Hard to Handle litb-2 Page 15

  “And the window is done.”

  “I saw.” There was something in Sadie’s face. Distance. Maybe a little sadness. Aiden digested what she was telling him, focusing on the words completely and done. “You aren’t saying good-bye for the day,” he said. “You meant…”

  She shrugged. “I’m done.”

  Aiden nodded. That sucked. “Okay. Great.” He’d sort of forgotten she was only around temporarily, had become accustomed to seeing her almost every day. He liked running into her in the hallway, talking to her in the store when they were slow. He liked finding her alone in the break room at the vending machine. And now she was “done.” He frowned.

  Sadie shut her car door and rolled down the window. “I’ll be glad to get back to the office.” She slipped her sunglasses on and sent him a grin.

  Was she telling him the truth? Was she glad to be done? Glad to go back to sitting in her cubicle for most of the day? Aiden had watched her in the store, interacting with customers, setting up displays, chatting with employees. She liked it, was good at it. Her ease with people was the driving force behind her success.

  “I’ll miss you,” Aiden said. When that hurt too much, he corrected. “I mean, miss your help. With everything.” He gestured at the store. “In there.”

  Sadie’s smile remained, which bothered him. “I’ll miss it, too. It’s a cool store, Aiden. You’ll do well with it.”

  Why was this starting to sound like reunited high school friends promising to meet up for drinks before the next ten years passed them by? Had their attraction only been one of proximity? Convenience?

  Sadie turned the key in the ignition and Aiden realized if he didn’t make plans with her before she left, he never would. Convincing her to go out with him, to do anything with him, always worked better when he was face-to-face with her.

  He leaned into her car window. “Hey, before you go…” She tensed slightly, so he put his hand over hers on the steering wheel.

  Aiden briefly explained his brother’s and Shane’s partnership, and the celebratory cocktail party scheduled for this weekend. “Landon will be there, and my sister, Angel. Shane invited Evan and me, I think so we wouldn’t feel left out.” He wished he could see Sadie’s eyes. With sunglasses hiding her eyes he wasn’t sure what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

  Stop stalling.

  He squeezed her hand and shot her a smile. “Come with me, Sadie. Be my date.”

  * * *

  Sadie rested the statuette on her desk. A few coworkers poked their heads into her cube and congratulated her some more. The awards ceremony took up the entire afternoon and now most of Midwest’s employees were filing out to the destination of happy hour.

  Sadie had worked so long, so hard to achieve number one in sales at Midwest. She studied the gold placard with her name engraved on it, and thought she should feel more of a…she didn’t know…an oomph or something. More powerful, or successful. Ready to tackle her job with renewed fervor.

  Instead, she felt sort of meh.

  Maybe the cloud overshadowing her achievement was the invitation from Aiden on her last day at Axle’s. Not only would tomorrow be her first real, official date with Aiden since last year, which, face it, she wasn’t a hundred percent certain was a good idea, but the party was also a very classy affair. Crickitt and her billionaire husband would be throwing the soiree at Diamond Crown Hall, and that place was fancy. Sadie should know. She’d booked her wedding reception at Diamond Crown.

  She wasn’t sure if returning to the site of her former reception-to-be was what was making her skin crawl, or that she’d finally be meeting Aiden’s siblings. All of them. The sister from Tennessee, the brother from Columbus, the other brother from Chicago. She had no idea how she felt about that…or how she’d be received.

  When she thought of seeing Aiden, however, a satisfied little smile curved her lips. She missed him, missed seeing him at Axle’s, missed him taking up her space. She’d thought of him often, while running her sales appointments, or at random times during the day. Her mind had been on him more than not.

  When Midwest’s new catalogs had come in earlier this week, she’d used the excuse to pop in and see him. But when she’d gotten to Axle’s, Aiden had left for the day. She’d stayed and made small talk with Axle—very small talk; this was Axle, after all—but she’d kept one eye on the door on the off chance Aiden might walk through it.

  They’d sort of left their…relationship?…on eternal pause. He’d asked her to the party, she’d said yes, and that had been that. But now instead of that there was this. This unsatisfied…this she felt now that she hadn’t seen Aiden for a week. She glanced at her calendar. Had it only been a week? It felt more like a month.

