Tending Their SECRET (6 page)

I stand up straighter and puff my chest out
a little. “Dad, I would love for you to meet my girlfriend, Ellie.
It’s a good thing you’ve gone to the other team, because if you
looked even a little interested in her, I’d have to knock you
out.”

“Aiden,” Ellie chides me.

“What? He’s dating one of my friends
already.”

“I wouldn’t go after your girlfriend,
though.”

I feel like crap now. “I know. Sorry about
that. I was trying to be funny.”

“And show me how much Ellie means to
you.”

“That too,” I acknowledge. “Anyway, Ellie,
this is my dad and his boyfriend, Andres.”

Ellie holds out her hand, while her eyes
twinkle. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“The pleasure is all mine, and please call
me Tim.”

“You can call me Andy,” my friend tells
her.

“Now that all the niceties are done with, I
suppose we should mingle,” I say with a grumble.

“Don’t worry. I’ll hold your hand,” she
tells me.

“Thank you,” I tell her, looking into her
eyes with a smile, when I really just want to kiss her. Even though
she let me earlier, I don’t want to push her in any way. She takes
the awkwardness away when she leans in, and brushes my lips with
hers.

“Welcome.”

I wish we were alone. Like really wish that.
We’re not, and we can’t leave anytime soon. Not when everyone’s
already seen me arrive. Did I mention that I hate all of this?

Aiden

“Aren’t you two adorable,” Jake says, coming
up and clapping me on the back a few minutes later.

“Leave them alone,” Isa tells him. “We
probably looked like that, too.”

“Looked?” I ask her with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll always look like that. I
know it and I own it. So, move along,” Jake tells me.

“You started it,” Ellie reminds him.

“You did,” Isa agrees.

“Anyway. It’s good to see you both.”

“You too. Your mom sure packed the house
tonight.”

“She does love a good party.”

“And thankfully, she loves me now too,” Isa
says.

“Did you and Liz have a rocky start?” Andres
asks her.

“You could say that,” she says with a smile.
Rocky—yeah, if putting a hit out on someone could be considered
“rocky.” That’s not for public knowledge, though, so I keep my
mouth shut.

“I’m Andres, by the way,” he tells them.

“Oh shit. Sorry. I thought you’d all met
since Isa and Jake have been in town for a few weeks now.”

“No. We’ve been busy with
some stuff for my mom, and well, our own
stuff
.”

“Ah, another medal then.”

“Don’t even think about answering that,” Isa
says with a blush. She got him a sex-a-thon medal as a joke, and
now we all tease them both about it whenever we can. And he holds
it over us guys, reminding us that our women haven’t give us
one.

“Medal?” my dad asks.

“Inside joke,” I tell him, winking at Jake,
who bumps fists with me.

“Aiden, is that you?” I hear from behind me,
and cringe. I knew I’d run into at least one person from my teens
here, I was just hoping it wasn’t someone I’d fucked. No luck
there.

“Hi, Brandi,” I say as she walks around me
when I don’t turn.

“Is that all the welcome I’m getting?” she
asks with a pout.

“Pretty much,” I tell her, lifting Ellie and
my clasped hands for her to see.

She glares down at our hands, and I don’t
even try to hide my eye roll. I haven’t seen this chick in over a
decade, and it’s been even longer since we hooked up. I don’t know
what she was expecting. Apparently more than I’m willing to
give.

“You’re going to save me a dance,
right?”

“No. I only dance with my girlfriend. Nice
seeing you,” I tell her as I pull Ellie away.

She’s shaking with laughter. I feel bad
leaving my dad to suffer the fallout of my getaway, but he’s got
our friends to help him out. If all else fails, he can call his
detail in to take her away.

“Running from a woman? Really?”

“Yes, Doll. I’m man enough to admit that
certain women scare me. Some of them, because they can potentially
kick my ass; that one, because I thought she might jump me right in
front of you.”

“I’d protect my property.”

“Property?”

“You said I own you.”

“I’ll show you all about owning,” I say,
reaching for her, and stopping myself just in time.

