Page 25 of Unmasking Love (D.C. Renegades #1)

Harper

A Man Who Plans

I’m on a date with Aiden.

This is a date.

I can’t believe I questioned if yesterday was a date.

Yes he held my hand, yes he was a pure gentleman but he barely spoke yesterday.

Tonight he’s chatty!

It is amazing. It’s not that he’s a different person, it’s just a new view of the person he is. He’s still proud of his work. He’s still loyal. He’s still sexy as hell.

He’s in the middle of a story about how he tried to rescue his family’s cat from a tree when he was a kid. He ended up falling on his mom who was trying to catch him, landing her in a cast for two months with a broken wrist.

“Are your parents still in Minnesota?” I ask as the server sets down my chicken parmesan. Aiden waits until his eggplant parm is on the table before answering.

“They are. They moved back after they followed me to college.”

“They followed you to college?”

“Sort of,” he blushes a little bit and I decide to leave it be. I just can’t fathom a parent who would follow their kid. I don’t want to get into how polar opposite my own mother is so I’m going to move on.

“Where did you go to school ?”

“Boston University. My parents hated the east coast though. So, when I got picked up by the Indy Flames they happily moved to Indianapolis. But, when I moved again a few months later they decided to settle back in Warroad.”

“Do you see them often?”

“Not really. I text with my mom almost every day and they visit to watch games a few times a year, depending on how much I play. Dad follows along on T.V..”

“Are they coming for Thanksgiving?”

“No, we’re actually traveling home from a game the night before Thanksgiving and it’s so expensive to fly that week. Plus, I’m not sure when I’m playing. It makes planning tricky. Will you visit your mom for Thanksgiving?”

Dangit, I knew holidays and family talk would eventually get back to me. I usually don’t bring up family on a first date but I’ve been talking to Aiden for a month. This doesn’t feel like a first date.

“No, my mom got us a stay at a resort in The Keys in a couple weeks. She’ll be at her new husband’s house for Thanksgiving this year, I’ll be here.

How’s your dinner?” I ask, changing the subject.

Hopefully he lets me get away with it. I’m not going to push emotional vulnerability on a first date for myself or Aiden.

Thankfully Aiden goes with the shift in conversation. “This might be the best eggplant parm I’ve ever had.”

I preen like I cooked it myself. “Yeah? What’s your favorite food?”

“This is going to sound, well, I dunno, pretentious, but my favorite food is fresh antipasti meals in Italy. Tuscany specifically. I’ve done bike tours through the region and the food is the best I’ve ever eaten.”

“Wow, that does sound very fancy. How many times have you been to Italy?”

“ I go to Europe every summer for a few weeks. Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Andorra.”

“That’s amazing, I’ve never been to Europe. I have a passport but it has only gotten used for Cancun, so far.”

“Stick with me Harper, I’ll take you to Europe this summer.”

I blush. He likes me enough to invite me on a trip eight months from now? I’ve never had a boyfriend plan something more than a week out. And here Aiden is, inviting me on a vacation like it’s nothing.

He must have noticed my mental processing of his willingness to plan into the future with me because suddenly he’s backpedaling. “Or not, I should have asked. Do you like traveling?”

“Yes!” I reach across the table and place my hand on top of his.

His hand is warm and after only a moment he turns his palm and grips my fingers in his fist. “Yes, I’d love to travel more.

I didn’t when I was younger and if I wasn’t saving every commission for my renovation I’d probably have gone to Paris by now.

” I pull my hand away and tuck my hair behind my ear.

"It’s just a lot." I admit. "I have a contractor sort of lined up and the plans are mostly done. " I shrug. "So, you know, someday."

“Harper, I love that you have such a clear vision of home.” Aiden's expression turns softer. I can see the admiration in his eyes. But there's nothing special about what I'm planning.

“Yeah, thanks, well,” I laugh at myself, “someday being the keyword.”

“What's the hold up?”

“The biggest problem is I have nowhere to live during the project because they’ll be redoing all the electrical and plumbing and that means I can’t stay there."

“Stay with me.” Aiden says before I've even finished my sentence.

“What?”

“Yeah, why not? I’m on the road every other week at least and the apartment just sits there. You could live with me while the work gets done.”

“ Aiden,” I start and then stop. This is all moving really, really fast. But there is a loud part of my brain saying yes, that makes total sense!

“Harper,” this time he’s the one to lay a hand on mine.

