Page 37 of Lust & Lies

NOELLE

AIDEN CONTINUED TELLING silly jokes as we worked, the sun beaming down on us. He had me laughing until my stomach hurt. But eventually, we got the seeds in the ground, the dirt patted down.

When I leaned back on my heels to admire our work, Aiden slid behind me, his chest pressing onto my back, his arms circling my waist.

His chin rested on my shoulder as he whispered, “Not bad, gardener lady. But I think I enjoyed watching you bend over more than the planting itself.”

I smacked his arm. “You’re a mess.”

“I’m your mess,” he murmured, kissing my cheek.

“Yes, you are.”

I stared around at the dirt. Soon, the things we’d planted would grow and thrive, just like our relationship. It felt good to plant something together. I couldn’t wait to watch it grow. That would be the most exciting part of the process.

I gazed around us, taking in the backyard. It was beautiful. I could see why Aiden and I fell in love with this place and chose it to be our little escape from reality. My eyes landed on something I hadn’t noticed before, a shed tucked off to the side of the yard.

I could only see part of it from my vantage point. It was a nice-sized shed. It looked like a mini version of the country house. I found myself staring at it, my curiosity piqued. What did we keep in there?

“What’s in the shed?” I asked, turning to stare over my shoulder at Aiden.

My question seemed to catch him off guard. His gaze drifted toward it, and for the briefest moment, something flickered in his eyes before he masked it. Panic? Fear? No, it couldn’t be.

Surely, I was imagining it. He hesitated, not answering my question right away. My brows pulled together as I watched him and waited. It didn’t take this damn long to answer the question.

“Well?” I pressed.

“The shed?” he asked.

“Yeah, that big shed over there,” I said, pointing in the shed’s direction.

“Oh, that shed,” he said finally, voice a touch strained. “We don’t call it a shed. That’s the groundskeeper’s storage house. Tomas and Samuel use it.”

Storage house? Yeah, right.

I kept my gaze on him as he spoke. Something in me wasn’t satisfied with that simple answer. I mean, there was nothing off about it. It made sense. But his hesitation and the way he looked when I mentioned it made me wonder if something was wrong. I looked back at the shed. I mean... storage house.

“Let’s go look in it,” I suggested.

“No,” he said quickly and a little louder than necessary.

I jerked my head toward him, startled by the edge in his tone. His expression softened almost immediately, and when he spoke again, his voice was back to normal.

“There’s nothing in it that we need. Plus, it’s not safe. It’s full of stuff,” he told me. “Cluttered with it. I don’t want anything to fall once we go in.”

“Ohhh,” I drawled, my attention flicking back to the shed.

He was adamant about avoiding the shed. That only made me more eager to get a look inside. Could there be something in there he didn’t want me to see? But what could it be? Damn, was I overthinking things again?

“Baby,” Aiden said gently, pulling my focus back to him. “If you want to go in the shed, I’ll have Tomas come over tomorrow. He can straighten it up so it’s not a danger to enter. Then I’ll take you in myself. How about that?”

Could clutter truly be the reason he didn’t want me to go in right now? Aiden was overprotective of me, after all. So, that made sense. Damn. I was doing it again. Finding issues where there were none.

Before Dolores left, she mentioned four-wheelers. Perhaps they were in there. And if Tomas used it to store yard stuff, there could be equipment in there for the yard, some that could be dangerous. Yeah, I was overreacting again. I shook my head quickly.

“No, no. I don’t want you to bother Tomas while he’s on vacation. I can wait and see the shed some other day.”

“You sure? I don’t mind paying him extra to come in while on vacation. And I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing it for us.”

“I’m sure,” I told him, trying to ignore the uncertainty I was feeling.

But it wouldn’t die down. Perhaps I should take a peek inside just to silence the doubt in my mind. It wasn’t a sign that I didn’t trust Aiden. I was just curious to learn more about our home and property.

Yeah, that’s what it was. I could just peer into the window or something. I didn’t need to actually go in. I frowned when something growled. I glanced over my shoulder.

“Was that you?” I asked.

“Yep. I didn’t eat breakfast, remember? I was too busy feeding you cock.”

This man! His sinful words wiped thoughts of the shed from my mind. But I couldn’t focus on his wicked words. I was too busy feeling guilty for bringing him outside instead of making sure he’d eaten.

