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“What did you say?” I ask.
“I said, I slept with you all night and discovered something,” he said patiently.
I had totally missed this part of the conversation while I was reliving the one night that Aden and I shared. From the sparkle in his eye, I got the feeling this was leading somewhere. I should probably worry about that, because he looks almost cocky right now.
“What did you discover?”
“I didn’t snore loud enough to wake you or Jack,” he says.
Oh shit.
“In fact, you snored and woke me up.”
“I don’t snore!”
“Honey, you do.”
“I do not.
“Whatever you need to believe. The point is, I didn’t wake up you or Jack.”
“Oh…”
“Any idea how that could happen?”
“Miraculous healing powers of the Idaho valley?” I asked, hopefully.
Aden stares at me in shock. Then, he does something I like almost better than anything else that’s happened so far.
He throws his head back and laughs.
It’s a laugh that wraps around me and makes me smile. It’s a laugh that feels…free It’s a laugh that’s followed by another kiss.
And it must be said…
I liked that even more.
thirty-four
aden
“You are a genius!” Hope cries, running towards me full speed. I catch her and bring her up against me, while she laughs and wraps her arms so they loop behind my neck.
“I’m glad you think so,” I grin. “Can I ask what brought you to this conclusion?”
“We have four rooms rented, Aden! Four!” she squeals in victory. “You’re a genius!”
“How’s that?” I ask. I mean I’m glad she thinks it, but I’m not understanding the correlation between the two.
“They heard about our motel on the radio! Your ad you convinced the local radio station to do worked!!! Aden! We have guests!!!” she cries.
“I’m glad honey,” I answer, enjoying the happiness on her face.
“You did it! You made us a success!”
“No honey. I didn’t.”
“What? Of course you did! Didn’t you hear what I just said? We have four rooms rented! And two of those are renting for the weekend too!!!”
“Babe, I didn’t do that. You did,” I tell her honestly, cupping the side of her face.
“What? It was your ads…”
“Hope, look around. What do you see?”
“Aden, I don’t understand.”
“Look around. The colors of the motel, the fresh paint, the landscaping, the neon sign and the vintage feel that you wanted, who did all that?”
“I hired…”
“You did it. The stuff you had to hire out, you did, true. But, I know in my heart—even if I can’t remember it—that you are the one who did the painting, the cleaning and washing, the designing, the landscaping—”
“You’ve helped with the landscaping, Aden. You’ve helped with a lot.”
“Just lately. I didn’t help you at all before, did I?”
“Uh… Well no. But it wasn’t your job,” she says, looking down at the ground.
“I’m a man. A man, if he’s any kind of a man, works and breaks his back to help his woman and to provide for her.”
“Aden maybe we should talk—”
“I can’t remember our past, but I think it’s coming through loud and clear that I was not a man, not a good one.”
“It is?” she asks, blinking. “I think maybe you’re being unfair.”
“I’m glad the accident happened,” I confess, and her body goes rigid against me.
“You don’t mean that. Aden you could have died hitting that concrete like that and it was all my fault. You told me I needed to fix the railing. You did. I should have hired it done, but money has been so tight and I was worried no one would come stay here. I was afraid to spend much more. So I was going to fix it. I had it on my list, but I had so much to do and I was trying to take care of Jack and I just…”
“Hope. I should have fixed it for you. I was here, I could have done it.”
“It wasn’t your—”
“Did I have my dick inside of you, Hope?”
“What?” she gasps.
“While the fence was messed up, Babe. Was. My. Dick. Inside. You?”
“Well…”
“Simple question, Hope.”
“It’s a rude question,” she mutters, looking down at the ground.
“What’s the answer?” I grin.
“Yes, Aden you had your dick inside of me, while the fence was messed up. Though I fail to see what that has to do with anything,” she all but growls.
“Because I told you, but I don’t think you got it, so I’m going to say it again.”
“Aden, we really need to—”
I press my lips to hers, to stop her from talking.
“A man, who is any kind of man, gives his dick to a woman, and that woman is a good woman, he takes care of her. He doesn’t tell her to fix something, he fixes it for her.”
“I… I don’t know how to process this. I don’t know how to process you, really. You’re… so different from before,” she whispers, and I can see unshed tears shining in her eyes.