  Her eyes went to her cell and she thought of calling him. She didn’t have his number saved into her phone any longer, but she could call Axle. He would give it to her if she made up a good enough story. She wondered if Aiden had kept her number. Surely he’d call before tomorrow.

  Perry walked into Sadie’s cubicle and she stopped staring at her phone. No amount of “using the Force” would make the dang thing ring anyway. Perry folded himself into a bow, his tie swinging back and forth between them. “I hereby renounce my feud for number one,” he said. He rose and looked at his watch. “For the next thirty-six hours. Then it’s on.”

  She had half a mind to brain him with her trophy.

  His smile faltered and, for a moment, she was sure she’d said that out loud. “I’m sorry I was a prick,” he said. “You won fair and square, and I’m a horrible, terrible person during competitions.”

  “Only then?” she asked drily.

  He chuckled and pointed an Oh, you finger at her.

  Sadie gave him a composed smile. She was pretty sure his recent attitude adjustment could be credited to Aiden. Just thinking of the way Aiden stood up for her honor at Rick’s party made her want to fan herself. She would have smiled, but she didn’t want to smile at Perry.

  “I’ll take whatever reprieve you offer. However brief,” she told Perry.

  “Truce?”

  She regarded his outstretched hand before folding her arms over her chest. “For now.”

  * * *

  Aiden called.

  Saturday afternoon, Sadie had been hobbling around with wet toenails and cotton weaved between her toes when her phone rang. She had to run on her heels to avoid smearing her pedi.

  Hearing his voice made her heart swell, had memories cascading over her. Memories of kissing him, holding him, and the way he looked sprawled on her couch wearing nothing but his skivvies.

  Which is precisely why Sadie used the excuse of an errand so she could drive herself to the reception hall. She was too nervous to have Aiden come to her place. Where she’d missed him in her space yesterday, today the idea of him in her apartment felt like a bad idea. She wasn’t sure why, but the pressure had mounted. Before, there was none, but now, she felt as if a pipe had burst and she was hip-deep in it, a dangerous undercurrent threatening to tow her down.

  It was just a feeling, really. A pit-of-her-stomach gut call she couldn’t make sense of.

  Sadie followed the signature patterned carpet of Diamond Crown Hall past smaller rooms hosting various celebrations as she looked for the August-Downey affair. The Klepps’ reception, Jim and Nancy’s fiftieth anniversary party, Jillian’s Sweet Sixteen…Finally she reached the room Shane had booked for his gathering and her heart sank. It was the very same room Sadie had booked for The Wedding That Never Was.

  She steeled her spine and plowed forward. It wasn’t as if the site were haunted by unpleasant memories. Although, in a way, it kind of was.

  Sadie may not have had her garter removed in here, or sliced her eight-tiered red velvet cake, but this was where her life was supposed to start. The marriage to Trey would have put an end to her single life and marked the beginning of the rest of her life.

  Or so she’d thought.

  When Trey and C
eleste had married each other instead, Sadie’s forward progress had ground to a halt. And now she was…What was she doing? Perpetually bobbing along…randomly dating?

  Aiden and I could date.

  Excitement flitted through her veins.

  What a brilliant idea.

  Not that it hadn’t occurred to her before now, but whenever the thought arose, she shoved it back down again. Now that she thought about it—really thought about it—she liked the idea even more.

  Aiden admitted he wanted her, and if she had any doubts, she couldn’t deny she’d felt the press of his manhood against her hip a time or two. As much as she hated to steal his reclaimed virtue…well, hell, who was she kidding? She didn’t mind at all.

  Maybe she should apply a bit more pressure tonight. And a bit more the next date. Dating Aiden would be fine, wouldn’t it? Dating and sleeping with Aiden sounded finer than frog hair, as a matter of fact. She could stop fretting once and for all. If she could convince him to take her to bed, she thought with an evil smirk.

  Oh yes. She liked this plan.

