21 A BOY LIKES A GIRL

Aidan woke up to female laughter in the house and wished his head would stop pounding. He realized that he shouldn't have drunk so much with a mother like his. He got up and took a shower and got ready to go downstairs to meet whomever his mother was entertaining this early.

He was walking down the stairs when he heard it. The laughter he wished to hear every day of his life. He thought he must be dreaming or perhaps dead with the way his head was aching but he continued downstairs and turned to go to the kitchen where all the noise was. He came to a halt when he saw her. Blue jeans, white tee and an apron that read 'kiss the cook'. He wanted to do exactly that. His brows furrowed when he saw the guy standing next to her. She was smiling up at him and he was standing too close for Aidan's liking. He wanted so badly to shove his stupid face through the window and demand to know why Toni didn't answer her phone or call him back. He cleared his throat and the whole room went silent. He went further into the room to kiss his mother good morning.

"Claire. Paul." He greeted everyone and then turned to Toni. "Toni. You look lovely this morning."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and thanked him.

"I didn't know you'd be here." Claire furrowed her brow and looked at Toni to gage her reaction. She had heard the break in her voice and knew something was wrong.

"He arrived unannounced last night and I thought he'd be sleeping all day with the amount of alcohol he consumed." His mother volunteered.

He saw what he thought was concern cross Toni's eyes and a little hope flared inside him.

"Are you OK?" Claire was so much like his mother and he liked her very much.

"Just a little headache painkillers can't fix."

"Would you like me to make you some soup?"

"No thanks mom, I'll find something. You can continue with what you are doing."

"May I use the bathroom please?" Toni asked in a barely audible voice.

"Second door to your left dear."

Aidan watched her leave and excused himself but didn't miss the concern in Claire's face. He followed Toni into the bathroom and closed the door after them. She jumped with a small yelp when she felt him behind her.

"Please don't scream. I just need a few minutes of your time."

"Why did you follow me? Your mother and Claire will be suspicious."

"I don't care about that right now, I just need you to listen to me."

Toni could see that he was trying very hard to control his anger and she was trapped, he was blocking the only exit.

"Fine, what do you want to talk about?" She tried to calm herself down. For some reason she trusted him not to physically hurt her.

"Diane and I used to date. It's been about three years since I last saw her, until last night that is. I swear to you there is absolutely nothing going on between us."

"Were you engaged?"

"Yes. I asked her to marry me but she called it off and ran away with some heir of some company somewhere."

"I'm sorry to hear that. She obviously wants you back now so it worked out for the best." He could see the strain in her smile and cursed Diane for her appearance.

"I don't want her back, I want you."

There was silence after that declaration. He moved closer to her, backing her up against the marble sink.

"I didn't mean to hurt you and I'm sorry about last night."

"It's ok, I obviously over reacted." Her breathing became shallow when he ran his fingers down her bare arm.

"You have really soft skin."

"Thank you."

"I'd like to kiss you now." He moved closer, his lips close to hers.

"Ok."

The kiss was even better than he remembered. His hands went around to the sink on either side of her, caging her. She opened her mouth to give him access and he plunged his tongue into mouth, tasting her. She tasted sweet, like pineapples. He deepened the kiss and slid his right hand over her tone tummy, she moaned into his mouth and he slid the hand to the small of her back. She moaned further and moved her hands to his shoulders. He removed the other hand from the sink and guided her right hand down his chest then under his T-shirt for her to feel him. He heard her breath catch and opened his eyes to look at her. Her eyes went to their locked hands. He held on to her hand against him.

"Touch me." His voice sounded rough and needy to his ears.

She obliged. Flattening her hand over his abs and moving it over to his chest. She seemed mesmerized and he enjoyed watching her. He took his shirt off to give her a full view. He almost laughed at her slackened jaw and wondered if it was the first time she was seeing a half-naked man.

"Like what you see?" Her eyes snapped to his and they were the darkest blue he had ever seen. His erection was already painful but those eyes made it unbearable.