I drop my hand and close my eyes, trying to
think how exactly to apologize. “Open your eyes, Aiden,” she tells
me. I do as she asks. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, but that’s on
my side of this situation. You shouldn’t have to hold back. If you
want to go back over there to Brandi, I’ll understand.”

“You think because I can’t touch you right
now, I’d leave you for someone else?”

“It’s not fair.”

“No. It’s not. But that’s my fault, as much
as it’s yours. I should’ve been there, and you shouldn’t have gone
in. We can’t change that, but we can do what you asked, and try to
move on. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“Can I kiss you again?”

“You’re not seriously asking me, are you?
Because I have never denied you a kiss.”

“Yes, you have.”

“Not since I told you I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She wraps her arms around me, and I place my
hands on her hips, exactly where she let me earlier. The smile I
see before our lips meet melts my heart a little more. I know that
she appreciates me remembering. We kiss for several minutes,
forgetting that there are people still around.

“You’re making a scene,” Andres says, coming
up and bumping me on the shoulder.

“Don’t give a fuck,” I tell him, recapturing
Ellie’s lips.

“Think of someone other than yourself for
once.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I
ask, shocked that he would even say something like that to me.

“You let down everyone who cares about you.
You should be thinking about your dad right now.”

“Aiden always takes care of the people he
loves,” Ellie says, her eyes flashing.

“Whatever. Just tone down the PDA.”

“Fuck you, asshole.”

“Letting your woman defend you. Nice. But
you’re not my type, Ellie.”

“You’re crossing a line, Andy. You can say
whatever the fuck you want to me, but you don’t talk to Ellie like
that. I suggest you walk away.”

“So much for being best friends, huh? I
guess I’m not famous enough for that.”

“What the fuck? You think I care about my
friends being famous? If I wanted fame, I’d have campaigned with my
dad. I’d be telling the world he’s my dad. I’m sorry you and I grew
apart, but that had nothing to do with anyone else, but us.”

“You’re right. It was ‘us.’ Plural. I was
hoping we could re-connect, but you’re not making it easy.”

“Anything that’s worth it isn’t easy. But
you wouldn’t know that, would you Aiden?” Dave asks, coming up to
us as well.

And I thought my night couldn’t get any
worse. Dave is my dad’s right hand guy. He’s also ex-military, and
around my age, but I didn’t know him before they started working
together. He’s never liked me, thinking I’ve never earned anything
in my life. How he got that idea, I’ll never know. My dad certainly
would never perpetuate it—he knows better than anyone that I
refused everything I could as soon as I was able to get a job. I’ve
done everything I could to prove to myself, and those I care about,
that I can stand on my own.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ellie asks.

“He works for my dad.”

“I bet he wouldn’t be still working for him
if your dad heard him talking to you like this.”

“Aiden wouldn’t tell. He’s too cool for
that, right?”

“Maybe he wouldn’t, but I have no qualms
about shutting you up. One way or another.”

“You should stick to being pretty. That’s
working for you. I’d hate to mess up your pretty face.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

“You touch her, and you’ll be dead by
morning. No joke.”

“Am I supposed to be scared of the Golden
Boy now?”

“You should be scared of his father,” my dad
says, coming up behind us. “I don’t know what the hell is going on
over here, but threatening a woman is not something I will
tolerate. From anyone.”

“You know I wouldn’t really hit her,” Dave
says, looking nervous. He should. My dad is totally serious.

“I’d like to think I know that, but people
have a way of surprising me. And not always in a good way.”

“I think Ellie and I should leave.”

“After dinner. Please, Aiden,” my dad
says.

I know it will look bad if we just walk out,
and I can’t do that to him. I nod. “Just keep them away from us.
Ellie is off limits.”

“Agreed. Andy, Dave, let’s find our
seats.”

“Did that just happen?” Ellie asks as they
walk away.

“Welcome to the real D.C. You sure you still
want to be with me?”

“Aiden Ford, if you seriously think some
jealous assholes are gonna scare me off, you really don’t know
me.”

“I was hoping you’d say something like
that.”

