Page 27 of Seasons of Love
We were on higher ground, looking into the valley below.
This was my thinking place. It was peaceful and undisturbed.
Coming here served as a reminder of how lucky I'd been. Still was. My fate could have been so different if I'd carried on the destructive path of my youth.
When I was here, I knew I'd made at least one good decision in my life.
"Wow, is that lavender?" Aiden asked as soon as we got to the top of the small incline.
"Yes. That's Reed's farm."
"Reed… Isn’t that where Indy and Tate got married?"
"Yeah." Most of the time I'd spent with Aiden was just us, so I’d forgotten he knew the guys due to being friends with Wren.
"I thought we were farther away from Chester Falls. Isn't Reed's farm only half an hour away from town?" he asked.
"Yeah, we're quite close. We went in a big circle to give you the riding experience, but I wanted to bring you here."
Aiden closed his eyes and inhaled the lavender-infused breeze.
I wanted to put my arms around him, inhale his scent, and lick that spot of exposed skin between the collar of his shirt and his hairline.
In the sunlight his skin was even more perfect. So white, smooth, soft. I imagined Aiden wasn't the kind of man to mark his skin with tattoos. Not that there was anything wrong with tattoos. I had plenty and liked them, but the thought of exploring Aiden's unmarked skin made me lightheaded.
"Slade."
"What?"
"You're looking at me like you want to eat me. Should I be worried?"
I scratched my beard and ran my fingers down to straighten it. Aiden's eyes followed my hand as if he wanted to do it himself.
"Only if you have issues being mauled by an old man with very little self-restraint around you."
He turned his back on the view to face me and ran his hands up my chest slowly before grabbing on to the collar of my jacket.
"First of all, you're not old—"
"I'm forty-eight."
"Thank you for telling me, but I don't care about your age. I'm thirty, by the way, so you're not exactly cradle snatching."
I smiled.
"And second, I am very up for being mauled."
"Oh, Aiden…" I let my words hang because I didn't know what else to say. This man was something else. "How about we grab some lunch? There's a place not far from here. They do good food."
"Sounds excellent."
The roadside diner wasn't as busy as I'd seen it before, maybe because it was still a little early for lunch, so instead of sitting at the bar, I led us to a booth.
"Do you do this often?" he asked.
"I try to ride on Sundays. There aren't as many tractors on the roads that I like to take."
"When did you start riding?"