  Music drifted from the double doors of the main ballroom. Soft notes of the piano, the rasp of cymbals, the smooth cadence of horns. The sign out front read AUGUST INDUSTRIES & DOWNEY DESIGN GALA. Sadie gripped the handle and let herself in.

  Shane knew how to throw a party. From the candles and vases of live flowers scattered around the room, to the low light cast on the walls, every square inch of the room spoke suave sophistication. Since this was a Black and White Party, the guests were asked to dress accordingly. The wait staff was dressed in black and white, but wore ties in August Industries’ signature bold blue and silver to differentiate them from the guests.

  Sadie used the excuse to purchase a short white dress with a black lace overlay. The ornate black chandelier-style earrings and beaded black bracelet were also new, as were the four-inch satin high heels with lace overlay that matched her dress.

  Matching lace overlay. She hadn’t been able to resist.

  She spotted Aiden standing with a man who could only be his brother. He was a few inches taller than Aiden, his hair the same dark shade of blond, but his was a much crisper cut than Aiden’s careless shag.

  Both men wore black on black, but Aiden’s suit was playful, the cut casual. He didn’t wear a tie and his shirt hung open at the collar. The very picture of easygoing. Conversely, the other man’s outfit was made up of razor-sharp lines, matching his angled, clean-shaven jaw, and a black tie sliced down the center of his shirt. As if he felt her eyes on him, Aiden turned and waved Sadie over.

  When she reached him, he took her hand. “This beautiful woman is with me, if you can believe it,” Aiden said, his eyes shining as he smiled down at her. “Sadie, this guy, despite his appearance, is not a celebrity. He’s just my brother Landon.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Sadie extended a hand.

  “And you,” Landon said with a regal tilt of his head. He took her hand in a corporate handshake. He was handsome, no doubt about it. From his stylish black-framed glasses to the enviable cheekbones beneath them. But the seriousness in his eyes and his firm, flat line of a mouth made him less approachable than Aiden. She turned back to Aiden, his familiar smiling face like a blast of warmth.

  “Would you like a Blue Martini?” Aiden asked, moving her hand to his arm. “They’re the signature drink of the evening.”

  “Please.” Happiness trickled molasses-slow down her spine. She liked being here with him. She’d probably like being anywhere with him. She may as well loosen up and have some fun, especially since she planned on convincing Aiden to have some fun, too. The kind of fun that wouldn’t require a scrap of the clothing he wore now, she thought with a devilish grin. But first, she had to play the game. They were on a date. Sadie was good at dating. She practically had a 4.0 in dating.

  “Your brother seems very…professional,” she told him as they meandered through the well-dressed crowd.

  Aiden chuckled. “He’s a serious guy. Brilliant head for business. He and Shane will make good partners.”

  Shane had a brilliant head for business, too, but according to Crickitt, he managed to keep a firm hold on his playfulness. Landon struck her as the type to ream the waiter if his martini wasn’t precisely chilled to a preferred temperature.

  Blue drinks in hand, Sadie and Aiden made their way to one of the chairless tables scattered around the room. There was an occasional stuffed sofa or ottoman along the wall, but they were full.

  “They don’t want people lounging, do they?” she asked.

  “They don’t want them to eat much, either.” He cast a dubious glance at the table of plated tapas in beautiful but miniscule portions.

  “The prosciutto bruschetta looks delicious,” Sadie said.

  “It is,” Aiden said. “I’ve had about fourteen of them.”

  She laughed, but Aiden didn’t join her. His smile dropped, shoulders tightened. She followed his eyeline to the man approaching. He was dressed in black pants and a white shirt, and his sleeves were pushed over forearms decorated with tattoos. This had to be Aiden’s other brother. His facial features were a mix of Aiden and Landon, but his hair was several shades darker. The bump on his nose was his own and hinted that this Downey brother had lived a rougher life than the other two. A shock of dark hair dropped over his forehead when he nodded at Aiden, his mouth set in a hard line.

  “Sadie,” Aiden said, his tone careful. “My brother Evan.”

  Evan gave her a curt nod but kept his hands in his pockets. She retracted the hand she held out for him and clutched her purse under her arm instead.

