Her Charming Secret (19 page)

“What?” Aiden cried. Ashton started to narrate the incident that took place earlier.

*  *  *

Earlier that evening, Ashton sat, listening to Aubrey cry. She missed Aiden so much that she cried to eat her dinner and go to bed. He was glad that his father was able to control this situation. He saw his mother baking muffins as she sang a song cheerfully. Uncle William was trying to cheer Aubrey up by watching Tangled with her. How many times was she planning to see this? Adele and Nicholas were seated on the couch, discussing something. He felt really left out.

Just then a loud bang surprised them and in came Alex, looking all serious, and Ashton, who couldn’t help himself, ended up saying, “Here comes the Bull!”

“Brat! Come here!” Alex shouted and ran after Ashton, who tried to escape.

William knew that his son lost his temper once in a while, but this was something else. “Alex, wait!” he called after his son, but he wasn’t listening to anybody. Pushing away the things Ashton threw at him, he charged towards him.

Ash had a feeling that he had done something that had pissed Alex off, but when a bull is after you, you don’t stop!

Ashton managed to run out of the house. He ran as fast as he could towards the backyard, but Alex was faster. He jumped on poor Ashton and tackled him to the ground.

“AAAAAHHHH!!! Bull is trying to kill me. HELP!” Ashton screamed.

“WHERE IS AIDEN, BRAT?”

“Huh? Aiden?” Ashton looked at him, confused.

“YES! Where is he, you moron? Did you chase him away?” Alex glared at his cousin.

“I swear, I didn’t do anything,” Ash squealed.

At that moment, William and Nicholas came out and tried to pull Alex off Ashton. But he was very strong and he had caught onto Ashton’s hair and didn’t let go.

“AAAAAAAAHHHH! Dad, save me!” Ashton yelled. Nicholas and William tried to pull Alex away.

“Dad, let me go or this kid will lose all his precious hair,” Alex said to his father who backed off immediately and pulled Nick away as well.

“Tell me where he is!” Alex asked again.

Nicholas tried to help his son again. “Alex, we have no clue where he is or where he will be going. Let Ashton go!”

“Whitewater rafting! Foresters Falls!” Ashton screamed.

Alex immediately stood up, dusted his jeans and beamed at Ashton. “Thanks!” He grinned before walking away. “See ya, Dad. Take care of yourself.” He smirked at William and left.

“No offence, uncle, but your son is utterly crazy,” Ashton said as his uncle pulled him up. He nodded and stared in the direction Alex had left and said, “You might just be right, my boy.”

Alex headed out to Abigail’s place to tell her about his new plans. He wasn’t going to leave Aiden alone.

“Nuh-uh! No can do, Aido!” he said to himself and smirked before driving away.

- Chapter 17 -

Unexpected Whirlwinds

A stray stream of sunlight filtered through the French windows onto the figure on the bed, which groaned and rolled over in an attempt to avoid it. Aiden drifted between waking up and falling asleep and, with a groan, finally decided to wake up. A slow grin formed on his face as he remembered the events of the previous night. Every kiss, every touch had been perfect; the day, the date and her, just perfect. Even the faint memory of their night coming to an end couldn’t dampen his happiness.

Rubbing his eyes lightly, he got up to see Jo sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. He sat there for a minute, staring at her in surprise. Obviously he remembered that she came to see him when he was talking to Ashton. He told her about everything, but skipped the part that Alex might be joining them. And the night did end with them unconditionally surrendering themselves to each other. He lay down again and thought about the consequences, whether they would be good or bad. He wanted to tell her about himself first, but things weren’t going as he planned.

Getting up, he hurried to the bathroom for a quick shower. He came out as fast as he went in and rushed to pack his bags and order coffee.

“Jo?” Aiden called and walked towards the bed to see that she was still asleep. “Hey, wake up! We need to get going.”

When she didn’t move, he shook her lightly. She groaned and pushed his arm away. “I’m sweeping, goo away, Aid,” she mumbled. He tried again, but got a “5 more minutes, pwease.”

She looked cute with her curls all over her face. He pushed them aside and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, but she didn’t move. He was an early riser and had a habit of waking Alex up every day when they shared an apartment. This was going to be bad, but it was worth the try. Knowing that they would miss the ferry if she didn’t wake up now, he poured some water in the glass on the bedside table, dipped his hand into it and sprinkled it on her face. She moved a little, so he poured more water.

“Aaaah!” She pushed him and got up; she noticed that she was wearing a huge t-shirt that belonged to him. “What the hell was that?”

“Easiest way to wake someone up,” he said, chuckling as he sat next to her. “Good morning.”

Moving a little closer, he touched her neck and pulled her forward, resting his forehead on hers. “You didn’t have to wake me up like that,” she murmured. “What happened to the old tradition of the prince waking the princess with a kiss?”

