Today though, he’d struggled to stay focused on his numerous projects because his brain insisted on thinking about Juliette and the time they’d spent alone together as well as last night with Tiegan. Once his sister left for class, he’d called Juliette and invited her to join him and Tiegan for dinner. She’d accepted with no hesitation. He hoped her reason for joining them had more to do with wanting to see him rather than the fact she didn’t have much in her kitchen to eat.
Whatever her true reason for coming, he’d been a little jealous of his niece, a fact he wasn’t proud of, throughout the evening, because while he’d had Juliette’s undivided attention over the weekend, his niece got most of it last night.
While he prepared dinner, Tiegan and Juliette sat at the kitchen table and discussed their favorite dance styles. Later, while they ate, Juliette listened as Tiegan talked about her past recitals as well as the dance competitions she’d participated in. Naturally, that discussion led to Juliette sharing details about the years she’d spent on stage.
Since he’d had nothing to add—he didn’t know the difference between ballet and lyrical—he’d eaten his dinner and watched the interaction between Juliette and his niece. He didn’t know if Juliette spent a lot of time around children Tiegan’s age, but she was clearly comfortable with his niece. She didn’t talk down to her or insist her opinions were wrong. Perhaps even more importantly, Juliette didn’t give any sign she’d heard enough from his niece and wanted her to stop talking. While he loved the girl to death, even he sometimes grew tired of listening when she went on and on about a topic. Especially when the topic was one he knew nothing about.
Eventually, Tiegan retreated upstairs to call a friend. With his niece upstairs, though, he figured it was far safer for them to stay in the kitchen. Tiegan had seen people kiss before, and he knew Candace had already had the whole sex talk with her—a conversation he’d been glad she had to handle and not him after Tiegan came home sharing what she’d heard some kids saying on the bus. Still, he didn’t want her to come back downstairs and find him with his hand under Juliette’s shirt—assuming she let him put it there. Not wanting whatever this thing between them was to move too fast, he’d kept his hands from wandering too far over the weekend.
“You’ve got plans on a Tuesday night? Doing what?” Junior asked.
He’d known Maxwell Regan, Jr., better known as Junior, since middle school. And it wasn’t unheard of for them to meet up with some of their other friends on a random weeknight. If Junior had called last Tuesday and asked him to meet him at Renegade, a pub in Ashford, for a beer and to watch the game, Aaron would have gone.
“I have a date.” Juliette hadn’t given him any hint as to what they were doing tonight, so even if he wanted to tell Junior more, he couldn’t.
“With anyone I know?” Junior might not have lived in Avon his whole life, but he knew many of the residents, especially those that were around their age. “Or is it someone from work?”
The last woman he’d dated had worked at Gilcrest Banking and Financial as his department head’s personal assistant. He’d met her one afternoon when he’d gone in to meet with Stephen. If he told Junior he was going out with someone from work now, his friend would be
lieve it without question. But if someone saw him and Juliette together and recognized her, which he suspected some people would, it’d eventually get back to Junior.
“No. Juliette doesn’t work at Gilcrest.” He saw no reason to give Junior any additional information. Not that he’d want one anyway, but Junior didn’t give him a bio sheet on every woman he dated. “Maybe we can get together next week. Say hello to Robby and Broderick for me.”
“Will do. And if your date ends early, you know where to find us.”
Aaron checked the time before he shoved his cell phone in his back pocket. The doorbell rang before he closed the door.
“I got it.” Tiegan flew past him toward the front door. No doubt she’d seen Juliette’s car stop out front through the kitchen window and couldn’t wait to talk her ear off again.
He followed at a somewhat slower pace, although in truth he wanted to sprint toward the door. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since he last saw Juliette, but damn, he was eager to see her again.
Maybe a little too eager. True, before last weekend, it’d been months since he’d spent time with a woman, but lack of any kind of romantic relationship couldn’t account for the overwhelming anticipation that settled in his stomach the moment he stepped out of bed this morning and ruined his concentration all day. No, the blame rested solely on the fact he had a night with Juliette ahead of him.
“Are you staying for dinner again?” his niece asked Juliette as he joined them. “We’re having roasted chicken tonight. Nana is already here. She brought over eclairs. She bought them at Sweet Tooth, so they won’t be as good as the ones she makes, but they’re not bad.”
If his mom had brought over eclairs, he hoped his sister saved him one. She knew how much he liked them, regardless of whether they were store-bought or homemade. Although the ones his mom and Candace made were far superior to anything you got from a bakery.
“No, I’m not staying for dinner, but eclairs sound tasty. I’m here to pick up your uncle.” Juliette smiled at him, all but knocking him on his ass. Even first thing in the morning when she woke up, the woman was beautiful. When she smiled, though, only one word described her: breathtaking.
Tiegan’s expression spoke volumes when she looked over at him. “Oh.” She glanced back at their guest. “Are you guys going on a date or something?”
“You don’t mind if I borrow your uncle for the night, do you?”
Tiegan shook her head. “Nope. Mom and Nana are always telling Uncle Aaron he needs to go out more. When they find out you’re going out, they’ll be happy.”
Thanks for sharing. Candace needed to remind her daughter that she shouldn’t share everything she heard while sitting at the kitchen table. Later, he’d tell his sister that.
