The Sweet Spot (Sweet And Spicy) by Mary Eason Page B

very word have to sound like an invitation for more?
    “Yes, well I do, but why don’t we have dinner first and then we can talk about that.” Aiden sounded nervous. Aiden wasn’t supposed to be nervous. She couldn’t ever remember Aiden nervous.
    That surprised her so much that she followed him into the kitchen where Aiden had apparently gone to quite a lot of trouble.
    The dining room table was laid out perfectly right down to the candles.
     
    “You did this?” she asked in wonder. In a second, Cara realized there was a lot about Aiden that she didn’t know.
    “Don’t sound so shocked. I can take care of myself, you know.”
    “So you’re saying you can cook?” Cara asked with a teasing smile. Aiden’s eyes met hers. She saw gentleness in them that she’d never noticed before. Cara tried to remember this was her friend.
    “Oh, I can cook. Quite well. It might surprise you the things I can do.” Aiden took a step closer, just as her breath caught in her throat and her heart slammed against her ribs. “In fact, it might surprise you just how domesticated I truly am,” he told her quietly, his hand cupping her face bringing her closer.
    * * * *
    Aiden was finding it hard to concentrate on what Cara was actually saying throughout most of the evening. In truth, he didn’t really care. She could be reciting the Declaration of Independence for all it mattered. He was just happy to be there with her and more than a little surprised at how comfortable it felt, sitting across from her, and simply talking in his kitchen. The place had never felt like a home in all the years he’d owned it until now. Now, he found himself dreading having to leave it for the first time.
    “ Aiden?” Cara’s soft voice saying his name brought him back to the moment. He glanced at her. She was watching him with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.
    “Hum? I’m sorry, what did you say?”
     
    Another questionable look from those sultry eyes… sultry? He’d only seen them this particular shade of brown once. But they’d haunted him ever since that night two weeks ago when she’d let him love her.
    Aiden jerked his mind away from such thoughts. They were in the middle of dinner. He hadn’t even asked her about the house yet and already his thoughts had moved on to the bedroom.
    Moved on? Had they ever really left there? Or that night for that matter? He watched her looking at him underneath her lashes and wondered if she guessed. Probably. Women seemed to have a way of guessing when a man was thinking about bedding them.
    “I was asking when you have to leave again,” she said while playing with her fork. Cara was nervous. That meant she was remembering as well. He liked that.
    “Tomorrow morning, seven a.m. flight,” he told her and was rewarded with another flash of something that looked like regret.
    “So soon?”
    “Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable. Thank God, I’ve only committed to a year. Otherwise, I think I’d go crazy up there.” He teased her, hoping to ease some of that nervous tension between them.
    “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Aiden had been expecting that question for a while now. He’d known she was dying to hear the answer to it.
    “Its killing you, isn’t it.” He grinned back at her and she glared at him. “Okay, okay. Let’s take our coffee out onto the deck. It’s much too pretty of a night to be inside. There are a thousand stars out there.” Actually, Aiden was stalling. He wasn’t sure the best way to ask Cara the question he’d wanted to ask her since talking to Miranda.
    “Stop stalling, Aiden,” Cara told him once they were sitting next to each other on the double recliner.
    “Geez, am I that transparent? Okay, here’s the deal. I talked to Miranda.”
    “You’re getting back together with her?” she asked before he could tell her the truth. Aiden glanced her way in the darkness. Cara sounded upset.
    “What? No. No, way. Of course not.