See Megan Run (19 page)

"As long as I don’t walk in on Butch trying
to do something to Chandi, I think I’ll be fine."

Butch would need to be restrained. Liquor,
women, and relatives—he’d be in his element. Aiden took the next
balloon Megan gave to him on a string and taped it to the
table.

"How’s your mother holding up?" Aiden
frowned. "I haven’t seen her in a while."

"She’s fine." Megan sighed and filled another
balloon with helium. "Surprised you guys haven’t bumped into each
other in town."

"Things have been busy." He turned from the
sight of Megan bending over to pull another balloon from the box.
It was getting harder to ignore her effect on him. He’d gotten used
to being a monk. Women didn’t chase him. To be honest, Megan wasn’t
chasing him, either. With her, breathing was good enough to excite
him. He rolled his neck. It was going to be a very long day.

She handed him the last balloon. "We’re done.
Now all we have to do is wait for the Baker Boys."

"You’re kidding. You booked them?"

"Hey, Reggie has a beautiful singing voice,
and Greg can play a mean guitar."

"When did you have time to find this
out?"

"When they cornered me about doing the
bachelor and ‘ette party."

"They’ve been trying to get booked to
everything since kingdom come."

Megan placed her hands on her hips, much like
the day before, and Aiden pinned down the balloon harder than
necessary. She was making him a madman. He just wanted to touch
her.

"Aiden." She said his name softly. Knowing he
shouldn’t, Aiden turned to her. "You haven’t tried to kiss me
today."

Saying
I’m trying to let you
go
 might scare her. It scared the crap out of him at how
much he needed to touch her, to keep her near him, to smell her, to
see her smile, and soon he’d have to let her go. "I know."

She turned her back to him, but not before he
saw the expression that made his heart trip and fall. He only had
himself to blame for how he felt, but still he didn’t need to put
the pressure on her. She didn’t ask for him to love her. Not this
time, and not the first time. He crossed the room to her and turned
her to face him.

"What?" she said.

Maybe it was him, and wishful thinking, but
he heard relief and a little bit of hope in her words. He cradled
her face in his hands and kissed her. He kissed her with everything
he had. He kissed her instead of saying the words he ached to tell
her. The words that had changed everything last time. The words he
knew had made her leave and not look to him to take care of her
when she needed it most.

He kept the words to himself, knowing they’d
eat him alive. He tilted her head back and kissed her harder,
hoping to imprint the unspoken words on her lips. He heard the seam
in his shirt groan when she fisted her hands in the light
material.

But nothing was light about how he was
kissing her. If he was never able to kiss her like this again, he
wanted her to remember it. He wanted her to ache when she thought
of him back in her real life. Aiden needed her to pause and to
touch her lips when his name crossed her mind.

Selfish of him, but he didn’t want to be the
boy she fell in love with when she was young. Or the man she had a
fling with when she was older. He wanted to be more, and Aiden knew
he’d never be able to ask her to make that sacrifice for him.

There was that damn ache again, Megan
thought, but held onto Aiden, not wanting the kiss to end yet but
knowing it had to. The tears she’d been fighting all morning were
burning in the back of her eyelids, asking for release. And there
was the slow burn knotting her stomach because she wanted this to
be more than a kiss.

And there was that
more
again. She
sank her teeth into the soft flesh of his bottom lip. Her smile
spread at his deep groan. "You can’t just kiss women like this,
Aiden."

His chuckle sounded pained, but he loosened
his hold. Was it her, or did it suddenly get cold? She
shivered.

"Why is that?" he asked.

She caught his lip between her teeth. He
groaned again. "That’s why. You are bound to get sexually assaulted
in a public place if you kiss a woman like that."

Megan closed her eyes as the smile died, and
she let her head rest against his. She felt pulled in every
direction, with her waist encircled by his hands.

"I’m going to have to go. I have to go in for
a little while." Regret laced his sigh. "Then I have to pick up
Butch and Bob. Bob’s wife is complaining of a headache and will be
staying at the house. Jocelyn is heading over to your mom’s, so she
can hitch a ride with them."