It’s soothing like a weighted blanket. “I know this is our first date but I’ve never wanted to hang out with someone as much as I want to with you.

To me, it makes sense you’d move in with me.

" He smirks and says. "I can charge you rent if that’ll make you feel better about it.”

I smile. “But I’m not even your girlfriend and you want me to live with you?”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Is this a trick? Yes, I do, but nothing with Aiden is going how it usually goes. There’s no drinks only date, followed by a lunch date two days later. There isn’t the limbo of texting each other and floating that I don’t have plans for the upcoming weekend, hoping the guy invites me out.

“I, um, yes?”

“Are you asking me if you want to be my girlfriend?” He grins and I hate that he calls me out on the fact that providing a straight answer makes me nervous. My cheeks flush and I wipe my palm on my leg.

“No.” I answer.

“So you don’t want to be my girlfriend?”

“No, I mean, yes, I do. I meant, no, I’m not asking you.”

“You’re not asking me to be your boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Aiden,” I toss my napkin at him but, I forgot, he’s an NHL goalie and he snaps it out of the air. He stands, steps over behind my chair and lays the napkin back across my lap.

He crowds my space and gives me a kiss below my ear. “Yes, Harper,” he whispers, “I’ll be your boyfriend.”

My entire body warms as my smile spreads and my heart takes flight.

“When can I see you again, Girlfriend?” He asks.

“ What are your plans for the rest of the night?” I ask with a little tilt of my head. With the way Aiden just hovered behind me, yeah, I could spend the night with him.

“You.”

“I’m your plans?”

“Harper, I just took advantage of the fact you threw your napkin at me to get close to you, smell your hair, and graze your thigh. Yeah, you’re my plans tonight.”

I bite my lip to keep my smile from getting out of control.

“Plus I need dessert and I don’t eat sugar.”

Oh heavens.

He pays the bill and as we walk towards the door he orders a car. He has me enter my address as the destination. I spend the ride to my house worried about what dishes I might have left out, where my laundry is piled, and how much makeup is on the counter in my bathroom.

“What does your day look like tomorrow?” He asks as we drive towards my house.

I pull up my calendar. That’s a little weird. There aren’t any showings on my calendar. Maybe the Christmas slow season is starting at Halloween now too. “I’m free tomorrow. There’s admin work to do but I don’t have any meetings.”

"Do you want to head in and pack a bag? I’ve got morning skate at 9 but then we can hang out until I leave for the arena at 3 or so.” Aiden says as we pull up in front of my house.

"Oh, sure." I really like the sound of this and the worry about an empty schedule evaporates with the promise of a day with Aiden. "Want to come in and wait?"

"Sure."

Aiden tells the rideshare not to wait and I hop out of the car. After only a step up my sidewalk Aiden is at my side with his hand on my back. He leans down and whispers in my ear, "Next time let me open the door for you."

"Okay," I agree, already compliant to his requests. I know I've gone above and beyond to try and please boyfriends in the past but I would do literally anything Aiden asked me to.

I unlock the door to the duplex and the offer of staying with Aiden makes the renovation all the more real. The space seems more hopeful and more run down.

I got the plans made when I first moved in. Only Wes and my contractor, Sean, have seen them. Sean is great, he does work on the homes I sell to clients, and he’s always asking when we’re going to do my house.

But I never made my own project the priority.

I accidentally let a little sigh slip out as I unlock the door and Aiden catches it.

"What's on your mind, Harper? That sounded loaded?"

"It's nothing."

"No, c'mon, tell me." Aiden urges as he closes the door behind him and follows me up the stairs. I stop and turn to him. He's a step below me so we're seeing eye-to-eye and I get lost for a minute in the blue that shines in his.

"I'll show you," I say and I step past him down the stairs. With shaking fingers I find the key to the first floor unit. Aiden steps up behind me. Warmth radiates off of him which is good, because this place will be cold when we get inside.

I watch as Aiden looks around the space and takes it all in. The layout is pretty similar to my apartment upstairs but more of the original features of the home are still intact.

Detailed baseboards, a picture rail around the room with coved ceilings that extend another few feet. Each space has a large carved piece in the center of the room where a chandelier was hung.

“ The house was built in 1895 so it's not the oldest home in the neighborhood but it predates electricity. My guess is they hung candelabras in the front room here." I point to the ceiling. "And then later changed it to a light fixture."

“I love this kind of stuff.”

“What do you mean?”

He turns to me and it almost looks like he’s embarrassed.