Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (19 page)

"Cool, I'll make sure I have that night off. I'll be right back." Chris scoots out of the booth and walks to the kitchen.

"I can't believe he didn't tell me about stupid Jessica, slutty mole face, having a crush on him," Sarah whispers sending death glares to the young waitress.

Aiden smirks and looks away.

"Sarah, there was obviously nothing to tell. I wouldn't get worked up about it. Chris loves you. That's obvious."

Sarah scoffs. "Yeah, right, then why won't he say it to me?"

"He will, when the time's right for both of you."

"Yeah, well, he better keep his hands off slutty mole face, or I'll castrate him, and her. I mean she looks like a dude anyway. I bet she is, and I bet she has a massive sack of balls under that tiny skirt of hers."

"Sarah, play nice."

She glares relentlessly at Jess. Aiden is trying hard not to burst into laughter as Chris walks toward us.

Once Chris is back, we leave the restaurant and make our way back to the car, completely full from dinner. Chris drives us to the cinema complex, and we choose a romantic comedy. We buy our tickets, drinks, and popcorn and make our way into the cinema.

"Where do you want to sit?" Aiden asks as we walk up the stairs.

"In the middle at the back."

Chris goes in first then Sarah and then me, followed by Aiden. We sit down, and he moves the center arm between us so that it folds back, making it so we can cuddle easily. Chris does the same with the arm between himself and Sarah.

Sarah moves in close to Chris while he puts his arm around her, bringing her in tight as she cuddles into her man. She throws her legs over his, almost sitting in his lap, staking her claim on him. I shake my head at them and Aiden takes my hand. I turn, resting my head on his shoulder; he then rests his head on mine. The movie previews start to roll. I hear a kissing noise coming from my right. I look over and see Sarah and Chris making out next to me. I nuzzle back into Aiden. Eventually the movie starts, and they unlock their lips to watch.

I find myself not watching the movie but thinking. Thinking about the loss of the baby and Aiden's recent mood shifts. I look over at Sarah and Chris and see how happy they are together; it seems effortless with them. Sure, Sarah's jealousy gets the better of her sometimes, but it's obvious that Chris has eyes only for her.
Why can't my relationship be easy like theirs?
My breathing starts to quicken as I think more and more about the events of the last few weeks. I start to feel a cold sweat wash over me causing my leg to agitate up and down. I feel like I'm having a panic attack. I suddenly sit bolt upright and look at Aiden. He looks at me, with one eyebrow raised.

"You alright?" he whispers.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." I stand, and let go of his hand, shuffling past him to make my way to the stairs. I walk down them briskly and out of the cinema. Once out of the theater, I lean up against the wall and try to catch my breath. I close my eyes and breathe in and out slowly, trying to calm myself down. I make my way down to the end of the corridor and head for the women's restroom. I walk in and stand in front of the basin, staring at myself in the mirror, trying to calm my breathing.

I finally calm down enough to leave the restroom. I open the door and walk out to the empty corridor. It's dimly lit and has an almost eerie sensation about it. Suddenly I hear a loud bang behind me. I quickly turn to see nothing but an upturned trash can and a soda cup rolling across the floor. I swallow a lump in my throat and look to see if I can see anyone.

I can't see anything. I turn back toward the cinema, and I hear another loud bang from behind me again. This is not paranoia. My heart starts to race as I look again, but I still see nothing. I start to run toward the cinema, bumping straight into a young couple, knocking all three of us to the floor and spilling their popcorn everywhere. I sit up and hold my hand to my chest as my heart races.

"Oh thank God."

They both look at me strangely.

"Watch where you're going next time," the girl says angrily to me. I catch my breath as they start to stand up, brushing the popcorn off themselves. I stand up quickly, looking back to where the noises came from; there's still nothing there.

"I'm sorry, guys." I grab some money from my pocket, handing it to her to replace their popcorn. The girl rolls her eyes, snatches the money from my hand and the guy takes her by the arm and pulls her away.

I run to the cinema and back to my seat next to Aiden. I shuffle past him and sit down.

"Jeni, are you okay? You were gone for ages," he whispers in my ear. I nod. He moves his hand to my hair and pulls out a stray piece of popcorn, looking at me strangely.

