Aiden didn’t hesitate. “Well, I would get married tomorrow, but Sadie wants a huge wedding. Massive. One that trumps the royals.”
”No way, you should go to Jamaica.” Jade shoved Sadie, bringing her back from blankly staring into the flames. She gave her an impatient smile. Thankfully, Jade said nothing more on the subject after that, excusing herself and clambering out of the chair. She nearly spilled out of her top in the process.
Aiden sat, eyes wide, looking shell-shocked. “Could have gone my whole life without seeing that,” he joked. He handed over Sadie’s beer and took a drink from his own.
Sadie didn’t laugh.
“What’s wrong?”
Nothing. Everything. “I don’t want a huge wedding,” she said.
“No?” Aiden shrugged with his mouth. “What’ll it be, then? Courthouse? Vegas? Jamaica?”
She didn’t feel like playing any longer. “I don’t want a wedding at all.”
“Well, don’t I feel the fool.”
“Stop joking about this, okay?” Sadie wasn’t sure where that came from, but suddenly her patience was very thin. She guzzled down a few swallows of beer.
Aiden leaned in and forced her to acknowledge him. “I’m sorry if I took things too far. I didn’t know.”
And she was overreacting. “It’s fine.” She raked a hand through her hair.
After a moment, Aiden asked, “You really don’t see yourself ever getting married?”
She thought of the wedding she’d planned. The caterer she’d booked. Invitations she’d ordered, then subsequently shredded into tiny pieces. The flowers she’d debated over. The chicken-or-steak option she’d been sure to include on the RSVP cards. It’d all been for naught. Wasted time, wasted hopes.
“Never,” she said.
“That’s too bad.”
Sadie turned to see Aiden tip his beer to his lips. A wave of melancholy washed over her, almost like she regretted giving such a final answer on the subject. So change the subject. “What do you think about putting a second motorcycle in the display window?”
Aiden turned to her, a puzzled look on his face. “You really don’t think I could talk you into marrying me?”
Sadie nearly choked on her beer. All the blood rushed from her face to her toes, making her brain temporarily seize. No, of course not. Just say it. No way, Jose. But she didn’t. She just sat there, staring at him, eyes as round as a pair of Harley Daymaker headlamps.
“Yeah,” Aiden sighed. “Rick probably didn’t buy it, either.” He spared her a glance. “Think I jumped the shark? Want me to tell him I lied? That I’m a client who has no friends, so you invited me out of pity?”
His careless smile was intact, but Sadie could see a dab of sadness in his eyes. She knew he’d lost his best friend when he found out Daniel slept with Aiden’s then-wife. She wondered how many people he’d alienated in the process of walking away from his and Daniel’s business. She wondered if she counted as his friend. If she wanted to…
She put a palm on his arm. “You have friends. You made two or three friends within five minutes of being here. And I’m fairly sure Jade would have your babies if you asked nicely.”
He sputtered, spitting beer on himself. He sent her a dimpled smile as he swiped the foam from his lip and nose, brushed stray droplets off his shirt. Sadie stared a little too long at his lips. They were slightly damp and causing an equal reaction in her nether regions.
She cleared her throat. “Whatever you do, don’t confess we’re not really engaged. Perry doesn’t need another thing to tease me about. And Rick might get angry enough to cancel our contract.”
She felt the weight of Aiden’s stare and turned to find him frowning. “You’re seriously worried about losing Rick’s account.”
Sadie wasn’t sure if worried was the right word, but she was concerned. Who wanted to lose anything? Be it a client, a game of checkers, a fiancé…“If I do, I’ll find another,” she said, not feeling the conviction of her words.
“Sadie,” Aiden grasped her hand. He’d touched her a lot tonight, and damned if she didn’t like it. “You have to know people work with you because of who you are, not because of your dating potential.”
She thought back to when she’d first encountered him at Axle’s. Aiden had offered to sign the contract if she went out with him. “And when you tried to bribe me into dating you?” she asked.