“I tried that, too. This is what I used to do to Alex when he didn’t move; pour some water. But that was just part one; with Al, it was worse,” he chuckled.

Jo moved away and questioned him curiously, “What did you do?”

“I would dip his finger in his coffee. And it used to be hot.” He laughed. “Well, at first he’d react; two weeks later, he got used to it and wouldn’t move. Next was something unusual. I know I was crazy for doing this, but it worked most of the time. I’d throw a whole bucket of water on him. It ruined the bed, but it was worth it.”

Jo laughed out loud and fell back on the bed. He pulled her up again and gently pushed her towards the bathroom. “We are getting late. I’ll meet you outside in 10 minutes,” he said and walked outside to make some calls.

All they had was some coffee because Aiden didn’t want to waste another minute. They rushed to the ferry and, after settling down, Aiden made sure Jo had her breakfast. Aiden didn’t say a word about the previous night and that made Jo wonder if he wasn’t happy about it. He seemed to be at ease before, but now his shoulders were stiff, as if he wanted to leave. They still had time to reach Vancouver and then they had to catch a flight. Jo was still not aware of the plan Aiden made. But she didn’t want to ask him and ruin the surprise.

As he stood there staring at the sky, she came closer and placed her hand on his. Aiden turned to face her with a smile on his face. “Hey, handsome, what’s wrong?” she murmured. When he didn’t move, she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him slowly. He remembered the same touch from last night and pulled her closer. PDA was a big no for Aiden Reid. He detested when Alex did it, but now he was doing it and was actually enjoying himself. He broke the kiss by moving away. Once again, his face was filled with anxiety.

“I need to talk to my mom. I haven’t spoken to her for almost two days. I’ll be right back,” he murmured and walked away. Realizing he needed some time alone, she let him go without another word.

Even though he was close to her, she didn’t understand a word he was saying. He spoke in French and now she realized why he was doing this. He didn’t want her to know what he was talking about.

“No, that’s okay,” he said; the first sentence in English, which she understood perfectly. He raked his hand through his hair and sighed. “Why is he doing this? How can he have more than a hundred friends? I’m pretty sure that Dad is pissed off right now.”

He turned around to see Jo and came closer. “No way! Just tell him that it’s unmanageable. Mom, calm down. Breathe, okay? Calm your mind. We will discuss this as soon as I return to Toronto. No Momma, I’m not in Toronto. Yeah! He told you? Did he lose some hair?” He was smiling now as he spoke. “Right! Tell him to wear a cap or something. All right, I’ll see you soon. Love you, too. Bye.”

As soon as he cut the call, he grinned. “So you gonna tell me what happened?” Jo asked.

“Only if you want to know,” he replied. He told her about his grandfather, who had decided to invite more than a hundred friends to Adele’s wedding. Their backyard wasn’t big enough for that many guests, and he was suggesting that the wedding should take place in France.

“All part of his plan; he loves to annoy my dad, and he is doing a good job of it,” said Aiden. “My parents are worried now; we can’t secure any other location now with the wedding just weeks away. Adele is very upset. And that Alex! How dare he try to pull my brother’s hair? Poor Ashton!”

“Well, you will sort it out, right?” she smiled. He smiled and nodded.

*  *  *

They reached Vancouver and had to wait for the flight. Two hours at the airport was not what she expected. They sat at the lounge and waited. She asked him many questions; about his favorite color, food, music, movies and the places he had visited. His life was simple, yet complicated. What surprised her was that he had wanted to be an astrophysicist.

“People think that I’m just a Business student from a well-known university, but they don’t know that I spent 3 years for my B.Sc. in Physics with Astrophysics. It was hard to cope with two subjects, but I gave my best.”

Jo was stunned as if she just heard something unimaginable. But what he said just now was surprising. “You have two different lives – like an alter ego. What are you doing in Reids, Inc., then?”

“I studied Astrophysics because I loved it. I’m working as a businessman because it was my father’s dream that I would take care of the company after him. While Alex is giving his everything, I can’t help but pretend to be someone else and work. I tried to quit once, but Dad was devastated. Jo, it’s not just about me. It’s not about who
I
am.”

“Yes it is,” she said. “Are you stupid or what? You are an astrophysicist who works in business sector! What are you, Superman who wears glasses and becomes the modest Clark Kent who works for a newspaper? Aiden, you are a responsible person who loves his family and they are your priority, but that’s not exactly right. Did you ever think about yourself? When was the last time you did something for yourself? Not Aubrey or Ashton or even Alex! You! When did you do something crazy that you loved? If you never try, you’ll never know.”

“I . . . I don’t know.” Aiden was at a loss for words.

“Live your life! It’s about you. Aiden, I used to be a wild and a crazy child. I did everything that I loved. Jacob never stopped me. I lived my life the way I wanted; I still do. That’s the point. What will happen next? Marriage, kids . . . a family. More responsibility! And where do you stand?”