I’d been in a rush to get to the garden and hadn’t even remembered that Aiden hadn’t eaten breakfast. Wait! We’d slept through lunch. So he hadn’t eaten anything today. Damn it!

“You haven’t eaten all day, Aiden, and it’s almost dinner time.” I frowned, feeling like a failure. I wanted to be enough for him, to give him back the same care he poured into me. Instead of worrying about sheds, I needed to worry about him.

The thought that I might fall short of what he needed made my stomach twist. I’d been about to lose my shit because of a shed, while he’d been ignoring his hunger and helping me in the garden.

“I’m a horrible wife. I didn’t even think about food. You always think of everything I need. And I didn’t think that you needed to eat something before coming outside and...”

I went silent when he grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. I hadn’t realized he’d taken his gloves off.

“Look at me, love. Don’t ever say you’re horrible again. And never ever think that you’re a horrible wife. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, woman.”

“But I didn’t ask if you were hungry or remember that you hadn’t eaten breakfast. I was just focused on being out here and...”

“Calm down, baby. I’m a grown man. I won’t die if I miss a meal or two.”

“But...” I started.

“And it’s not your fault that I didn’t eat. I wasn’t hungry. Yeah, I’m hungry now. But I wasn’t hungry earlier. If I were, I would’ve eaten. It’s not your responsibility to make sure I eat.”

“But you make sure I have everything I need, Aiden.”

“That’s my job, love.”

“Okay, so my job is to make sure you have everything you need, too.”

“No, it’s not.”

“So, what’s my job then?” And if he said sex or anything related to it, I was going to snap.

“Right now, your job is to heal and get better. But on a regular day, your job is to love me, be safe, and be happy. That’s it.”

He got me every single time. Just when I thought I couldn’t fall deeper, I found myself slipping some more.

“But that’s what I want for you, too, Aiden. I want you to just love me and be happy and be safe.”

“I’m doing that already.”

“Along with everything else,” I pointed out. “You’re doing everything. Eventually, you’ll get tired of doing all of that for me.”

“Woman, haven’t you caught on yet that my love language is taking care of you?”

His touch was tender, his eyes sincere. It was impossible not to see and feel his love for me. Yet, I doubted him and his intentions the moment my brain started to spiral with conspiracies and chaos.

One day at a time, I told myself. Just take it one day at a time.

“Actually, I have noticed that,” I whispered.

“But people can get burnt out on love just like they get burned out on a job. I don’t want that for us.

I don’t want you to ever feel like all you do is give and get nothing in return.

So, let me take care of you just as much as you take care of me. I insist.”

“You do take care of me, love. I don’t think you realize how much you take care of me.”

“I want to do more. In fact, I want to make you dinner.”

Aiden frowned, panic flaring in his dark gaze. “Please choose something else.”

“What?” I asked. I couldn’t have heard him right.

“You can do anything but cook for me, love.”

“Am I that bad at it?”

“No comment. How about this, I’ll go inside and whip something up. Dolores should’ve left us something for today that only has to be put in the oven. While I do that, you wash up, then sit out here and sip some lemonade. How about that?”

This man didn’t even want me near the kitchen.

“How is that me taking care of you?” I asked.

“Trust me, it is.”

Offensive! “Aiden Park, I’m going to learn how to cook just so you can stop treating me like I’m a disaster in the kitchen.”

“Okay, love. You do that,” he said, not taking me seriously at all as he led me to the house.

“I’m really going to do it. And you’re going to eat it.”

“Okay, love. Just make sure we’re near a hospital when you feed me.”

“Aiden!” I shoved him playfully as he laughed at my expense.

There was no way my cooking was that bad.

I’d have to cook and taste it for myself to know for sure.

When Aiden and I entered the house, we went to separate bathrooms to wash up and met back up in the kitchen.

I arrived later than he did because I took a moment to stare in the mirror and give myself a little pep talk.

Noe, stop being dramatic and stop seeing problems where there are none. Noe, stop doubting the man who’s done nothing but treat you right. Even in your dreams, he puts you first. Why keep doubting him?

I sighed as I stared at my reflection. Was it the memory loss that had me feeling this way? Had to be. Though I’d grown more comfortable with Aiden and my surroundings, there was still a lot I didn’t know.

A whole lot. I hadn’t even gone snooping through our house yet. Yeah, I trusted Aiden. Yeah, I believed in our love. That didn’t mean I had to blindly trust everything he said. I knew he was keeping secrets. I didn’t think they were sinister secrets.