Page 31 of Falling With You
And it didn’t matter that he got even hotter when he was acting all broody and angry.
It really wasn’t fair.
“Aiden?”
“What?”
“Aiden.”
“Fine. I don’t want to do this tonight. I don’t particularly like playing pool, but it’s helping the damn bar. And it was Brendon’s idea, so we have to go for it.”
“Is the thing that’s annoying you the most the fact that it was Brendon’s idea?”
“No.”
“Aiden.”
“Every time you say my name, you keep yelling it. As if I’m supposed to just magically know what you mean by it.”
“You do. Aiden.”
He threw up his hands. “Fine. Everybody’s all into this whole pool night or whatever. And yeah, it’s working, but they keep giving me shit over my stuff. And, yeah, I’m acting like I’m fifteen rather than my age, but it annoys me to no end that I get ragged on, and they’re doing just fine.”
“But they’re not.”
“Excuse me?”
“You all razz each other. But you’re all doing something to help the bar. You’re doing great things. I loved it before, and I kind of wish it could have stayed that way, but it couldn’t, not in this economy. Not in this city. You guys are changing things but keeping the same flare. And your food’s amazing, Aiden. I loved it when you cooked at your old restaurant, but here? When you’re surrounded by family, and it’s a little more low-key? I love it even more.”
He studied my face, frowning. “You went to LaFleurs?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud, but now, I couldn’t back away. “Yeah. A couple of times. It was a little too pricey for me, so I could only go like on a date or if it was like a celebration.”
“But you went to LaFleurs. Where I worked. And I didn’t know. How the fuck did I not know?”
“I only knew you worked there because your dad mentioned it once or twice.” Or forty times.
Jack really loved his sons and made sure that everybody knew that. So, he had mentioned a few times that Aiden worked at LaFleurs as a line cook, and then as a sous chef. And that he was doing freaking amazingly. And so, I had wanted to go. Meaning, I’d scraped up the change in my couch and then used a credit card to pay for it, but it had been worth it. Possibly some of the best food I’d ever had in my life. “The food was great, Aiden. You never have to worry about that.”
“How do you know I’m the one who cooked it?”
“I don’t, but you probably had a part in it. However small it may be.”
“Hey. There’s nothing small about me.”
My eyes widened, and I did my best not to look down. It was kind of hard not to because it was sort of the thing in the room just then.
“Really, Aiden?” I tried my best not to sound like I was too interested. Because I was. But I wasn’t.
“Sorry. Force of habit. Anyway. I didn’t know you came. To LaFleurs that is.” He winked. I rolled my eyes. “I wish you would have come back to the kitchen or something. Or sent a note to say that you were there. I would have liked to see you.”
“I thought it might be weird. It had been a while since we had actually talked to each other. You know? Friends just sometimes move in different directions for a while.”
“We’re not moving in different directions now. I guess you’re stuck in my life for a while.”
“Aw, I guess you’re stuck in mine, too.”
We both grinned then, and I realized that I was still watching him and that we were close. Too close.