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“I suppose there is something standing between us…quite literally.”
He taps the bed with a finger, once, twice, three times. He continues to smile up at me, looking unflappable. Sometimes I hate how smooth he can be, while I am always a twisted mess of knots inside.
“Indeed, we do,” I reply.
“What would you be comfortable with? Tonight, I mean.”
My hands separate and I place my bottom down on the bed. My arms and legs are exposed, as well as some generous cleavage. I would be lying if I said I had never thought about being in this situation with the handsome Aiden.
But not as his fake wife.
“I’m okay sleeping in the same bed, if you are,” I reply. “Or I can take the couch…”
Aiden scoffs and stands back up. He begins to unbutton his shirt as he speaks, and I get distracted by the sudden presence of his sleek shoulder muscles.
“Absolutely not. If anything, I can take the couch. If you don’t like the idea of sharing a bed.”
My thoughts bloom into romance, naughtiness, the content of library books I had seen my mother rent on her bedside table. The ones with the photos of men with their glistening bare chest, embracing a woman who can only swoon in his arms.
I swallow, trying to rid the thoughts from my mind, willing them not to spread to my body.
“I am fine with the bed. You don’t need to sleep on the couch, Aiden.”
He removes his shirt, still nodding along. He reveals thick shoulder muscles and arms, now wearing only a white undershirt. I stifle the urge to bite my lip.
“I’m going to have a few drinks with Cameron at the third floor bar. Pisco, I think it’s called. You can do whatever you want, of course. I figured that would give you some privacy, at least. I will try not to be late or wake you if you go to sleep.” He hesitates, the first flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “Is that okay?”
I nod and circle my finger around the bed. My eyes are downcast when I pose the next question.
“Aiden.”
“Hmm?”
He has placed a sweater over his undershirt, still wearing his dress pants from the ceremony. His eyes regard me curiously with their glistening beauty.
“What happens after all this?” I ask, feeling brave. “Now that we’re married, I mean.”
He has his hand on the door handle and lets it go to give me his full attention. “I feel like the best next steps are for you to live as my wife. At least, for a certain amount of time. In a while, my father will strike a business arrangement with Ada’s father that isn’t dependent on my marrying her, now that it’s off the table. We’ll just have to keep up appearances for now.”
“And what will that look like?”
Aiden slides his jaw back and forth in consideration. I know he is hesitant about what to say, but I just want him to spit out.
“You will live with me. We will go to events together as a wife and husband. Those kinds of things.”
I feel my heart getting heavy as my bravery begins to fade. I nod to him, and he tilts his head tenderly at me. It makes me feel special, even if he isn’t doing it the way he would at a real wife.
“We can talk about the details more tomorrow. I want you to have a say in what you want, of course. You think it over, too.”
“Of course.”
He leaves the room, reiterating that he will try not to be late. The second the door closes, I fall onto the bed, spreading my legs and arms wide like a starfish, and let out a heaving sigh.
I have no idea how to walk this line with him. I am only getting more and more drawn to him, my attraction swelling, my guilt growing along with it. He has done so much for me. Yet I can’t help but to want even more.
I listen to the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline, slowly starting to doze away into the dream world.
24