“Let’s go eat,” she says, taking my hand
once again, and leading me to the dining room. I go willingly. The
sooner we eat and dance a little, the sooner we can leave. I’m
already sorry we came, but my dad comes before me. Always has, and
always will. Even if the assholes he surrounds himself don’t
acknowledge it.

* * *

Ellie

Dinner went better than expected, mostly
because we were seated with the Masons, Isa, and Vicki. Andres
behaved himself, and Dave was at another table. The tension was
still there, but our friends did their best to lighten things up.
Dancing is about to start, and then, thankfully, we can leave.
Aiden needs to get out of here.

“May I have this dance, Ellie?” Tim asks me
as the music starts.

“Stealing my thunder, Dad?”

“Never. I just want to get to know my future
daughter-in-law better.”

“We’re not engaged,” I remind him.

“You will be. I don’t know
when, but I
do
know my son.”

“And now the pressure is on,” Aiden says
with a groan.

“No pressure,” I tell him, as I take Tim’s
hand and we head to the dance floor.

“How much longer, Ellie?” he asks once we’re
dancing.

“You get the reports.”

“Yes, but it’s not enough. I need you to
nail this bastard to the wall.”

“So Aiden and I can get married and live
happily ever after?”

“Honestly? There’s nothing I want more than
that. For my son to be truly happy for the rest of his life.”

“I know. We’re close to pushing the guy over
the edge. He’s getting sloppier every time we stop him. Between
Faith and I thwarting him with the bastards Aiden stops, and Isa,
Jake, and the guys Aiden hired stopping him from getting to the
innocent, he’s going a little crazy.”

“Be careful, Ellie. I want my son safe, and
free from jail, but I also know that if anything else happens to
you, he’ll be the one going over the edge. Especially if it happens
because of him.”

“You could tell him the truth, or let me
tell him.”

“No. He’d never accept our help. You know
that.”

I
do
know that, and it kills me. If I
could just tell him what really happened during his lost days, and
everything else that goes along with it, he’d be absolved of his
guilt. Or at least most of it. But, if I did that, he’d shut us all
out, and take his revenge game to a whole new level. While the guy
behind all of this definitely deserves it, Aiden doesn’t. I love
him too much to let him sacrifice himself completely.

“May I cut in now?” Aiden asks.

“Of course. Thank you for the dance,
Ellie.”

“Anytime.”

“Are you okay, El? I mean with my dad
touching you?”

“Yes. I know I’m safe with your dad. He’d
never hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t either.”

“I know.”

I know that more than I know anything in my
life. But I also know that I’m not ready for Aiden’s touch. Not
when I still associate it with what happened to me. It’s wrong, and
messed up, but it is what it is, and I can’t push myself. That
would be disastrous for both of us.

“You ready to get out of here?”

“Yes, please.”

We make our goodbyes and pick up his car
from the valet. “You still want to come over?”

“Yeah. I do. If it’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay.”

Once we’re inside his apartment, I start to
freak out a little. What if he gets angry about what we can and
can’t do? Or hurt? I’m leaning towards him being hurt, when he
speaks up. “What parameters am I working with, Ms. Gallagher?”

I bite my lip, and look everywhere but at
him. “I want my hands all over you. My mouth, too.”

“While that sounds like the Heaven I know
from experience it will definitely be, what can I do for you?”

“Not much.”

“I’m okay with that. Just tell me.”

“You can hold my hand, my hips, and my face.
And you can…” God, how do I tell him? Ask him for what I want?

“I can what, Doll? Tell me, because I’m down
for anything when it comes to you. Do you want me to Magic Mike my
way out of my clothes, because you know I can dance?” he asks,
rolling his hips as he raises his hands over his head.

I laugh, just like he wants me to. “No. I
mean, yes, one day I would love for you to strip for me. Not
tonight, though. Tonight…you can…you can use your mouth. No hands
or fingers anywhere else, but your mouth will be okay. I
think.”

“Fuck yes. I love using my mouth on you, so
I’m not sure why you’re going so shy on me all of a sudden. And if
it’s not okay, you just tell me. Immediately. Understand?” he asks,
coming over to cup my face in his hands.