Waiting for You (10 page)

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to,” she assured him. “Besides, I’m really just making sure
you don’t steal the good stuff.”

“Always an ulterior motive,” he mocked reproach.

“One could say the same for you.”

“I am the picture of innocence.”

The look on his face was so earnest; Karise couldn’t help laughing
at his expression. “I don’t think I believe you.”

“That’s because you’re a cold, hard woman.” He went back to
loading the dishwasher.

She leaned against the counter, watching him work. “Sweet talker.”

“When I do sweet talk you, I’m
accused
of having an ulterior motive.
I can’t win.”

“It’s probably best you’ve figured that out early on.”

“It just makes the game more interesting.” He stopped loading
dishes and came to stand in front of her.

The tenor of the conversation changed the moment he placed his hands on the counter, one on each side of her.

“Is that what this is, a game?” she asked.

“Not even close.” His voice took on a husky undertone.

“What is it, then?” She forgot to breathe for half a heartbeat.

“I’m afraid to name it.”

Karise looked down at his chest, unable to look him in the eye as
she admitted, “You’re doing better than I am. I’m afraid to even
acknowledge it.”

He placed a finger under her chin, gently tipping her face up. “Then
let’s not worry about doing either tonight. Let’s just enjoy it.”

She knew that if she was at all serious about not getting in deeper
with him, she should say no. But after the past few weeks, the lure of
simply enjoying an evening with him was too great to pass up. Karise
lifted her arms to rest on his shoulders, sinking her fingers into his hair. “I’ve missed you.”

“Have you?” Pleasure spread across his face.

“When I wasn’t collapsing with exhaustion with little images of Kate’s house dancing through my mind.”

“Same here. When I wasn’t delivering baby goats, I spent pretty much every waking moment missing you.”

“Delivering baby goats? That’s a new one.”

“Kidding season is brutal. Any other time of the year and I’d
have been climbing the walls.”

“You are six feet of paradox, you know that Aidan Donnelly?”

He grinned at that, lowering his head so his lips hovered above hers. “I like keeping you on your toes.”

“You’re doing a good job,” she murmured, every fiber of her being
willing him to kiss her. Just about the time Karise decided to throw caution to the wind and take matters into her own hands, her phone rang, a cheerful Abba tune slicing through the mood as effectively as any knife.

“Abba?” Aidan pulled back to study her with arched eyebrows.

“That’s Kate’s ringtone,”
Karise
offered by way of
explanation
before
answering. After a quick conversation with her friend, she relayed to
Aidan that Kate was waiting in line at the all-night pharmacy but
Jonathan would be fine.

“Good.” Aidan hopped up on the counter opposite Karise. “That was fast. They’re never that fast when Zoe and I go in.”

“Maybe they wanted to go home for the night.”

“Maybe.” He paused, pondering. “So… Abba?”

Karise rolled her eyes. “It’s silly. Kate told me a funny story about
when she was dating Gavin and he took her to karaoke. Hearing the
song reminds me of it and makes me giggle.”

“So do we all have our own
ringtone
?” His
eyes
took on a new l
igh
t.

“Not everyone,” Karise hedged.

“Do I?”

“Do I have a ringtone on your phone?”

“I don’t do ringtones.”

Karise couldn’t explain her hesitation to just tell him his ringtone and get it over with. “Do you offer your guests wine?”

“I do, when they aren’t using alcohol to change the subject.”

“You’re an ass.” She scowled at him.

“But a charming one, which brings us back to the paradox.”

“I’m going in the living room now.”

His laughter followed her into the other room.

She helped herself to his CD collection, trying to get over being so
embarrassingly flustered. Her phone broke into the chorus of Mumford
& Sons
I’ll Wait for You
and she sighed, shaking her head. He looked very proud of himself as he emerged from the kitchen, juggling his phone, a wine bottle, and two glasses.

“The way you were acting, I was expecting something like
Let’s Get
it On
.” He
pocketed
his
phone
before
pouring
them each a glass of wine.

“Hoping for,” she corrected, accepting the glass from him.

“Yeah, that’s probably more accurate. Hey, do you want me to put
one of those on?” He motioned to the stack of CDs in her hand.

“Sure.” She passed the music over.

“Anything in particular?”

“Surprise me.”

He chewed his lip in thought before setting the stack aside and
opening his laptop instead.

She peered his direction curiously. “What are you doing?”

“Making us a playlist.”

“Aw, is that your way of giving me a mixed tape?” she teased.

“Ah, the mix tape.” He paused as if in a memory, then resumed
dragging and dropping songs. “This is more of a soundtrack for the evening.”

“Do I want to know who that memory was?”

“Shelly Riggenbottom. She was the love of my life in the seventh grade, and the lucky recipient of my first mix tape. It was rockin’.”

“I’m positively jealous. What happened?”

“She ditched me for Jake Elliot while we were on summer break,”
he
sighed
. “Apparently their families had neighboring cabins at the lake
.”

“The harlot.” Karise gasped in shock.

“My words exactly.” He snagged the remnants of the fruit plate off
the table and popped a grape in his mouth, grinning as Karise recognized
the first song on his playlist.

“I should have known you weren’t going to let that go.” She stole
one of the grapes.

“It’s a fantastic song.”

“It is.”

A look of self-satisfaction descended over his face as the notes of the song swelled to a passionate crescendo, its lyrics dancing in the air as the singer promising he’d wait for her. Aidan grabbed her eyes with his. “The best things in life really are worth waiting for.”

“You’re reading way too much into this.” She broke the gaze, her
eyes taking in the contents of his living room. Pictures of Zoe, piles of books, and shelves of CDs each told a piece of Aidan’s story.

“You don’t think you’re worth waiting for?”

