Page 10 of Trashed to Treasured
Holy shit! I slammed the door in shock, not sure what else to do. Then I realized what I’d just done and opened it up again. Thankfully, he was still standing there, though the sparkle in his eyes was definitely dimmed.
“Sorry.” I pulled the door wide and stepped back so he could come in. “I was just surprised to see you.”
“No, you don’t need to apologize. I should have called instead of just coming unannounced.” He held a white box out to me. “But I come bearing cookies, if that helps.”
“Cookies?” I snatched the box and peeked inside. “How did you know I was planning on cookies for dinner? Now I don’t have to bake them myself.” I pulled out a sugar cookie covered in pink icing.
He raised an eyebrow. “Cookies for dinner?”
The corner of the cookie was already in my mouth but I hadn’t bitten through it yet. “Mm-hm.”
Aaron’s lips lifted in a grin he was obviously trying to suppress. “Is it at least good?”
I bit through the moist cookie and savored the frosting. “So good.”
“Well, one cookie is a treat, but I don’t think it’s dinner.” He reached for the box and took it into the kitchen. “I haven’t eaten yet either. Maybe I could order delivery?”
I bit off the other corner and then placed the leftover half on top of the box. “That would be nice. I can save this half for dessert.”
“That’s a good choice.” He stood in front of me, just a few inches separating us, and I could feel his uncertainty.
Breaking the tension and making the first move, I stepped into him and gave him a hug. “I want to thank you for the other day. You don’t know how much I appreciate how you…. Well, how you took care of me.”
Aaron’s strong arms closed around me, and he rested his cheek on the side of my head. “It was my pleasure. Then. Now. Anytime.”
My heart started beating faster at the implications of what he was saying. I wanted anytime. I wanted every time. All times. But I’d barely met him, and more importantly, he’d barely met me.
And I knew from past experience that I was hard to love. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
His grip tightened around me before he stepped back and looked me right in the eye. “I won’t. That’s a promise.”
My breath caught, and I felt like a deer in headlights. How did I respond to that?
Luckily, I didn’t have to, because Aaron took control of the moment. “What are you in the mood for? Maybe pasta or tacos or sushi? What do you like?”
That was easy. “I’ll eat anything. I love all that stuff, so whatever sounds good to you is good for me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Have you tried Milan’s? They make a really good lobster mac and cheese.”
I clasped my hands together under my chin and tried not to jump up and down. “I love mac and cheese. Geo couldn’t eat cheese, so I wasn’t allowed to have it either.”
Aaron frowned. “We’re gonna talk more about that, but let me put in our order first so we’re not eating at midnight.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Okay, okay. Let me get us something to drink. You want a beer or something?” I pulled open the freezer door. “I’ve got vodka on ice.”
“Cranberry juice is fine.” He looked up from his phone and winked. “On ice.”
I poured two glasses of juice on ice and then led Aaron into the living room.
He sat at the far end of my couch and finished up the order while I placed both glasses on the coffee table between us. “Here ya go.”
I sat quietly while Aaron was on his phone, but as soon as he was done, he placed it facedown on the table and turned so he was facing me against the corner of the sofa.
“Do you want to talk about what happened on Saturday?” His gaze felt like a lead weight against my skin, but his tone was kind.
I swallowed hard. “Which part?”
“All of it.” He reached across the back cushion so his fingers were just behind my neck. “Let’s start with why you were black-out drunk in the middle of the afternoon.”
