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He laughed and placed his hand on my lower back as he guided us off the dance floor. “You saw how my folks danced, and you wouldn’t think I’d know how?” He stopped at the refreshments table and handed me a bottle of water.
I grinned. “That’s true enough.”
A part of me wanted to ask him if he’d danced with Lisa a lot. I assumed he had. My obsession with constantly comparing every little thing to his life with his deceased wife was beginning to bother me, but I couldn’t help myself.
I glanced back to the dance floor and watched as other couples laughed and moved together, everyone looking so happy. I ached to have a marriage where my husband adored me enough to take me out just for some fun. To dance until we couldn’t take the sexual tension any longer, then went home to make love. Not someone who treated me like a trophy to show off, only to get angry atmewhen other men took notice.Someone who squeezed my arm so tightly on the dance floor, he left bruises.
“You okay? You seem lost in thought,” Aiden said over the music.
Shaking my head to clear the memories, I replied, “Feeling a headache coming on. I think I’m hungry.”
“Then I have the perfect place to take you. Let’s tell my mom and dad we’re leaving.”
I reached for his arm. “If you want to stay and dance, you can. I can make my way home.”
He frowned. “I don’t want to dance with anyone else. Besides, I’m hungry too.”
Smiling, I nodded my head and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach when Aiden grabbed my hand and led us through the room toward his parents. I also tried not to read into his words.
I don’t want to dance with anyone else.
As much as I attempted to tamp down the giddiness, I couldn’t. I enjoyed spending time with Aiden too much.
“Hi! Welcome to Peppers.”
The hostess at the Mexican restaurant was beyond peppy. Of course, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Aiden. Who could blame her? I barely could. To her credit, she told us the specials while trying really hard not to look like she was drooling all over him.
Poor thing. I knew exactly how she felt.
Before she left, she turned to Aiden. “Has anyone told you before that you look exactly like Ryan Paevey? I mean, I thought for a moment when we first met you were actually him!”
Aiden’s gaze snapped to me. His brow lifted, and I slid down in my seat some, hiding my face with the menu.
“As a matter of fact, Ihavebeen called Ryan before. By you, if memory serves me correctly.”
Dropping the menu, I offered a sheepish grin, remembering that first day when he approached me in the café and I’d stupidly called him Ryan. My cheeks heated as Aiden winked at me.
“Well, let me just say you’re his doppelgänger,” she replied with a slow shake of her head.
The way Aiden gave her a befuddled looked made me giggle.
“What does that mean?”
My eyes widened in shock. “You don’t know what a doppelgänger is?”
“I have no idea. Is it from like Harry Potter or something?”
The hostess and I both laughed while Aiden leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. His very broad chest. I couldn’t even be bothered to check if the hostess was gawking, because I was too busy gawking myself, even as I continued to laugh.
He stared at me with amusement, and I tried to ignore how that made my lower stomach pull with desire.
“He’s a keeper. See ya, Ryan!” the girl said before turning and walking back to the front.
I laughed harder. Tears leaked from my eyes as I attempted to get myself under control when our waitress walked up to the table.
“Are you about done?” Aiden asked, trying to hide his smile.
Nodding, I wiped my tears away.
