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“Spare me.” I roll my eyes. “You’re barely over thirty.”
“Thirty-two in four months,” he points out. “Practically over the hill.”
“I’ll be sure to start picking out your room at the nursing home.”
Aiden gives me an expression of mock relief. “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about, I guess.”
“It’s my master plan,” I say seriously. “Edge you right out of the house and raise Sophie as my supervillain sidekick.”
“Good luck with that one,” Aiden snorts. “Sophie fights me to brush her teeth some mornings. Something tells me she won’t have the patience for organized crime.”
“Well, shit.” I shake my head. “There goes my five-year plan.”
The sun is climbing higher in the sky, and Aiden turns up his face, covering his eyes as he frowns. “Maybe I should have brought Sophie some sunscreen.”
“She’ll be getting hungry soon, anyway. She’ll be fine.”
“You’re right. I’ll let her play a little longer, and then we can go. I don’t want her to burn.”
“Did you know that pigs can get sunburns?”
Aiden somehow looks incredulous and amused all at once. “Where do you keep these, exactly?”
“You got me.” I raise my fist to knock at my own skull. “They’re probably taking up all the extra space I should be saving for something more important. Like tax law, maybe.”
I notice his mouth quirk from the corner of my eye, and I have to bite back my own smile to keep from looking too giddy. We both sit quietly for a time, watching Sophie enjoy herself, and I don’t even realize I’m still grinning to myself until I catch Aiden watching me out of the corner of my eye.
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “She just looks so happy.”
He’s still watching me, that same unreadablesomethingin his expression that has me wishing I could read his thoughts. “No, it’s... there’s nothing to apologize for.”
“I know I overstepped when we last talked, but... it really has made a difference, I think. Her being able to spend more time with you.”
“You didn’t,” he counters, finally averting his gaze to watch Sophie. “Overstep. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“Still. I’m sure it’s annoying for someone who’s barely been around a month acting like she knows everything.”
Aiden laughs quietly. “It’s so weird. It feels like it’s been longer than that.”
“Really?”
“Maybe it’s because you and Sophie hit it off so well.”
“She never did put dirt in my bed, at least.”
He smiles softly, still watching Sophie. “I’m just glad you’re not angry with me.”
“I swear, I never was.”
I am trying to pretend that I’m not sneaking glances at him, not noticing the way the wind ruffles his hair or the way his jeans fit or how his dark gray Henley hugs his chest—but it’s hard to do that when Aiden keeps catching me, stealing glances himself.
“Good,” he says finally. “It just felt weird. Like you were avoiding me.”
“Yeah, well... you avoided me first.”
Aiden’s face splits into a grin. “We aren’t very good at handling our emotions, are we?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Avoiding awkward situations is the absolute best way of handling them, in my experience.”
