Summer's End (Wildflowers #5) - Jill Sanders Page 0,21
he took her hand in his. “You know what I mean,” he said softly as he felt her stiffen slightly.
Her eyes moved away from his as she glanced around, no doubt to see who was watching them. “Now, we enjoy being friends,” she said between sips.
“I think you know that’s not possible.” He leaned closer to her as his thumb played over her palm. He heard her breath catch and knew he’d made his point. There was too much between them to stop now, no matter how hard she tried to pull back. Just knowing that she felt the heat as well had him smiling and moving closer, emboldened by the desire flooding her eyes. “Why the games? Why can’t we just…” His eyes moved to her gloss-covered lips and a slight groan escaped him when her tongue darted out to lick them. “Why can’t we see what new things we can explore together?”
She didn’t answer him at first. Her breathing labored as she thought, and he knew she was trying to come up with an excuse or a reason. When fear started to replace the desire in her eyes, he sighed and leaned back.
“Soon you’ll confide in me why intimacy causes you to panic.” He took up his glass and drank again, wishing for a beer instead of the sweet champagne.
“I would think that our past proves that I’m not afraid of intimacy,” she said softly.
Chuckling, he glanced over at her. “I wasn’t talking about sex.”
She hissed and nudged him.
“Lower your voice,” she said as she glanced around.
He chuckled again. “Afraid someone will find out about us?” He made a show of glancing around. The fact was, everyone around them was so enthralled in chatting that he doubted that a single person was paying attention to them. He knew he was pushing her too far, but he was tired of the games. He missed her and from the looks she had been giving him, she missed him as much.
“Aiden.” Her voice was a warning.
“There you are.” Hannah rushed over and grabbed up Aubrey. “Sorry, I need to borrow her for pictures,” she said to him as she rushed her friend away.
“Saved you,” Owen said to him as he sat beside him.
“Oh?” He pushed his champagne away and then smiled when Owen handed him a beer. “Yeah.” He motioned with his beer toward the guy and then took a sip. “You did.”
“Hannah saved Aubrey,” Owen said, nodding to the two friends, who had disappeared out the back doors, no doubt to take pictures with their friends on the patio area.
“Yeah.” He sighed.
“I didn’t know you and Aubrey were…” Owen dropped off when Aiden glanced over at him. “Umm…” He cleared his throat.
Sinking back in the chair, he shrugged. “No one does. Aubrey’s orders.” He rolled his eyes.
“Shit.” Owen sat up a little straighter. “You’re serious? I was just shooting in the dark with that one. Do any of the other friends know?”
Aiden shook his head. He knew Owen Costa could keep secrets but figured that since Aubrey had made the first confession that he was free to let a few things slip out.
“Crap.” Owen ran his hands through his longer hair. He shook his head. “You mean, I know something that the Wildflowers don’t?”
Aiden chuckled. “What will you do with all that power?”
Owen frowned over at him. “No, you don’t understand. I could be in serious trouble here.” He glanced over at him. “You’re messing with me, right? I mean, you and Aubrey aren’t really an item.”
“We aren’t anymore.” He sighed and sipped his beer. “But if I had my way…” He dropped off and figured a change of topic would be beneficial. He glanced over at Owen. “So, have you and Hannah set a date yet for your big day?”
Owen’s smile grew. “Yeah, we figured we’d do this ourselves in the spring. Liam and Elle have a December wedding planned.”
“Spacing them out?” he joked.
“Not my idea. If it were up to me, we’d be right there today.” He nodded to his brother and his new sister-in-law. “All three of us.” He shrugged.
“Not a bad idea.” Aiden thought about it.
“Course, that would be too practical.” Owen shrugged.
“Could have saved a lot of money too,” he added, causing Owen to chuckle.
“See, I knew there was a reason I liked you.” He slapped him on the back. “You have a head for business.” He sighed. “Speaking of which, how’s the swimming pool and club house at Hammock Cove coming along?”