"Yes." Then her brows furrowed and she asked the most adorable thing he had ever heard. "Am I supposed to do the same?"

"Not if you don't want to. But I'm not opposed to it." He gave her a smile. She reached down to take her tee in her hands and it was halfway off when a knock sounded at the door. Panic flared in her eyes as she turned from the door to Aidan, wondering what to do. She was getting more reckless by the day whenever she was in Aidan's company.

"Toni, are you ok?" It was Claire, sounding concerned. Toni cleared her throat.

"I'm ok. I'll be right out."

"Ok. We've put the cakes in the oven and we are in the living room."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

They heard her leave and he gave a small laugh at her wide-eyed face. She was so beautiful and innocent that it hurt to look at her like this. As if he had to hold her with care and protect her from the world.

He knew that some bad things had happened to her in the past but he didn't want to see her in pain ever again. Last night was unpredictable and he would ensure nothing like that ever happened again.

"Maybe you should put your shirt back on."

"Or you could take yours off?" She blushed at that and looked at her feet.

"I'm gonna go out and you can come out after I leave." She fixed her shirt and walked over to the door.

"Can I see you when you are done here?"

"I'd love that."

She was reaching for the door when he added.

"And don't get friendly with Paul."

She turned and looked at him quizzically.

"Why not?"

"He obviously likes you and I don't like that."

"What's wrong with me being liked?" He could see the confusion in her eyes.

"Nothing at all but he likes you like a boy likes a girl he'd like to kiss Antonia. Just don't encourage his flirting."

She raised a brow at him and gave him a small smile.

"Is this jealousy?"

"Yes. And I'm not afraid to own up to it."

"Ok Aidan. I'll see you later." She gave him a peck on the lips and left with huge load off her shoulders, happier than she was in the morning.

Aidan couldn't help the relief that overwhelmed him at knowing he had fixed this but the relief was short lived when he realized that he still had Diane to deal with and he needed to handle that for good before it ruined things for him and Toni. He left the bathroom and went to his father's study to get some work done. He figured he could give her some time to spend with his mother and Claire because he was not planning on sharing her in the afternoon.

After a few hours he heard her mother call for him to tell him Toni and Claire were leaving. He went downstairs to say his goodbyes and walked them out.

He was about to turn and go get ready to go see Antonia when his mother said something unexpected.

"You would probably be married to her by now if her father hadn't passed."

That statement froze Aidan to the spot.

"Excuse me?"

"Antonia. Her father wanted you to marry her and join our families."

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing of this?"

"You were seeing Diane at the time and we told him so. He didn't seem to like hearing that though but we figured it was an answer you would have given."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we met her at a dinner party when she was about eighteen. Only time we ever met her. Jack contacted us on her twenty-first birthday. Said he would like our families to become one since his parents and Cameron's were close."

"I didn't know that. Diane and I broke up that year why didn't you tell me then?"

"I didn't think it mattered. He died that same night of a heart attack and we didn't want to start bringing up stuff to the poor girl. We were practically strangers."

"Why didn't you help her during that time then?" He was getting upset by the minute.

"We found out she already had people taking care of her and she was twenty-one already so she didn't need a guardian. Why are you getting upset about this? I highly doubt you would have accepted to marry her, you've been turning down all the nice girls I've been setting you up with."

"That's because they suck! I'm going out." He was practically yelling now. He took his jacket, keys and wallet and stormed out, leaving his mother with her jaw slacken and a shocked expression on her face.

He couldn't believe it. He could be married to Toni by now. He was sure he would have married her, she was gorgeous. He would have married her for all the wrong reasons but he would have loved her soon enough and all that mattered would be that she would be his. He drove to Toni's apartment and watched her make her way up the stairs while Claire's town car drove away. He parked by the sidewalk, opened his car and ran up to catch up with her. She yelped when he took her hand.

"Hello Toni, are you going to invite me up?"

"If you'd like."

They walked up the stairs, hand in hand. What they didn't know was that they were being watched.