“You are more than good enough for me,” he said softly. He touched my cheek so tenderly my heart was ready to explode. “If anything, you're too good.”
I let out a nervous breath that sounded almost like a giggle. “You're okay with dating a girl with about three hundred dollars in her bank account? It's going to make it a little tough for me to split the bill at the opera.”
He grinned. “The guy's supposed to pay anyway on a date.”
I wasn't sure if he kissed me, or if I kissed him. Either way, our lips connected just the way they were supposed to. It was the sweetest kiss I had ever had. It was love.
He returned to his chair, grinning at me as he picked up the cold french fry again. “You know, I can get you fresh ones,” I offered as he made a face as the second fry was no better than the first.
“Where's the fun in that?” he asked with a laugh and picked up another. I shook my head at him. He held up the fry in midair, a question crossing his brow. “You only have three hundred dollars? I thought lawyers made more than that.”
I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out how to say this. I needed to tell him that I wasn't the lawyer he thought I was. This was my chance to make sure all our secrets were cleared out before they came between us and ruined things.
“I'm sorry,” Aiden apologized, mortification filling his face. “That was incredibly rude of me to ask you about your money. You don't have to answer that.”
“No, it's actually something I need to tell you.” I swallowed down the fear. He would understand. He just said that he cared for me. I loved him for him and not his bank account. He loved me and not the fact that I was a lawyer. I could do this. I took a deep breath.
“There you are!” Kathryn exclaimed, interrupting the pulsating silence between us. Her normally calm demeanor was gone and she looked about ready to melt into pure panic at any moment. “I've been looking everywhere for you! The plane's being prepped right now. We have to go.”
“Plane?” I repeated, confused. “What plane?”
“Smith had a heart attack last night,” Kathryn explained as she grabbed my hand to pull me up from my chair. “I just found out after the meeting because for some god-forsaken reason, the second chair thought he could handle it and didn't call in Ward or let the judge know right away.”
“Holy shit,” I gasped. This was bad. Super bad.
“It just gets worse from there. The news is calling it the 'Dallas Disaster.'” Kathryn let go of my hand once I was standing. “It's an all-hands-on-deck emergency. I had someone pack your bags and they're already on the plane. We have to leave right now.”
I looked over at Aiden. I couldn't leave things like this. I had to tell him the truth. I was so close. “But...”
“Go. They need you. You can tell me whatever it was later.” His face was pure understanding. He was a wonderful man, no matter what had happened between him and that secretary.
“I'll be right behind you,” I promised Kathryn. She pursed her lips unhappily, but nodded. She started walking and I knew I only had a second or two to catch up.
I knelt by Aiden's chair, searching for the magic words that would tell him everything I needed him to know. I didn't have time. Instead, I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him. He leaned into me, taking everything I had to give. I put all my emotions, all the things I wanted to say and couldn't find the words or the time to tell him into my kiss, hoping he would understand.
“I love you,” I whispered as my lips left his. He tensed slightly under my fingertips, but I didn't stop my words. “I love you not because you're a billionaire, but because you're Aiden. I love who you are, not what you are.”
I didn't stop to see his reaction. I just turned and ran before he could answer and break my heart. I didn't stop running until I caught up to Kathryn. She was already in a taxi and on her phone. I was breathing hard as I hopped inside. The car door had barely shut when the cab driver hit the gas.
I looked back at the way I had just come. No one was there. I had this romantic notion in my head that he would be there. That he would follow me when I told him I loved him. I didn't want him to push me away, and I suddenly regretted saying the words that were best guaranteed to do so. I closed my eyes to keep the tears inside as I tried not to think of what his absence meant.
Chapter 19
I buckled my seat on the private jet and stared numbly out the window. I knew he wouldn't come, but I kept hoping Aiden would show up out on the runway to show me he cared. I kept staring down the long runway, searching for his face as he came to tell me he loved me too.
Kathryn finished her phone call and went straight into the next, only pausing to transition to the jet's phone instead of her cell. I knew I would have a few more minutes to myself before she would be ready to give me a list of things to do.
My laptop was already charging in a little docking station next to my seat. I opened it, found the jet's wifi. I had stayed on top of my work emails using the resort's internet connection, but I had specifically avoided using my computer for anything but work.
I pulled up a search page and paused, my fingers hovering over the keys.
All I had to do was type in Aiden's name and I would know everything about him. I would have pictures and newspaper articles and everything the cyber-stalker in me could want. I would know all the secrets he had told me the night before, but this time they would be printed in black and white.
I typed his name and hit enter before I could stop myself.
Search results filed in and the pit of my stomach dropped.
I had been expecting news articles on Travel, Inc., business reports, perhaps some charity work, and even some photographs from galas and events. Instead, almost every entry was for his latest flavor of the week model or actress.
Page after page of photos of him with various beauties. Stunning, long-legged girls that made me look like a chubby freak. Three girls getting out of his limo with their hair mussed . Twins sitting with him at his center court seats. Aiden front and center at a premier lingerie show. His smiling face looked up at me from the computer screen. They all hung off of his arms like decorative jewelry, but never the same girl twice.
I found an article about the secretary and clicked on the link, unsure of what I hoped to find.
––––––––
...Aiden is a great guy,” Stephani Zaptos said in one of her rare interviews. “I just didn't fit into his world. It really worked out for the best and I'm appreciative of everything he's done for me.”