I wanted more, though. I couldn’t deny that. But if I didn’t work something out in my head, I was never going to have him. But then again, I may not have him anyway. Another spoon, another taste of the delicious chocolate against my tongue, and it hit me: I was falling in love with Aiden, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
No matter how much I’d wished I could chalk it up to friendship, chalk it up to the accidents and the fact that we’d both lost someone important, that once he was out of sight, he’d be out of mind, I couldn’t. Those were the lies I told myself. Tomorrow, he would tell me everything he’d learned about me. That had to be what he needed to talk to me about, and if it took me another pint of ice cream, I’d figure out how to deal with it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Aiden
I had decided that starting the night off with a traditional-style date wouldn’t do, so I held my breath and as I drove Lexa to the local Tipsy Paint. Allison had always talked about it, and she’d done several paintings from the place. The woman on the phone explained it as an art class with a BYOB policy.
Lexa’s eyes widened as I stopped outside the place. I hoped she hadn’t been there before and we could experience this one thing together, but it had been around for a while now, so the chances of that were low.
“Tipsy Paint? Bre is going to be mad at us both. She’d been trying to get me here for months, but every time we plan it, they’ve been booked on my night off.”
“Well, my sister used to love coming here, and I thought it beat those sword fighters I mentioned before.”
She shook her head and gave me a disappointed glare. “Couldn’t book any swordfighters, huh?”
“No. I’m sorry that didn’t work out. I know how much it meant to you.” I shut off the car and went around to open her door, which she was already doing. So, I took her hand, and she stood, meeting my eyes with a wide grin.
We went inside, where the instructor had a table set up with two easels and a blank canvas. We began our lesson by cracking open a bottle of wine and choosing our painting.
“Oh, I want to do this one.” Lexa pointed at a beautiful painting that looked like it could have been inspired by Olde House itself. “It looks like your trees.”
“If you wish.” I passed the news on to our instructor, who had us prep our canvas with an outline, and then after that, we sat painting until we were done.
Lexa had a knack for painting, but I wasn’t doing so well. The tree in my painting looked a bit pink for my tastes, and the branches were a tad more like a willow’s than a live oak’s.
I focused as best as I could while trying to put the finishing details on my canvas. Lexa caught my attention as she giggled. I turned to find her deeply amused, and I dropped my brush and frowned. “Are you laughing at my painting?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m laughing at you. You stick your tongue out when you concentrate. It’s very cute.” I hadn’t been called cute since I was a little boy, and I looked away as I mumbled an “oh man” under my breath.
“It’s endearing. I like that you are so into it.” She finished her painting and then signed her name, but I still sat there sticking out my tongue.
It was nice that she’d play with me. I didn’t have to worry about her ever taking things too seriously, and the date was actually fun and different. I finally finished my painting and poured us a glass as we waited on them to dry a little. “So did you enjoy the date? Did I do a good job?”
“Yeah, you have a real talent.” She glanced at my painting and turned her head to the side.
“I meant a good job on coming up with something creative.” I knew she hadn’t mean creative in the sense of the arts, but I’d covered both bases.
“Yeah, I’m having fun.”
“Well, as soon as those little beauties finish drying, we’ll go grab a bite to eat. I still have something I need to talk to you about. But-”
I nodded my head toward the instructor, who was cleaning up our mess. Lexa smiled, letting me know she got the message.
“Yeah, about that. I have something I need to talk to you about, as well.” Her face fell, but I wanted things to go over well, so I brushed it off.
“Let’s talk about it later. Let’s go eat. I’m starved, and your stomach has made funny noises all night. You’re lucky I found it so charming.” I gave her a little nudge and helped her to her feet.
The paintings were not quite dry, so we put them in the backseat of my truck and let them ride where they were safe. We headed out for a nice dinner, and then to my surprise, Lexa accepted my invitation to go back to my house.
I couldn’t wait to be with her, and I still had to ask her if she’d be interested in more. I wanted many other changes to show her I could be someone she’d want to keep around.
I took her inside totally prepared to talk when she tried to beat me to the punch. “I think we should talk, Aiden.” She took a seat on the couch, where I lowered myself beside her. She fidgeted with the small silver band she wore, and I wondered if it were something special.
Jealousy reared its ugly head. Had someone bought that for her? Recently? I suddenly wondered how many others she had flocking around waiting to have her. Not if I can help it.
“Let me go first.” I cleared my throat and sat back on the sofa and angled myself toward her. I stroked her hand and met her eyes. “I’ve wanted to explain something to you all night and ask you a question, too.” She kept her eyes on me as if I were a ticking time bomb about to detonate.