as she sat down in the leather chairs.
“Fun?” she offered as he sat next to her.
“Tiring. Why do some people believe they deserve…”
“Freedoms?” she said with a chuckle. “Did you hear how many times the woman said that word, as if it was a badge she wore?”
“Even the cops weren’t buying it.” Aiden took her hand in his. “At least the entire trip wasn’t a loss.” He smiled over at her then leaned in to kiss her.
“That’s right,” she said with a chuckle. “I saved my father from poison and was attacked by a crazed woman.”
“Two, if you count the reporter back there,” Aiden added with a grin.
“Right,” she said sarcastically.
“That isn’t exactly what I was talking about,” he said after the pilot closed the plane door.
“No,” she sighed.
“We have this.” He held up their joined hands.
“Yes,” she said, trying to hide her fears by focusing her eyes on their hands.
“Hey.” He lifted his free hand and nudged her face until she was looking at him. “Afraid?” he asked with a slight smile.
Her chin rose slightly, and she shook her head. “No. You?” She arched her brows and waited for his answer.
“Of you?” He laughed. “Most definitely. But not as far as this goes.” He leaned in and kissed her. “Never about this,” he said softly.
“You’re probably going to regret this,” she said with a sigh.
“Never,” he answered quickly. “I will never regret loving you.”
She felt her heart flip in her chest and knew that someday, her own heart would break because of this man. After all, she was destined to never have the love of the people she wanted.
Chapter 24
There was nothing like coming home after a trip. Okay, so he could do without the laundry and the work piling up, but just knowing that in a few days Aubrey would be moving in with him had him almost walking on air.
They’d talked it over on the flight home about the logistics of him moving into the apartment with her. After weighing the pros and cons, they’d decided that she should move her things into his place instead.
“It’s far more private out there than in the apartment my friends still use occasionally,” Aubrey had argued.
He didn’t mind, not really. But when she’d brought up the possibility of her friends walking in on them, he’d quickly agreed.
So not only had he spent the first few days back catching up with work and getting his place clean enough for her to move in, but he’d spent his free time hauling Aubrey’s things out to the trailer.
Over the past few years, he’d hardly done anything to the place, since he’d deemed it a temporary living arrangement. He’d been thankful Elle and the others had allowed him to continue using the land near the construction entrance to the camp.
“This is going to be fun,” Zoey said to him as she sat in his living room. Her friends had helped cart the remainder of Aubrey’s things out shortly after the dinner party that evening.
“Fun?” he asked her, noticing that she was running her hands over her growing belly. Since Zoey was expecting, her friends had demanded that she sit out helping with the move.
“Sure, I mean, you and Aub.” Zoey smiled. “We kind of always suspected she was hooking up with someone. None of us thought it was you, though.”
“Oh?” he asked, watching the rest of her friends cart in boxes of Aubrey’s things. Deciding he had a moment, he sat down across from Zoey. “Why not?”
Zoey’s eyes ran over him before she shrugged lightly. “You’re not the type we expected Aubrey to go for.”
“What type did you expect her to go for?” he asked, curious.
“Someone less…” Zoey chuckled. “Manly.”
His eyebrows shot up as he leaned closer. “You thought…”
“It had crossed all of our minds several times,” she added while glancing over to make sure Aubrey was busy.
He couldn’t help it, but he laughed. Loudly enough to get Aubrey’s attention.
“Don’t,” Zoey warned, but it was too late. Aubrey was heading their way, her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m glad you’re having fun,” she said sweetly with a smile. “Unless you’re currently pregnant, we could still use your help.” Her eyebrows shot up, and he stood quickly and wrapped his arms around her.
“Sorry, Zoey was just telling me a funny story.” He winked at Zoey behind Aubrey’s back.
When everyone finally left, he sat in bed working on his laptop while Aubrey rearranged her things in his closet.
“I haven’t had