Chapter 34 Evie #2
I rolled over, fitting myself against Aiden’s chest like it was second nature—but then again, everything between us always felt like second nature.
His heartbeat thudded steady under my ear, warm and solid, and when I glanced up, I caught him idly rolling his lip ring between his teeth—his tell when he was thinking too hard.
“Did you almost kiss me that night?” My voice came out lower than I meant, my mind still tangled in the memory.
He huffed a laugh, the sound deep and lazy, vibrating through my ribs. “You’re gonna have to narrow that down, Psycho. I think I’ve almost kissed you a thousand times.”
“The first time.”
“Ahh, the night you walked home and I was pissed about it.” His thumb skimmed along my arm, absentminded but distracting.
“Hey, my phone was dead. I couldn’t call.”
His mouth curved, slow and knowing. “Your phone is always dead. For a tech nerd, you’re awful with your own devices.”
“Did you really just call me a nerd?”
“The cutest computer nerd I know.”
I pushed up, the heat between us closing in like a held breath. My lips brushed his—soft at first, testing—catching the faint taste of spearmint.
“I can’t believe I’ve had to wait so many years to do this,” he murmured, his breath warm against my mouth.
“I can’t believe you purposely waited so many years to do this.”
My legs slid to either side of him, knees brushing his hips, the heat between us humming. I leaned down, and something crinkled between us.
His brows arched. Mine lifted higher. I reached between us, fingers diving into the front pocket of his hoodie.
“You brought me M&M’s?” I said, grinning like he’d confessed something scandalous.
“Of course I did.” That slow, cocky grin took over. “I knew you’d get hungry after ambushing me. I just didn’t realize you’d go digging like a feral raccoon.”
“So rude.” I smiled. “You talked to Mason, didn’t you?”
He only grinned, pouring a few into my hand. “Consider this your rom-com hero movie moment.”
“I’ve never heard one romance movie where the man refers to her as a feral raccoon.”
I didn’t even get to tease him about the M&M’s before his hands slid to my hips, pulling me down until my chest brushed his. His mouth found mine again—slow, hungry, like he’d been keeping this particular kiss locked up for years.
Then he stilled.
“What?” I whispered against his lips.
He tilted his head, listening. The warmth in his expression vanished, replaced with sharp focus.
“Footsteps,” he muttered.
Before I could even process, he was sitting up—his fingers digging into my hips as he held me in place.
“Do you think Rook is going to barge right in, screaming?” I whispered, not containing my laughter. “Maybe he already knows and is going to kick your ass.”
Aiden swung his legs over the side of the bed, taking me with him as he stood up.
“What a psycho girl. You think that would be funny?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But I do think it’s funny you’re still scared of my brother.”
“I’m not scared of him. Not in a ‘oh he’s going to hit me’ way, but you have to remember this life isn’t mine like it is yours. I was born with nothing—no family, no home, no money. I fought to have this life and it can still be taken away from me.”
“No, it can’t,” I said, dropping my legs as he set me down by the door.
“Just because you weren’t born into our family doesn’t mean what you and Rook have built is any less yours.
This wasn’t an inherited business, Aiden, you two worked yourselves to death to build this life.
Why do you think Rook has any more right to it than you do? ”
“Because.” Aiden whispered now as he listened for more footsteps. “Rook started this himself and then took a chance on letting me help him. I wasn’t worth a damn and he still let me join in and help with everything.”
“You need to—”
He stood, cutting me off with a look as Regan’s voice rang out.
“Evie, are you here? I need that blue top you borrowed last week,” she yelled through the door.
Aiden stepped back, moving until he was angled inside the closet. I reached past him for the blue top Regan was asking about as she opened the door.
“Evie, are you—” she yelled again, coming in and stopping when she saw me. “Hey, do you have that top?”
I grinned, handing the shirt out to her. “Got a hot date?”
“If you want to call your brother hot that’s on you,” she said, smiling so hard her face had to hurt. I could only grimace in response. “But yes, we are running out for a night ride and hopefully a cookie stop. Which is why I need the shirt, it really helps me convince him.”
“Eww.” I scrunched my nose. “And you say that as if he wouldn’t buy you the entire bakery if you asked.”
Her eyebrows jumped up. “Evie, you are a genius. An endless supply of cookies? I have to go but . . .” She looked over at the bed. “Did I interrupt something?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes already darting around the room. It’s not like we had taken any clothes off. Aiden’s phone wasn’t out. Then I landed on the two drinks on my nightstand.
“Oh, no, I’m binge-watching TV and didn’t want to move as much as possible.”
She laughed, eyebrows high, already backing out of the room. “My mistake then, have fun.”
I closed the door behind her, locking it this time, already wondering if I truly heard the knowing tone in her voice.
Aiden stepped out of the closet, already shaking his head.
“You look like you saw a ghost,” I said, letting the teasing tone back in my voice.
“I’d rather deal with a ghost than your brother.”
My hands fisted into the front of his hoodie, pulling him forward. I kept going until I fell back onto the bed and he fell on top of me, catching himself at the last minute.
“Are you sure you want this, Evie?” he whispered, brushing soft kisses along my jaw.
“Want you?” I asked. “I’ve been sure of that for years. I think I could ask you the same thing. I thought I was nothing but your best friend’s little sister.”
“Maybe you were at first—we were both young. But then you became something else. Something more.”
“Yeah? What exactly did I become?”
He rolled to his side, keeping me wrapped in his arms.
“Do you know how many nights we’ve spent together?
” His voice was low, almost like he was telling me a secret.
“Watching movies, going out, working at the garage. And the days—we’ve ridden for thousands of hours, we’ve been shoulder to shoulder fixing engines, eating crap takeout, arguing about nothing.
And through all of it—you’ve made me laugh, you’ve challenged me .
. .” His smile tilted, almost reluctant. “You ruined my life.”
“Is this a romantic confession or are you about to scold me again?”
“This is me saying you became my best friend, Evie. And yeah, Rook is, too, but you . . .” His eyes caught mine, steady and unflinching.
“You’re the one I tell the things I can’t tell him.
The fears. The dreams. The stuff I don’t even admit to myself half the time.
You see me—the real me—and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost that. If I lost you.”
Tears filled my eyes, and he grinned.
“I’ve made my little psycho girl’s cold heart crack.”
I smacked his arm, smiling back now. “I do not have a cold heart.”
He leaned down, his lips pressing against mine before he pulled back the slightest amount. “I think it’s more that you are picky about who you open that heart to, which isn’t bad at all.”
“And am I right to open it to you?”
He stayed still, silent, letting the words hang between us like a fragile thread.
“I’m not sure,” his voice was low, “but I don’t think that’s either of our decisions now. I couldn’t untangle myself from you if I tried. You’re in my blood.”
My chest tightened at the truth of it. Every beat of his heart against mine pressed it deeper. If you go, I go . . . he hadn’t said it, but it was there. I couldn’t deny it, and I didn’t want to.
I wrapped myself closer, pressing my face into the curve of his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him—the leather, the faint smoke, the warmth I’d never stop craving.
My fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, anchoring myself in the moment.
I stayed there, silent, letting the world slip away.
Every second felt infinite, and yet I worried—how many more nights like this would I get?