Time After Time (Sweetbriar Cove #14) - Melody Grace Page 0,64

his best behavior. I didn’t even have to ask him to clean up!”

“Happy to help,” he said, giving her a molten smile. He reached over, and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, his hand lingering. “And I’ve had a great time.”

Matty came back in, and Stella ducked away from Aidan’s touch, still painfully self-conscious about having a man there.

A man she was crazy about.

“You know, they have a movie lab at Hillcrest,” Matty said, sitting on one of the armchairs. “Bryce got to make a short film as part of his creative elective.”

Stella came back down to earth with a bump. She should have known her grace period wouldn’t last. “Sweetie, we’ve talked about this,” she warned him.

“I know, but we haven’t talked to anyone else about it,” Matty said. “Aidan, what do you think about boarding school? I bet you know a ton of successful people who went.”

“Well, yes…” Aidan said slowly, shooting a look at Stella. “But I know plenty who went to regular schools, too.”

“But it gives you an advantage, right?” Matty pressed. “When it comes to college applications, and jobs… You make connections, and meet the right people—”

“That’s enough.” Stella got up. “I think it’s time for you to get ready for bed.”

“But you aren’t listening.” Matty complained. “Isn’t that what you’re always telling me to do? Not jump to conclusions over something, but to get all the information, and see something from every side.”

“There’s only one side that matters here, and that’s my side,” she said firmly. “Now, say goodnight to Aidan, and thank him for the pizza.”

Matty glared at her, and then stomped upstairs without a word. His bedroom door slammed behind him loud enough to shake the walls.

Stella sat back with a sigh. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, giving Aidan a tired smile. “He’s got a bug in his cap about going to the same school as his friends, and he won’t let it drop.”

“That’s OK.” Aidan put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. “I haven’t spent much time with kids, but I figure one meltdown a night is about par for the course for teenagers.”

She relaxed, relieved she didn’t have to explain it to him. Relieved that she could just lay there in his arms, feeling the reassuring rise and fall of his chest against her as they watched the fire burn lower; wind whistling outside the farmhouse windows; Aidan gently stroking her hair.

For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t alone.

Stella felt that emotion bubbling in her chest again, a treacherous shot of hope. She could have stayed like this forever; the possibilities of the future dancing just within her grasp. The three of them. A family. All the things she hadn’t even let herself believe.

The only question was, did Aidan have forever in mind?

15

“Here she is!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Stella arrived late, trailing her scarf and jacket as she rushed to meet her friends in the town square. Jenny and Mackenzie were on the corner, bundled up in coats and sweaters, with steaming cups of coffee in their hands.

“The woman of the hour,” Mackenzie said, handing her a paper coffee cup.

“Why?” Stella asked breathlessly, looking around. “What did I do?”

“That’s what we’re all dying to know.” Jenny said, sipping her drink. “Like what – or rather who – kept you in bed so late this morning.”

“And put such a flush in your cheeks,” Mackenzie added with a grin.

“You think… No!” Stella laughed, blushing. “I was late because of an emergency job,” she explained. “And it’s Helen’s rusted old septic system that gave me a real workout.”

“Eww.” Mackenzie curled her lip. “Well, that’s not nearly as fun as what we thought.”

“We imagined you were having an amazing, sexy time in bed,” Jenny explained, wrapping a long, hand-knit scarf tighter around her neck.

“Oh yes?” Stella arched an eyebrow, amused. “I hope this other version of me was having a good time.”

“Oh, you were.” Jenny grinned. “Aidan was cooking you breakfast in bed.”

“Naked, except for a pink frilly apron,” Mackenzie added with an impish grin.

Stella laughed at the image. “Well, I’m glad fantasy-me was enjoying her morning.”

They headed over to the gazebo, where the rest of the volunteers were gathered, stamping their feet in the morning frost. It was Decoration Day in the square, and they were all pitching in. Halloween had been banished back to the basement storage closet, and now it was time to deck the halls of Sweetbriar Cove for Thanksgiving. Franny consulted her clipboard,