Karise swallowed, her eyes coming back to rest on his. What could
she possibly say to that?

The song changed, and now Darius Rucker was thumbing his way
to North Carolina. The tenor of Aidan’s smile changed, too. Before
Karise knew his intentions, he was on his feet pulling her into his
arms. He twirled her around the living room to the happy tune. She protested for half a stanza before giving in to the spontaneous joy of the moment. She couldn’t remember the last time laughter bubbled
up from her belly, the last time happiness flowed through her so freely.
Aidan laughed along with her, something she couldn’t remember
William ever doing. He usually watched her in mild amusement with
a smattering of impatience. She pushed William from her mind. He was the past; she’d never have a future if she wasn’t willing to leave
him there. The song ended, replaced by something with an Irish punk
flair to it.

“This is good. Who is it?”

“Me,” he admitted. “I used to be in a band.”

“No fair,” she protested. “You do not get to have that much talent.
You’re not leaving anything for the rest of us.”

“I didn’t realize I had a disproportionate amount.”

“Yeah, well, you do.”

“Kate plays violin. She even got accepted to the symphony after college.”

“So I’m the only talentless hack in the group?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I can juggle,” Karise offered hopefully.

“That’s impressive.”

The more Karise thought about it, the more she thought calling it
juggling might be generous. “Sort of, that is. Any more than two balls
and I drop them.”

“That’s slightly less impressive.”

“Give me time; I’ll think of something.”

There was that laugh again. It rumbled deep from within and lit
up his entire face. They danced two more songs before collapsing side
by side on the couch. Aidan offered her more wine, which she declined.
Her cheeks were tingling, a sure sign she was hovering on the precipice
of overindulgence.

“I do have something serious to ask,” Aidan began, drawing his words out in a way that made Karise think he might be nervous.

Her curiosity was piqued. “What’s that?”

“Do you have plans after you finish Kate’s place?”

Karise’s face fell. The knowledge came crashing back that, only this morning, she’d planned to run away the instant the house was finished.

“Uh-oh. That doesn’t look good.”

“Sometimes reality just isn’t the same as a dream, I guess.”

“Reality is never the same as a dream. It’s harder and a whole lot messier.”

“Now you tell me.”

“It’s also worth it, if it’s the right dream.”

“How do you know if it’s the right dream?”

Aidan thought for a moment before half-shrugging. “You just do,
I guess.”

“Did you ever doubt being a goat farmer?”

“Creator of artisan cheese, and yes – plenty of times. But it was
always after a particularly crappy week, and then something would
happen to remind me why I came here in the first place.”

“Yeah, well, nothing is happening to remind me at the moment.”

“Is it that bad?” His
words
were so
gentle
they unleashed everything
that had been building up in Karise over the past several weeks. She
found herself unloading every frustration, every roadblock, every feeling
of inferiority. Somehow, in the midst of the outpouring, she also found
herself resituated so her back rested against his chest with his arms
wrapped easily around her.

“I owe Kate so much; I don’t want to screw this up. I think I’m
screwing this up. I’m in over my head.” She finished her monologue with a heavy sigh and rested her cheek against his arm.

“That’s a lot to carry around inside. Next time, call and unload
sooner.”

“Thanks for listening.”

“For what it’s worth, we never really know what we’re made of
until we’ve gotten in over our heads at least once.”

His words didn’t sit well with Karise. “That scares the hell out of me.”

“You’re made of more than you think.”

“I wish I could see what you see.”

“I do, too.” He ran his fingers down her cheek before brushing a kiss against her temple.

She was quiet, taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest. There
in the cocoon of his arms, she felt safe, warm…right.

Aidan’s voice interrupted her meditation. “So, is now not a good time to offer you a job?”

“It’s not nice to tease me while I’m weak.”

“I’m serious,” he persisted. “That’s why I brought it up.”

“Sure you are. What job do you want to offer me?”

“I was hoping you’d help me add on to this place. Do you do that
sort of thing?”

“Why let crazy little things like lack of skill or experience stop me?”
Karise still didn’t believe him.

“So you will?”

“I didn’t say that.” Karise stiffened, sensing she was about be even
further in over her head.

“It sounded to me like you did.”

She sat upright, twisting around to glare at him. “You learned the
art of negotiating from Kate, didn’t you?”

“Who says she didn’t learn it from me?”

Karise didn’t bother to respond.

“Alright, yes, I learned from Kate.” His shoulders sank a bit.

At that, the corner of her mouth curled up ever so slightly.

“I really do want to expand. I want to be able to entertain potential
customers in my home, and it’s just not set up for that right now. And
I want Zoe to have a fairy tale room.”

Karise twisted her mouth in thought. How was she supposed to
say no to that? “How about we meet in the daylight and talk more
about what it is you want to do?”

“That would be wonderful.”

“I make no promises.” Karise felt like a jerk for putting the brakes
on his obvious excitement, but she couldn’t squelch the warning bells
going off in her brain.

Aidan nodded in understanding. “How about tomorrow?”

“That’s fast.”

“I’ll pick you up at nine. Wear something comfortable. We have to go on a walk for me to explain what I want.”

“You sound ridiculously suspicious – you know that, don’t you?”

“It’ll make sense when I show you.”

“I know that’s supposed to be comforting, but I find it rather
terrifying instead.”

He just chuckled in response. Karise decided it was time to go
home if she was going to be up and civilized by nine the next morning.
The ride home in Aidan’s truck was fun. The bumpy old Chevy r
eminded
her of rides in her dad’s ancient truck when she was a little girl. They
cracked the windows to let the spring breeze rush over their skin. The
radio was turned up; Karise closed her eyes and sang along. She was wholly happy in that moment, and she wished she’d never have to open her eyes again.