"I'll tell you after the movie," I whisper to him. He takes my hand in his again as I look over at Sarah and Chris, who are too busy making out to even notice I was gone.

By the time the movie finishes, I've finally calmed down enough to be slightly relaxed. The credits roll. I look at Aiden, and the lights in the cinema brighten, making Sarah and Chris separate.

"What happened, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I got scared in the corridor, and then I bumped into some people and spilled their popcorn all over the floor."

"And in your hair apparently. What were you scared of?"

"It was dark, and there was a loud noise. That's all, just my overactive imagination."

He kisses my forehead.

"You guys ready to go?" Sarah interrupts.

We stand and walk down the stairs and out of the cinema; more people are in the corridor now, making me feel at ease.

We walk back to the car and drive back to Sarah's. We go inside to have a coffee and a general chat. Sarah and I make our way to the kitchen to make the coffee and the guys sit at the dining table. They chat to each other about cars as usual. Sarah puts on the kettle. I pull out four mugs from the cupboard, and Sarah looks at me, frowning.

"Are you alright?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah, fine, why?"

"You don't seem your normal chirpy self tonight, and I know that when you got here you'd been crying. I could see it in your eyes. Don't deny it." She casually looks over at Aiden, while I exhale and look toward the ground.

"Is everything okay?"

I shake my head.

"Then what is it? Is he cheating?" she asks, her eyes squinting and her brow furrowed.

"No, it's nothing like that. He ... he got a bit angry last night, and I saw a bit of his father in him, and that worries me."

"Jeni, is he hurting you or something?"

I shake my head in response. "No, it's hard to explain. He was different, that's all. It was something I didn't expect from him."

"As long as he's not hurting you or anything, but you let me know if he does, and even though they are buddy-buddy now, Chris will kick his ass if he hurts you."

"I know, thanks."

"I mean it. You can talk to me anytime you know."

I take Aiden's and my coffee as Sarah takes Chris' and hers.

We stay there for most of the night chatting. It gets late, and I start to get weary. Aiden watches me fading fast and decides it's time to go home.

"C'mon, Miss Taylor, let's get you home to bed."

I stand up and hug Sarah and Chris. "Thanks for a great night, guys," I say through a yawn.

He takes my hand, and we walk down the hallway, out the front door, and to the Aston Martin. He opens my door and helps me into the car. We don't even make it out the driveway before my eyes close, and I fall into a deep sleep.

***

As time goes by, we slowly get over the loss of our baby, and we seem to be back into our old routine. My fears of him becoming Alistair are being squashed by his efforts to prove to me how unlike his father he really is. We get up and go to work every weekday. I'm getting much better at my job now, and I don't have to rely on Brielle to help me so much, which is comforting. Alistair still taunts me every day behind Aiden's back, calling me horrible names. Now he tells me off for being too productive, rather than being slow. Either way, I can't win with him, and that's something I have to learn to deal with. It still hurts, but at least it's bearable at the moment. We are making love as often as possible, but never in the shower anymore. That's become off limits for me, the memory still haunting me to this day.

Chapter 13

"Happy birthday, babe," I say, leaning in to kiss him.

"Urgh, yeah, birthday," he says grumpily, making me giggle.

"Birthday means presents!"

"I have everything I need right here." He pulls me to him and kisses me once more.

His phone rings, disturbing our passionate kiss. He exhales and answers it.

"Hi, Mom." He places it on speakerphone for me to hear.

"
Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday, dear Aiden, Happy birthday to you, hip hip hooray.
I love you, darling," Callie sings on the other end of the line.

"Thanks, Mom. Jeni's listening in."

"Hi, Callie."

"Oh, hi, darling. Sorry about my terrible singing. Aiden you should know better than to put me on speakerphone when I'm singing."

"Sorry, Mom."

"We're going to Vinchenzo's tomorrow. Is that right, honey?"

"Yes, seven p.m. They have reserved a table for us."

"Excellent and your mother is coming as well, I hear, Jeni."

"Yes, she is. She's very excited to see you again."