Everything that Jo said did make sense. He was wasting his life. Right! Marriage and kids. What would happen next? His thoughts were disturbed when she spoke again.

“Aiden Reid, if I were in your place I would be working as a real Astrophysicist. I wouldn’t be sitting in an office, attending meetings, signing files and drinking coffee all the time. We are different. Believe it or not, I wanted to be a cook once, but I can’t cook without burning.” She laughed. He smiled at her, too. “I wanted to fly, but that was impossible, too. I wanted to be a singer, but I couldn’t. That’s when I started writing, like Jacob. He was my inspiration. We used to sit in the same room and write all day without saying a word. He bought me a hat once, and surprisingly it gave me ideas. I don’t know how! When I wear that, I write like a crazy person. I call it my writer’s hat. Look, a simple thing like that makes me smile when I speak about it.”

He was glad to hear about this. Aiden understood Jo better now. She was creative, courageous, opinionated, fun and optimist. He wasn’t like her, but wasn’t that a good thing? They could easily be together as they were different. Their ideas were different. Their way of viewing life was different. Everything was falling into place; after Jo came into his life; he was smiling more often, enjoying himself, and living his life.

“I don’t know how I’ll be able to leave the company. Not right now, Jo. I need some more time,” he said.

“Well, it’s up to you, always. Do the right thing, Aiden. Do what you love and remember one thing: I’ll always be by your side and support every single decision of yours.”

He pulled her into an embrace just as the flight was announced. “Great! Time to board; let’s go.”

She still didn’t have an idea about this location he had chosen. He had her boarding pass, too, but she found out as soon as they walked near the gate.

“Cobden? Where is that?”

“You don’t know? Didn’t you take geography when you were a kid?” He chuckled.

“I did, but I think I forgot.” She grinned, running her hand through her hair.

 Cobden was a small community in the township of the Whitewater Region. 
Whitewater Region
. It did ring a bell, and Jo realized that this place was popular for rafting and kayaking. The Whitewater Region was named after the famous whitewater on the Ottawa River. Aiden hired a cab that was taking them to Forester’s fall, where a road was built over the waterfall on McNaughton’s Creek. Whitewater rafting was the perfect adrenaline rush of rapid action in the fast-moving clear water. They were staying at the resort. Aiden had taken care of everything.
Of course, why wouldn’t the perfectionist take care of everything perfectly?

*  *  *

They walked towards the resort slowly. The weather was lovely, much better than Tofino. Aiden felt lagged because of the exhausting journey. He just wanted to crash in his bed and wake up the next morning. Jo noticed that he got two keys at the reception, which made her curious.

“Two rooms?” she asked, placing her bag on the floor.

“Yeah, I booked it two days ago so . . .”

That explained why he booked two rooms. She nodded without saying another word and started walking behind him. Just then, Aiden saw a familiar person standing in between a group of young ladies at the far end.

“No way!” he whispered and moved towards that person. He was laughing and flirting with the girls. What a charmer he was!

“Alex?”

“Ah! Aido,” Alex smirked. “Excuse me, ladies. My cousin is here; I’ll see you later.” He walked towards Aiden and Jo. This surprise was getting bad; Jo never imagined that Aiden would have invited Alex.
Wait! Two rooms? Yes, one must be for Alex.

“Hey, dude!” Alex called. “I guess Ashton must have warned you.”

“Yeah, and you know what? He told me to give you a little gift from him,” Aiden said loudly and threw a punch at Alex, who tripped and fell on the ground. Jo managed to push Aiden away and tried to help Alex.

“Whoa, calm down, Aiden,” she said as she helped Alex up. “Are you alright?”

“Never better,” he smirked as if nothing had happened and hugged her. “Wow! Don’t you look cute? Nice haircut.”

She smiled and moved away. Aiden stood in front of Alex and demanded, “What the hell are you doing here? And what were you doing to Ashton? Answer me!”

“Calm down, Aido. I am here to have some fun. Jo missed me a lot, so I decided to come here and join you guys!”

Alex wasn’t the sort of person who felt ashamed or guilty. He was here to have fun and he would! He noticed Aiden carrying two keys in his hand. Taking one, he handed it to Jo.

“Jo, it must have been a long journey, so go to your room and take rest. I don’t mind sharing a room with Aid. Come on, Aido, let’s go,” Alex called as he walked towards their room.

Without saying another word, Aiden followed him. At that moment, Alex had no clue about their relationship, so he couldn’t share a room with Jo when he was around. He waved to Jo and walked away.

“Alex Reid, you just ruined my perfect day,” Jo muttered and stormed towards her own room.

The room was huge with a large bed. Aiden walked in to see Alex lying on the bed with his hands under his head. “You don’t have to worry about expenses, I paid my share. Need I say any more?”