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“I haven’t slept with her,” Aero blurted out, and Zed’s brows drew together.
“Okay?” Zed sounded confused. “That’s fine.”
Aero nodded, embarrassment creeping up his neck.
“Take your time, dude. I know it’s been a while.”
Aero’s throat constricted, but he pushed past it. “I like her.”
“Of course you do. What’s not to like? She’s smart, pretty, and good with kids.” Zed shrugged. Aero didn’t need to sell him on Sam; he already knew she was a prize.
“What if…” Aero blinked down at the rug.
Zed watched Aero raptly, not interrupting. This was the most the man had ever spoken to him at one time, and he was confiding in him about his love life of all things. It was like being in theTwilight Zone.
“What if she wants more than I can give her?” Aero asked, his voice raspy and strange.
“What do you think she wants?”
“I don’t know. There are,” Aero sighed, “things I can’t give her. Do I take a chance and end up hurting her, or do I let her go?”
Aero looked up at Zed, his green eyes tormented.
“Aero, man, you might be overthinking this. Just take it slow and see what happens. Talk to her. Find out if you’re both headed in the same direction,” Zed suggested calmly, idly wondering when he became someone who gave advice instead of seeking it. A year previous, he had been in Blaze’s office, bemoaning his own predicament and needing someone to tell him what to do.
Levi shifted and let out a small cry. Aero looked down at the boy with concern, but he settled and fell back asleep.
“It’ll be okay, Aero,” Zed told him, standing to take the baby from his arms.
“Thanks,” Aero said gruffly, releasing the boy and watching as Zed headed for the stairs. He paused in the doorway.
“Sam likes orchids,” Zed shared. With that, he ascended the stairs and disappeared.
Aero was confused. Why had Zed told him that? He didn’t need advice on what flowers to send her; he needed advice on how to proceed.
He didn’t want to be the type of guy who slept with a woman and left before the sun came up. Sam deserved better than that. She deserved a relationship with a man who could hold her, protect her, worship her, and give her a life and a family.
Aero’s mind snagged on the word family. He’d had a family once. Instinctively, he pulled out his wallet and slid the photo out.
Sarah’s pretty face smiled back at him, her long blonde hair braided over her shoulder. Her front tooth was slightly crooked, and her bright eyes were warm and tender, despite their icy blue color. They were so familiar to him, yet she felt so far away, like she wasn’t real anymore, like she was someone he’d passed on the street or had seen on television but never really knew.
His gaze shifted to Nora, who was a perfect mix of him and Sarah. She had Sarah’s heart-shaped face and blonde hair, Aero’s nose, and his striking green eyes. Nora was the most beautiful thing he had ever beheld.
Aero remembered the day she was born—the nurse handing him a screaming, wiggling pink bundle. She’d quieted in his arms, and he’d held her to his chest, unashamed tears trailing down his face. He’d kissed Sarah’s forehead. She was exhausted after sixteen hours of labor but smiled widely at him. He’d thanked her for the gift of their child over and over, sitting beside her on the bed as they enjoyed their baby.
He smiled sadly and ran a finger over their faces, but slipped the photo back into his wallet at the sound of a door slamming somewhere in the clubhouse. He sniffed, blinking away the wetness that had gathered in his eyes, and moved to head upstairs.
Laying in bed, Aero stared up at the ceiling, sleep eluding him.
He was trying to remember the last time he’d had a nightmare. He hadn’t hurt anyone since the encounter with Blaze, but that was because no one came into his room when he had one. He woke up alone, sweating and breathing hard, his muscles tense.
Rolling over, he pulled the small notebook from his nightstand and flipped through it. His block script filled the pages with dates and details of his nightmares, written shakily between the lines. The last one was dated four weeks prior, before he’d started seeing Sam.
He wasn’t going to say she was the reason he’d stopped having nightmares. That was ridiculous. No person could alter someone’s dreams, alleviate the symptoms of their disorders, or make them miraculously better when they’d been broken for so long. That was impossible.
Aero did wonder, though, if he could continue the streak and, maybe, stay with Sam.
He wanted to. He wanted Sam pressed against him, her back to his front, their bare skin touching and brushing, while he held her in his arms.
