34. Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Aiden
I didn’t think it possible, but watching Lauren charm every member of my family and coming home to her each night made me fall even more in love. She fit into my life as if we’d been together for years, yet two weeks after she moved in, I still didn’t trust her to stay.
I swung by Karma to confirm she was there any chance I reasonably could without looking like a complete stalker. My crews had never been so caffeinated, which considering the number of projects we were juggling came in handy.
An electrical issue at one of my sites this morning had kept me from making any coffee runs. Despite texting back and forth with Lauren throughout the day, a knot formed in my stomach on the drive home and tightened until I saw her beat-up sedan. I pulled in behind it and let out a relieved breath as I turned off my truck. She hadn’t left. Yet.
I opened the front door to a delicious smell. Given our busy schedules, Kayleigh had come through with countless slow cooker recipes. I’d dropped a roast and some vegetables in the crockpot before I left for work, but something else mingled with the meaty scent filling the house.
Learning to cook with Lauren had been surprisingly fun. We made meals together whenever I wasn’t working late, but every night, regardless of the time, we sat down together to eat and talk.
“Close the door before you let the cat out,” Lauren shouted from the kitchen.
“Cat?” There hadn’t been a cat in the house when I left this morning, but I quickly shut the door. Good thing too, since Dido shot down the stairs and straight for my legs. She wound around my ankles, purring loudly.
I picked her up and walked to the kitchen where Lauren was pulling a tray of dinner rolls from the oven.
“Those look great,” I said, giving the cat a scratch behind the ears.
Lauren smiled at me, and my heart skipped a beat. I was so fucked if this woman bailed on me.
“Rowan’s recipe. Hope you don’t mind,” she said pointing at Dido. “A few of the regulars started calling her Hissy. I thought she might be happier living here since you’re the only person she likes, but if you want me to take her back tomorrow, I will.”
Dido looked up at me with her big green eyes then rubbed her head on my beard. Fucking adorable. “You can bring all the cats here if you want.”
Lauren shook her head. “It’d be too hard for Medusa to learn a new place, and she and Desdemona are a bonded pair.”
“I’ll run out and get a litter box before I shower,” I said, ignoring the hunger pain that’d replaced the nervous ache in my stomach.
“I got a new one earlier today. Wyatt loaded a bag of litter into my car but made me promise I’d wait for you to bring it in. There’s food out there too.”
“I’ll grab them now,” I said, holding the cat toward her. Dido hissed at Lauren, and I tried not to laugh. “I’ll put her in my room while I carry everything inside.”
Lauren nodded and started placing the rolls into a napkin-lined basket. I went upstairs to my room but came to an abrupt stop by the bathroom door. Dido meowed, and I looked down at her. “You living here is a good thing, right? It means she’s settling in. You don’t think she’s leaving you with me before she skips town?”
This woman had me so twisted, I was seeking reassurance from a cat.
Dido protested when I shut her in the bathroom. Hopefully, I could unload the car before the feline unleashed her revenge in there. I might be her favorite human, but she had a solid mean streak.
When I got downstairs, the front door was wide open, and Lauren’s keys were missing from the hook where she kept them. I hustled outside and found her rooting in her trunk.
“I got it,” I said, coming up beside her and grabbing a jumbo bag of kitty litter.
“I was thinking,” she said as I started toward the house. “Instead of buying a new glider for the nursery, we could use my grandpa’s leather recliner. It rocks, and it’s super comfortable. And it reminds me of him,” she added softly.
I put the litter back in the trunk. I wasn’t having one the most important conversations of my life while holding a bag of clay pellets destined for cat crap. “Anything else you’d like to bring here?” I asked, my stupid heart pounding in my chest. I’d never been so eager to move shit in my life.
“There’s a few prints that would look nice in my room, and I think my jewelry stand could go in the corner. I can’t fit into most of my clothes now, but I’d like to bring over the rest of my shoes and accessories.”
“Are you sure you want to move more of your stuff here?”
She gave me a confused look. “I’ll put everything in my room except the recliner. I promise not to clutter up your house.”
I blew out a breath. It was time to ask Lauren what I’d been dying to know for weeks. “Since the building is still for sale, are you sure you’re here to stay?”
Her eyes widened. “You knew about that?”
I nodded.
“Why didn’t you say anything before?”
It hurt to look at her, so I stared across the field to the barn, sending up a silent plea to Logan to help me find the right words. “You said you wanted more. I’d give you everything, but it’s your choice. It has been since the first time we were together.”
“Aiden,” she said, placing her hand on my arm. Her fingers were warm and soft, yet painful. The possibility of her leaving was like a hot iron branding her touch on my skin. “I told the realtor to remove the listing this morning.”
I snapped my gaze back to her. She looked sincere. She’d moved in the cat. She was making plans for the nursery. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let go, but I couldn’t ignore the fact she’d kept an exit open. If I touched her, we’d likely end up sleeping together, and I couldn’t complicate things between us until I felt certain she was here to stay. “Thank you,” I said, grabbing the litter again.
“I want everything too, Aiden,” she called after me.
I smiled but didn’t turn around. “Glad we finally agree on something, Princess.”