Chapter 14
May
COVERING MY POUNDINGhead with my hand, I squeeze my eyes closed and curse Herbert for supplying me with bourbon and my inability to say no to him. Something I knew I should have done after the first glass but didn’t, honestly because dealing with everything last night was a whole lot easier with alcohol in my system.
“How bad is it?” Aiden asks, and I swear it sounds like he’s speaking through a loudspeaker right into my ear, causing my brain to rattle inside my skull.
“Don’t talk,” I whisper, then pull the pillow out from under my head and cover my face with it. “Just let me die in peace.”
“I’ll get you some Tylenol and a Gatorade,” he replies softly, and I feel the bed move. Rolling to my side, I hold my breath until the nausea passes, then let it out slow. “All right, doll, sit up,” he says what has to be a few minutes later but feels like seconds, and I carefully remove the pillow and get up on an elbow, watching him kneel on the bed in front of me.
If I weren’t feeling like death, I would take a moment to really appreciate the sight of him in nothing but a pair of boxers, but feeling like I do, I can barely stand to keep my eyes open in the dim light coming through the edge of my bedroom curtains.
“Thank you.” I take a piece of toast from him and wash it down with some Gatorade, then wait for a minute to make sure I won’t be sick before I swallow the two Tylenol he gives me.
“Hopefully that’ll help.”
“Hopefully.” I lie down and use my inner elbow to cover my eyes.
“Are you ready to talk about last night?” His hand rests on my stomach, and my nose scrunches in disgust just thinking about last night.
I thought for sure that Aiden’s mother couldn’t be as horrible as she sounded over the phone, but boy, oh, boy was I wrong. She totally earned her Jaws theme song ringtone. And his sister? She definitely acted like a bitch, but as I watched her throughout the evening, I started to wonder if her anger had more to do with her “husband” than anything else. And I use the term husband loosely, because I have never seen a man treat his wife with such indifference.
And regardless of what Aiden believes, I could see that his constant flirting with other women right in front of her face did not sit well with her at all. I mean, how could it? Even if you didn’t like your spouse very much, having them show zero concern for your feelings would suck, especially at such a public event. “I’ll wire you the ten grand once you’re able to give me your bank information.”
“No, you won’t.” I lift my arm so I can glare at him with one eye.
“Doll, I’m not letting you spend that kind of cash.”
“I’m not asking you to let me do anything.” I cover my eye back up when the light causes my head to throb. “The money is going to a good cause, and I’ll get a write-off at the end of the year. It’s not a big deal.” All right, that’s a little bit of a lie. It is a big deal, but it’s not money I regret spending. Not even a little.
“May—”
“Aiden,” I cut him off. “Please don’t annoy me with an argument you will not win right now. Especially when I feel like my head has been stomped on by an elephant.”
“All right, I’ll wait until you feel better.”
“I’m not taking any money you try to give me.”
“Okay,” he agrees, and I lift my arm to look at him as he lies down next to me.
“I’m serious.”
“I know you are.” He carefully pulls me over so he can curl his arm around me, and I tip my head back just in time to catch him smile.
“You’re going to really make me mad.”
“How? I’m not doing anything but agreeing with you.” He smooths his finger down my cheek.
“I’m being serious, Aiden.”
“I know you are, baby. Now close your eyes and focus on feeling better. We have dinner with Noah’s family tonight at six.”
“What?” I shove my hand into his stomach as I sit up, hearing him grunt. “I’m not going with you.” I shake my head, then fall back down next to him when it pounds. “I don’t think I can handle another night of drinking, and if I have to deal with more people who hate me, that’s what will happen.”
“First, no one hates you. My family is just fucked up. And second, Rebecca is going to love you, and you’ll love her and Noah’s whole family.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.” He kisses my forehead. “And I know it’s asking a lot of you after last night, but I want you to meet the people I consider my family,” he says quietly, and I wish his soft voice didn’t have an effect on me, but it does. Plus, if I’m honest, I’m curious about the people he spent so much time with when he was young, because he is nothing like his mom or sister, so his good qualities had to come from somewhere. “I already told Rebecca that you’d be there.”
“You’re annoying.”