"I'm excited to see her too. Aiden my love, have a great day, and I'll see you both tomorrow night."

"Thanks, Mom, see you then."

"Bye, darlings."

He hangs up the phone; he shakes his head and goes to sit up. I pull him back to the bed and kiss him again. I feel him smiling when we kiss.

"Mmm ... Jeni, we have to go to work," he says, interrupting our kiss.

I frown at him. "At least let me give you your present first." I lean down under the bed and pull out a small box wrapped in blue wrapping paper with a little bow on top. He takes the small box and shakes it to see if he can hear anything. I shake my head at him.

"Just open it."

He unties the little blue bow, tears the paper and then opens the lid to find a business card-sized piece of cardboard. He pulls it from the box and looks at me curiously.

"Turn it over," I say, directing him.

He turns over the piece of cardboard, revealing a voucher for a romantic weekend stay at a bed and breakfast near the ocean.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it, Chris and I'll have a great time there." He laughs.

I pick up my pillow and hit him with it; he grabs the pillow, pulling it so I fall forward into him.

"Thank you, baby, I love it."

"Glad you like it. There are some available dates coming up in the next month or so."

"Cool, I'll look up when's best and pick a time for us. I'm excited." A cheeky, boyish grin appears on his face.

"Good I'm glad. Happy birthday, love you."

"Thanks, love you more."

We kiss one last time before we get ready for work and go through the usual routine.

Alistair was in meetings out of the office today; it was actually a pleasurable day. Walking up behind me, Aiden spins my chair and leans down, resting his hands on the arms of my chair. His face is exceptionally close to mine. I stare into his eyes, those mesmerizing, bright blue eyes as he leans in and kisses me.

"
Get a room
," Brielle yells out. We continue to kiss. It's almost like that saying
when the teachers away, the children will play.
That's how it feels with Alistair out of the office. Aiden, Brielle, and I are playing practical jokes on each other and generally having a good time. It's the best day I've had since I started here.

The elevator chimes, making him let go of the chair and break our kiss. He stands up and straightens himself out. The doors open, and Alistair walks into the foyer and straight past us into his office. He doesn't look like he's in a good mood. I sigh, along with Aiden and Brielle; we know our "play time" is over. I look at the time on my computer. It's four fifty-eight, nearly time to go home. I finish up on the computer and start to turn everything off. Brielle does the same while Aiden goes back to his office.

Alistair comes storming out of his office and yells at Brielle, "Come on, Brielle, it's time to go." She looks over at me, stands up, collects her bag, and walks with Alistair to the elevator. Aiden comes out and sees the two of them waiting for the doors to open. Brielle looks back at us, making a funny face. We both chuckle under our breaths as Alistair leads his daughter into the elevator.

"See you tomorrow, guys," Brielle yells out. Alistair looks down at her angrily. She rolls her eyes without him seeing, and the doors close.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know, probably a deal fell through or something. He'll be in a great mood for my dinner tomorrow by the looks of things."

"Yay," I say, rolling my eyes. He shakes his head at me despondently. I stand up from my chair, taking my handbag, and walk to the elevator with my birthday boy in tow. The elevator opens, and we step in. The doors close, and he takes my hand. We walk through the main foyer.

"Good evening, Mr. O'Connell, happy birthday," Josie calls out. I look up at him, shocked that she knows it's his birthday.

"Thanks, Josie, have a good weekend."

As we reach the doors, I lean into him. "She knows it's your birthday. Stalker much?"

We walk out the sliding door and down the stairs to the parking garage where Mike is waiting for us.

"Are you having a good birthday, sir?" Mike asks Aiden as we approach.

"It's been one of the best so far." He winks at me, while Mike opens the door.

"Good to hear, sir." I slide into the car. Aiden follows in behind me, wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"To the scope please, Mike."

"Sure thing, Miss Taylor."

"We're not going home?"

"Nope, I've got a little something planned."

We drive along a dirt track, through the gates, up the steep hill, and we're there. Mike pulls up, walks around, and opens the door. Aiden looks at me suspiciously then gets out of the car. I follow, and Mike shuts the door. Mike pulls out a blindfold and hands it to me.