Page 8 of Seasons of Love
He looked around us and raised his brows.
I laughed. "I'm fine with crowds. It's single people I'm not as good with."
"What makes you think I'm single?"
I opened my mouth and shut it again.
He laughed. "Relax, I was only joking. Let's start from the beginning."
I nodded, still not trusting anything else out of my mouth while in the presence of this guy that somehow got my gut all twisted.
"Hi, I'm Aiden, and I love books. I think you do too. I'm kinda new in town, so if you're free any time, we could meet up for a coffee and talk about this book we both want to read. Oh, and I'm single but not looking for a relationship. Just putting it out there."
It took me a moment to notice his outstretched hand between us. I met it with mine, ignoring again how nice it felt. I definitely needed another shower when I got home.
"Nice to meet you, Aiden. Maybe I'll see you around."
"Maybe…"
He smiled and left me staring at his ass as he walked away toward the checkout desk Ben had set up for the fair.
It was hard to focus on any books after that, so I picked a few random titles and paid for them before heading back home. I didn't bother seeing Liam and Maggie or buying a pastry from Spilled Beans.
The second shower did a good job of cooling me down before I put my new books away on the shelf. One of my favorites, one I could never give away to Goodwill, caught my attention, so I pulled it out from the shelf and sat on my couch.
The sunlight from the tall window in my living room made my couch the perfect reading nook, so I made myself comfortable and opened the book to the first page.
Some days it was better revisiting old friends than meeting new ones, even when they had deep, brown eyes that sucked you in and promised to keep you warm.
My hands stilled and my heartbeat increased when my eyes stopped on the author photo on the inside of the cover.
Brown eyes, this time without the glasses but unmistakably deep and soft, stared back at me. Aiden was A. Lawton. All that time when I thought I recognized Aiden but couldn't place him.
"I'm such an idiot." I groaned.
Now I definitely couldn't read the book. That's how deep my embarrassment level was.
I just hoped he wasn't staying in town for too long. Maybe if I kept to myself and didn't leave the shop, I'd avoid bumping into him. That seemed like a good idea, and I had my bike restoration to work on, anyway. I'd be plenty busy with that.
I was definitely not going to think about how I'd embarrassed myself in front of the man who was responsible for so many of my lost hours, heartbreaks, and happy-ever-afters.
4
AIDEN
I should have known I'd be ambushed. I should have recognized the first sign a mile away.
After all, how many times had I written a main character being coerced into facing their issues by well-intentioned friends?
The answer was too many to count, but enough that I should have known when it was happening to me.
"What did you think of the fair?" Wren asked.
I raised a brow. Was that really what he wanted to ask me? Okay, then.
"It was great. I was only recognized a couple of times, and now I have a handful of books to read."
I raised the menu high enough to cover my face and started reading through the options. Indy had been generous enough to offer me one of his amazing pastries earlier, but that had been too many conversations and forced smiles ago.