  “Lyon is a great kid,” she said. To her surprise, Evan’s face broke into a small smile.

  He shrugged one shoulder. “He’s his mother.”

  She cast a sideways glance at Aiden. A muscle in his jaw ticked and Sadie inched closer to him, brushing his arm with hers. Aiden wrapped an arm around her waist and took a breath, calming some now that she’d reminded him she was here.

  Tension strung between these two in a practically visible cord. Sadie remembered what Aiden told her in her kitchen, about how his brothers held Aiden responsible for having taken their mother to Oregon. Half of her wanted to lecture Evan and defend Aiden. The other half of her knew exactly how Evan felt. She’d been betrayed back then, too. No matter how righteous Aiden’s reasoning, Sadie had been hurt. And recovering would take time, because hurt…well…it hurt. There wasn’t much anyone could do besides wait it out.

  Evan took his hand from his pocket and ran a hand through his hair. A tattoo of a bird decorated the inside of his forearm. She grasped his wrist, startling him, but he let her look. Not just a bird, then, she thought as she turned his arm to get a better look. A sparrow. Holding a string of hearts in its beak. One heart had snapped from the rest and was broken in two.

  “Lyon’s mom?” she guessed.

  Evan’s mouth turned down as he studied the artwork on his arm like he hadn’t looked at it in a while. “Yeah.”

  She kept her hand on him, letting her palm warm his skin. When he met her eye, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  His eyebrows met over his nose in a brief flinch. “Thank you,” he said with a nod.

  Sadie released his arm. She knew Lyon’s mother had passed away, but Sadie wasn’t sure if she and Evan were a couple when she died. It was clear from the anguish darkening Evan’s blue eyes that they were. And it made Sadie’s chest ache to see how much the loss still hurt him.

  As badly as she and Aiden’s breakup had been, at least he was here next to her. She could touch him, look into his eyes, talk to him.

  A bit of ink peeked out of Evan’s sleeve and a design tracked up his other arm. “I like your tats,” Sadie said, hoping to steer the conversation onto smoother terrain. “Aiden’s is really good. Did you do it?”

  Evan’s mouth turned down and he cast an angry look at his brother. “You have a tattoo?”

  Oops.

  “When?” Evan
demanded.

  “After Mom…” Aiden didn’t finish, his posture going rigid.

  Sadie tipped her head in Landon’s direction, hoping the mention of their oldest brother would end this conversation. “What about him? Does he have any?”

  “If he did, I’d have done them,” Evan grumbled.

  “Ev.” Aiden’s tone was a warning.

  Sadie looked over at Landon again. A glaringly beautiful woman approached, her long honey-colored curls dripping down her lithe, lean frame. She turned and Sadie nearly swallowed her tongue. Lissa Francine? Lissa, a lingerie model and runway queen, was here in the enviable flesh. Sadie would trade her entire shoe collection to have a body like hers. Lissa leaned in and said something to Landon. Sadie didn’t think it was possible for him to look less comfortable until his face twisted into a grimace. He followed her woodenly across the room in measured, reluctant steps.

  Sadie was about to point out the celebrity in their midst when Evan muttered, “Nice to meet you,” and brushed by them, wandering toward the food.

  “He’s cheery,” Sadie said.

  ”You should have seen him after Rae died,” Aiden told her. “I actually think this is him being cheery.”

  “Sorry about the mentioning the tattoo.”

  His mouth relaxed and he palmed her back. “You didn’t know.” He slid his eyes down her body and back up, tucking her closer to whisper into her ear. “You look good enough to eat.”

  Her knees nearly buckled.

  “Speaking of eating,” he said, backing away from her, “if you expect to get a meal out of these hors d’oeuvres, you’d better grab ’em before someone else does.”

  After Sadie had eaten her weight in mini crab cakes and was on her second blue drink, Aiden had gone to the bar for a refill. Sadie chose to hang at a table rather than go with him. She sent a wave across the room to Crickitt, who shrugged in apology as she hobnobbed with a few of the company’s mucky-mucks. Sadie waved her off with a shake of her head. Shane had made Crickitt full partner; Sadie understood that she needed to work the room.