"I’ll be fine here." Was it her, or were his
eyes saying he wouldn’t be fine? He kissed her again, this kiss
shorter but with no less heat.

"See you in a bit."

Was it her, or was watching him walk away
poignant? Megan bit hard into her bottom lip, keeping the tears in
check. She didn’t have time to daydream, hope, or have regrets. She
still had to set up the hors d’oeuvre table. Megan shook her bangs
out of her eyes and went to the kitchen.

*****

Less than four hours later, Megan wished
she’d taken that moment of peace and held it. She sat in the
corner, hiding where the light couldn’t find her, much less
relatives, behind a fake plant. Megan glanced down at her feet just
to check. Nope, Butch hadn’t danced them off. The old goat had a
thing for the women in her family. She grinned despite the
exhaustion. Shep would soon have to rescue her mother.

The Baker Boys were playing their rendition
of "Got to Get You Into My Life." They’d paired up in what looked
like original bell bottoms, vests, and gold-rope chains with a horn
charm attached. Apparently, they were ignoring the memo that the
‘70s had come and gone. Someone walked by and she tried to curl
herself into the chair, but then a hand appeared through the
leaves. She cursed under her breath and peered through the foliage.
"Oh, it’s you."

"You sound excited to see me." Aiden grabbed
her wrist and took her out of her hiding place.

"No. Dear God, don’t make me go back." She
tried to peddle back.

Aiden shook his head and grabbed her to him.
"You owe me a dance."

Megan stopped fighting. "We’ve danced a
million times since I’ve been here."

"And it’ll be my excuse to use until you
leave." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I made a special
request."

"Oh, really." They elbowed their way onto the
floor. It seemed the whole town had showed up. She caught sight of
her third grade teacher, cheek to cheek with her Uncle Willie.

"Shh, just wait. They’ll play it next."

Though the last few stanzas of "Got to Get
You into My Life" were still playing, Aiden rocked her slowly.
"This isn’t a slow song," Megan pointed out.

"Shh."

"Shush me one more time…" But her tone lost
its bite as the next notes from the strings of Greg’s guitar played
straight through to her heart, and then Reggie sang the best line,
the first line of the song.

Tomorrow I may be gone, but today I’m here
with you
.

She’d never be able to hear Love Me Again by
Sarah Rose without thinking of Aiden. She buried her face in the
crook of his neck, knowing this time she wouldn’t be able to fight
the tears.

But before I leave, tell me you love me
once again
.

She hoped he wouldn’t say anything about the
quiet sob escaping her throat. This was torture, Aiden holding her
while she felt like Reggie was singing the song just for them. She
held her breath, hoping Aiden wouldn’t point out the obvious they
both refused to say out loud.

These will be bittersweet
goodbyes
.

Lyrics so simple, so beautiful, summing up
their sorry situation, and there was nothing either one of them
could do about it. The life she’d built was safe and secure.
Something she’d worked damn hard to achieve. Yes, okay, she was too
damn stubborn to let anything, oh, like falling in love, change her
decision. Call her ignorant, but not cautious. And Aiden...there
was nothing, absolutely, that could change her leaving. So she let
him hold her even after Reggie and Greg rolled on to another song.
Aiden, bless him, didn’t mention his wet neck.

Chapter 18

Bypassing the lone wire hanger in her closet,
she hung her maiden of honor dress. One more day. Twenty-four
hours. One thousand, four hundred and forty minutes left before she
headed back home. She’d be fine after settling back into her life.
She had to be, because if she didn’t, then it meant Aiden had
become important. More important than the single reason she refused
to stay. And if Aiden had become more important than that reason,
she was dumber than a brick for leaving.

"Megan, are you ready?" Finally her mother
had ditched the peasant skirt, for a red dress. Nicole held a small
red matching purse in fingers wearing red nail polish. The hem of
the dress grazed the top strap of her stilettos. Megan really
needed to tell her mother everything didn’t always have to
match.

Still, Megan found herself smiling. "Don’t
you look sexy for a rehearsal?"

"Well, it’s the eve of my wedding. Figured I
should go out with a bang."

"Makes sense. Let me put my shoes on, and
I’ll be good to go."

