“Let’s head back. I have to check on myroast.”
Shae snorted. “Okay.”
When they got back to his place, Aidan insisted that Shae let him serve her. He didn’t have a dining table so they ate the delicious beef stew at a loosely constructed coffee table made of plywood and cinder blocks in front of his television. Aidan pulled up his Netflix account and selected “Fireplace for Your Home S1 : E1 Crackling Yule Log Fireplace,” the scene perfect for a romantic evening in. They ate in silence for the most part, enjoying the sounds of the Christmas instrumentals and the cracklingfire.
When Shae was done, she set down her plate and turned to face Aidan. He was still working on his large secondhelping.
“Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?” sheasked.
He swallowed and then set down his plate. “Not yet. What do you have goingon?”
“A wedding, actually. My cousin Keira is gettingmarried.”
“Oh, cool. Where are they havingit?”
“Malibu. Brother of the groom is a big actor. He’s on that showGalaxis. J.D.Song?”
“Oh, I know him. He just got cast in some superheromovie.”
“Yeah. He arranged the venue and everything. We’ll be spending the night outthere.”
“That sounds like it’ll be a goodtime.”
“Yeah, it should be fun.” Shae bit her lip, toying with the idea of cashing in her last minute plus one that Keira would sure grant her, but she chickened out. “So, dinner wasgreat.”
“That’s some high praise I’ll hold onto.”
“Well, slow down now. I know you didn’t make the biscuits from scratch. Pull that off and I’ll hand you the blueribbon.”
“I’ll have to get back in the kitchen andpractice.”
“I’ll be waiting patiently for yourpresentation.”
He winked at her as he reached for their plates, grabbing and taking them back to the kitchen. “You want anything else todrink?”
Shae eyed her half-empty glass of wine. “I’m fine. I, uh—um, I have a bag in my car. An overnight bag, if you would like me to stayovernight.”
She watched Aidan as he froze for a moment, then slowly set the plates down in the sink. He turned around and ducked to look at her over the small kitchen peninsula. “I would like that very much. You want me to walk down to your car with you? We can grab itnow.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Shae reached into her purse, grabbed her keys and met Aidan by thedoor.
“And when we get back, I found something called a Very Merry Christmas.” He grabbed his own keys off a handy hook next to the jamb, then held the door open forher.
“You’re hooked on the holiday cheesiness, aren’tyou?”
“I am and it’s all your fault.” Aidan took her hand and let her lead him out to the street where she left her car. As they walked, they talked about the weird, fluctuating weather and she mentioned that his work buddy Matt had ordered from Sweet Creams twice in the last two days. She laughed, trying to hide her nerves when Aidan told her that Matt had thought their newfound relationship meant he was getting free and frequent baked goods. Shae almost slipped and said that she only baked for free for people she loved, but she managed to swallow the words, laughing instead at the idea that she would trade Matt’s money for his goodgraces.
When they stepped back into Aidan’s apartment, Shae made for the couch to settle in for another romantic Christmas instant classic. She made it maybe two feet before she felt Aidan’s fingers gently wrap around herwrist.
She turned quickly. “What’s up…” The words died in her mouth when she saw the look on Aidan’s face. She went to him without question, her arms going around his shoulders as his hand went to her ass, pulling her closer, their lips coming together perfectly. Soon she was kissing him deeper, begging his tongue to tease hers, which he pleasantly obliged. Shae knew she could spend all night like this, just standing in his kitchen, kissing and kissing and kissing until she couldn’tbreathe.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that all week. You wanna watch themovie?”
“No.”
Shae watched him carefully as his gaze roamed over her face. She didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on her lips. He reached up and lightly smoothed the hair at her temple away from her face. “Do you want to take this to mybedroom?”
“Yes.”