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“Things change, same as people,” he said with a little smirk at her sassiness. Luna had never been afraid to voice what she thought, it was one of the many things he’d loved about her.
His thoughts skidded to halt. Love was far too big a word. Once upon a time, when he was young and dumb, he might have loved and adored her. Now he was simply infatuated by her and the memories they shared.
That his past memories had been so hard to overcome wasn’t something he was going to be able to let go of easily now. She’d been a big part of his life—huge—and he had no illusions he was just going to be able to let go of her like he had all those years ago.
But he was a fool if he imagined letting her go even back then had been easy. He’d been so shattered, so grief-stricken, seeing their relationship die had just become another funeral in his mind.
“Hey,” she said, clicking her fingers. “Is everything okay?”
He tossed some more of his drink down and said, “I’m fine. We’re fine.”
She laughed, though her humor verged on hostility. “Yes, of course we are.”
The next few hours flew by as the band started up and played song after song. Aiden couldn’t count how many men stared at Luna openly the more alcohol they consumed. He smiled. It couldn’t be healthy to be so smug and superior to those other men just because Luna was his—what? Clearly she wasn’t his girlfriend. So what did that make her? His lover? His date?
Fuck. What did it say about him to have no idea what their relationship should be classified as? It wasn’t rocket science. He’d never before had a problem with cataloguing a woman in the past. One night stand had become his favorite phrase, followed by short term lover.
But things with Luna were different. It always had been. He’d been stupid to imagine he could walk away from her after a night or two of renewed intimacy. Not even renewed. Being that they’d never gone all the way, sex with her was a learning curve for them both.
That she knocked his socks off in that department shouldn’t come as a surprise to him, either. She’d always been...sexual, even if they’d never had intercourse.
The band slid into a crooning rock ballad, and he knew right there and then he wanted to hold Luna in his arms. “Let’s dance,” he said.
She nodded, finishing off her drink before he caught her hand in his and led her out onto the crowded floor. Theatrical smoke hissed, the pulsing lights above slowing to the beat and giving out romantic vibes as she stepped into his arms like she’d never left them.
His chest ached. Holding her felt so natural and right. His hands that clutched her ass tugged her closer, pressing her against his arousal that pulsed inside his pants like a damn anaconda. He leaned his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.
But not before he caught sight of Liam. His brother had the biggest grin on his face, clearly delighted to see Aiden back with Luna. He probably imagined this was it for Aiden, that he’d marry the woman in his arms and become all settled down like their eldest brother, Galan.
Fat chance. But though he resisted snorting out denial, he couldn’t prevent a sudden shaft of need from sweeping through him.
The dance came to an end all too quickly, and Luna stepped back and said, “I need to use the ladies room.”
He nodded, his eyes holding hers. She looked like a deer in headlights, about to bolt to safety. “I’ll grab us another drink.”
She smiled abstractedly as she left him to make her way through the crowd surging onto the dancefloor as another rock song pounded through the sound system.
The long bar was so jam-packed that even being one of the owners didn’t give him faster access to drinks. He waited his turn, trying to keep an eye out for Luna when there were so many women coming and going into the ladies room.
When he finally got his order, he moved back to the dance floor, where he found Luna dancing with some random guy who was clearly into her. The guy was too good looking for Aiden’s peace of mind, with his blond, surfer guy good looks, his tanned skin against his white dress shirt and navy chinos.
Aiden clenched the glasses in his hand, barely noticing his brother, Liam, coming to stand beside him and watching alongside him as Luna danced and laughed with the other man. It wasn’t until the stranger spun her around that Liam leaned close and said, “They look good together, don’t they?”
“Fuck off,” Aiden growled.
Liam laughed. “You never did get over her, did you?”
Aiden turned to his brother, then handed the drinks to him. “Hold these for me, will you.” He winked. “The umbrella in that drink suits you.”
He thought he might have heard Liam snort before the music fully engulfed him, along with the intoxicated guests taking up the floor as they danced and swayed and shimmied, some completely out of synch to the beat, while others seemed naturally attuned.
Like Luna and her dance partner.
He tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “I think it’s time I cut in. I want to dance this song with my girlfriend.”
The man’s face dropped. “She’s your girl?”
Aiden nodded and the man’s mouth compressed, before he stepped back and out of the way, fading into the crowd of dancers.
