After a very long bus ride back to where they’d come from, during which Isaiah did not let go of Aria’s hand once, Havana picked them up in La Grange without a lot of fanfare. He appreciated both the ride and the lack of questions about what had happened since she’d dropped Aria off earlier that day.
All anyone needed to know was that he and Aria were a couple.
Havana did pull Aria into a hug that had Big Sister written all over it, mouthing something into Aria’s ear that made them both smile. He had the distinct impression he’d been the subject of the comment. As long as no Nixon Family Lynch Mob had been formed once Aria had called her sister for a ride, he figured he must be in the clear.
Most importantly, he was home.
Nightly rooftop chats became a necessary recipe to the success of Isaiah’s relationship with Aria. Not just because they had a lot to say to each other, but also because that was the one place they were guaranteed to be alone.
He liked being alone with her. What he did not like was the end of the night, when he had to kiss her goodnight that final time, then let her go off to the third floor where she lived. Every night, he had to figure out how to sleep with the fruity scent of her hair keeping him company. He’d rather have the woman.
All of his energy currently went toward solidifying things between them so that she didn’t ever think about leaving town again—unless he was with her. And he definitely had some ideas about that.
As had become their custom over the last few nights, Isaiah waited for her on the roof until she finished her shift at Ruby’s. The guys ate there every night, so of course, he’d seen her not too long ago. It was never enough.
Besides, Ruby’s had become really awkward since Cassidy and Tristan both refused to be in the same place at the sam
e time. One or both of them left the second they spied the other. It was getting old. Rafferty liked to joke that if they didn’t cut it out, he’d lock them up together in a room and refuse to let them out until they worked through their animosity. Hopefully he was joking.
Isaiah could see the top half of the diner as he sat in the wicker loveseat he’d bought in La Grange and as soon as the interior lights dimmed, he knew Aria was on her way.
When she burst through the rooftop door and bulleted over to him, he had to grin. But then he had an armful of woman and he didn’t have a lot of room left over for anything else but her. She was his glue and he couldn’t imagine a better way to be put back together than because Aria Nixon loved him.
“Hey,” he said and stroked her hair as she nestled deeper into his embrace. “Let’s do something different tonight.”
“I like the way you think, sailor,” she murmured against his neck, then worked her lips up to his mouth for a scorching kiss.
Okay, that had not been what he’d meant, but he was having a hard time arguing when everything about her crawled underneath his skin until he could hardly think for wanting to be with her so badly.
Except they needed to talk about something important. He pulled back with what went down as a herculean effort. Blinking, she eyed him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a laugh that sounded a lot less pained than it should have. “I really did mean something different. Like party planning.”
“Keep talking,” she advised. “Because I’m going to need more than that in order to be okay with not kissing you.”
Yeah, that made two of them. “Superstition Springs needs a bang up party. You expertly shuttled Caleb’s attention off of it the other day, which I appreciated. I was having a hard time seeing myself in the role of PR guru. I realize why. It’s because we’re supposed to be doing it together.”
“That’s literally how you sold me on a rooftop session, the one where we ended up dancing,” she reminded him with a saucily arched brow. “Is this yet another ploy to romance me while not planning a party?”
“Shush. That is not what happened.” It was exactly what had happened because he’d been too caught up in her to keep his head on straight. “Okay, maybe a little. The thing is, we’re done with the barn renovations and I want to start shouting to the world how great of a place this town is.”
Cassidy and Tallhorse had vanished inside the schoolhouse, working feverishly to get the place ready for students in the fall, the number of which they hoped would grow as new people heard about the revitalization going on. That’s where Isaiah—and Aria—needed to come in. The six-month deadline was already a third over. They had to make more progress or the town would be in trouble.
And he wasn’t giving up his happily ever after.
“Because you’re sticking around this time,” she said softly, her smile reflected in her eyes. “We’re both sticking around. Who better to sell people on the concept of making this a permanent destination than us?”
Yes. Exactly. Though she hadn’t been so thrilled the last time he’d brought this up. She’d seen it as yet another wedge between them that meant he couldn’t go with her, so he hadn’t brought it up until he was sure they’d worked through everything keeping them from forever.
“You read my mind.” His throat got a little tight as he thought about how easily he could have let her slip away. “What else am I thinking?”
“That the party should happen right here on this roof.”
“Not even cl—” Then what she’d said sank in. “Yes. That’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?”
He could picture it perfectly, with throngs of people and music. After dark, of course, so the stars would provide a backdrop of epic, celestial proportions. The whole town could come, plus all of the guests he and Aria would drum up. Together.
“Because we’re a team,” she told him succinctly and nestled next to him on the loveseat with another kiss that was way too short.