Nicole moved forward a little more. "It was
something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Please, anything but Aiden. "Sure."

"Tomorrow, after the wedding, Shep and I are
going on a cruise for five days, but I’ll make sure to pack up all
my stuff, so I can move in with Shep right after." Nicole lifted
her shoulders. "I’m keeping my word and the house is yours free and
clear."

Nicole reached in her purse and pulled out a
piece of paper resembling a birth certificate. "Here’s the
deed."

Megan’s hand trembled when she took the paper
in her hand. She ran her finger over her father’s signature at the
bottom of the page. "Why are you giving me this now?"

"I won’t see you tomorrow, not really, and
you have stayed until the wedding, more or less. It won’t hurt me
if you decide to leave now, but I want you to know I’ve enjoyed you
being here with me. The good, the bad, and the ugly."

Megan tore her eyes from the paper. Nicole’s
hands were clasped together. Her mother was such a bad liar. Megan
knew it would hurt if she packed up her bags now and left, but that
wasn’t the reason she said, "No, I want to stay for the
wedding."

Her words also had nothing to do with the
same sense of loyalty that had made her come home. Her mother was
changed, and Megan liked this woman. She wanted to see this woman
get married to a man who loved her. The shock Megan felt at the
revelation resembled the look on Nicole’s face.

"Really? You really want to stay for the
wedding?" Nicole’s eyes glistened, and a smile spread across her
face.

"Mom." She tried to calm the panic of seeing
her mother tear up. "Don’t ruin your makeup."

Nicole fanned her face. "Okay, I won’t. It
took me thirty minutes to get it just right." Her mother took in
another breath. "I’ll be downstairs waiting."

Megan heard the door close, but she was busy
holding the paper to her chest. Her home, her father’s home, was
now hers. Her mother had kept her word—that was mind-boggling in
itself. She grinned at the pink, pink and more pink walls. Hers.
The smile dimmed. Aiden.

It was suddenly hard for her to breathe.
I’m not making a mistake. It’s the right thing to do
. Aiden.
I have a life outside these city limits
. None of those
platitudes made breathing any easier.
Aiden
. "Oh, Daddy what
am I supposed to do?"

No answer came.

*****

Jocelyn leaned over and whispered to Aiden,
"Nicole wants to know if you can take Megan home. She and Shep are
going down to Tessa’s for one last hurrah." She twirled the scarf
between her fingers.

"Aren’t you supposed to do that with the
person you aren’t about to marry?"

"My brother never had good sense for
tradition."

Aiden chuckled. "Have you stopped giving
Megan the silent treatment?"

"Nope, and don’t plan to."

"She’s not so bad."

"She hurt my baby. By rights, I should beat
her up." Jocelyn frowned at Megan, who was trying to play referee
between Bob and Butch. A pointless venture, but he didn’t have the
heart to tell her. "I think she could take me, though. Her arms
look a little beefy."

"Catty," Aiden pointed out, and he looked
back at his mother.

"Just being a mother." Jocelyn took in his
face and sighed. "Try not to keep her up too late. She has to be at
the wedding on time."

He choked on his drink. "What?"

"Your dad used to have the same look. I know
it and miss it." She sighed again, weary this time. "I’ll save her
from Butch and take him to my house. He’ll behave." She stood. "I
hope."

His mother separated her brothers smoothly.
She said something to Megan with a gesture toward Aiden, and Megan
walked over to him.

"I’ll just grab my purse and I’ll be ready."
Her face revealed nothing of the night before. He wouldn’t call
himself a gentleman for not mentioning her crying on his shoulder;
he still hadn’t gotten his head around the possible reasons why
she’d been crying.

"I’ll be waiting at the truck." He went out
to the half-empty parking lot, and a few minutes later she came out
the side door of the church. Her hair brushed her cheekbones as she
searched for his vehicle. His mother was right. There was no way in
hell he was going to let her leave without making love to her.

There were no guarantees she’d want to see
him when she came back to visit, or even if she’d ring him when she
did come back. He’d be an idiot to let this moment pass without
taking advantage of it. He opened the door for her, then rounded
the truck and got in. "Megan, I was thinking..."