than turning these rooms into just another basic boring hotel room." The alarm on my phone goes off. "I have to go get ready." I run up to Aiden and give him a kiss. "Thanks for a great night. And the coffee."
As I turn to leave, his arm goes around me and he pulls me back. "Not so fast. What about tonight?"
"What about it?"
"Don't go. Stay with me. Another night."
I smile. "Okay."
He kisses me. "Now you can go. You need a ride?"
"No. I'll take the rental. Bye.”
I go to my room, feeling lighter and happier than I have in years. My life is a mess right now but I don't care. I'll worry about that later. Today I just want to think about Aiden and how happy he makes me.
Even cleaning up trash doesn't bother me. Seven hours into it, I've picked up dirty diapers, slimy banana peels, used condoms, and tons of cigarette butts. It's a disgusting job but it doesn't get me down. Whenever I'm feeling a moment of self pity, I think of Aiden and it instantly brightens my mood.
As I stab a chip wrapper with the pokey stick, the tool we use to pick up trash, I notice a car slowing down beside me. I smile when I see it's Aiden.
He rolls down his window. "How's it going?"
"Great!" I say, laughing. "What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to check on you. I got us dinner reservations for tonight at a place downtown. I thought we'd mix it up. Try something new."
"Good idea. You think Tom will be upset we're not eating at the inn?"
"He's the one who suggested the place. You're done soon, right?"
"Yeah, at five. I'll need a long shower to get all this stuff off me before we go."
"That's fine. Dinner's at seven. It's close so I thought we'd just walk there."
"Ms. Chambers!" the supervisor yells. "Back to work!"
"I have to go." I roll my eyes. "See you later."
Aiden drives off as Bess walks up to me. We're around the same age. She's a mom of two and lives here in town. She got community service for having too many unpaid parking tickets.
"Who's the hottie?"
I smile. "That's Aiden. My boyfriend."
My heart's bursting being able to call him that. It's the first time I've actually said it. I can't wait to say it again. I want to tell everyone I know, but that'll have to wait. I just hope it won't be too long.
Chapter Seventeen
Aiden
I knock on Sophie's door, excited to be getting another night with her. We'll have a nice dinner, stroll down Main Street so she can see the lights, maybe have dessert back at the inn, and then go up to my room. I'll spend the night with Sophie in my arms, feeling her soft skin against mine, listening to her soft breaths as she sleeps. Morning will come before I'm ready, and then I'll have to tell her goodbye.
I'm already dreading being apart from her. I've considered sneaking over to her apartment to see her but one of Celine's friends lives in Sophie's building. I can't risk her seeing me with Sophie and telling Celine. And Sophie can't sneak over to my place because Celine hasn't given me her key back. If she showed up unannounced, she might catch me with Sophie.
So for now, my time with Sophie will be limited to our weekends in Vermont, which is why I want to make the most of every minute.
I knock again. "Sophie, are you in there?"
She opens the door. "Sorry, I was on the phone."
She's dressed in jeans and a hoodie, her hair up in a ponytail. The restaurant we're going to is kind of fancy. I thought she might wear a dress, or at least a nice sweater. I have on dress pants with a dress shirt and sports coat.
"Oh, I can't go," she says, noticing me looking at her clothes.
"What do you mean you can't go?"
"I need to drive back to New York. I'm really sorry, but if I don't go back I risk losing any chance at this promotion."
"When were you planning on telling me this?"
"Just now. I didn't know about this until a few minutes ago. I was dressed and ready to go to dinner when she called."
"Who?"
"Celine."
"Celine called you?"
"She's completely freaking out about the client dinner. She said her father wasn't happy with the menu and now she wants to meet tomorrow morning to go over other options."
"That's ridiculous. She can just serve what we always serve.