caught the playful glint in Jeff’s eye, then laughed. “Um, yeah, no problem there.” He kissed Jeff once more. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“You’re not.”
“It’s only been a few weeks. I don’t want you waking up hating my guts.”
“I’d never do that.”
Aidan squeezed his eyes shut while his brain and body each vied for control over the situation. “Hey, I let you pick out clothes for me. That’s a huge step right there. I’ve never let anyone do that for me. In some cultures that would make us married already.”
Jeff laughed. “Okay. I can settle for that. For now.” He kissed Aidan one last time. “Drive safely.”
Aidan waited until Jeff closed the door to return to his car. In his brain he chanted dumb - ass, dumb - ass over and over again.
Big freaking chicken, that’s what he was.
At least Jeff seemed patient. That was a good thing.
* * * *
Bera grinned when Aidan left Jeff’s. Nope, the big doof hadn’t taken him yet. Perfect. That made life much easier. Now she had to figure out when to grab the guy. She couldn’t let Aidan spot her following them around, either. She’d hoped to make contact with Jeff when he got up to go to the bathroom at the restaurant, but the guy must have a huge bladder and she never got the opportunity to touch him.
She thought she’d managed to allay the worst of Ryan’s suspicions with that cock - and - bull story she fed him and Will about the guys who killed Abby and what happened to the lone survivor when he returned to Tavares. They seemed to believe her.
The amulet Boorman had given her helped with that. If she’d had only her amulet from The Firm, no doubt Ryan would have seen right through her.
This should not have taken this long. She wouldn’t screw up her next opportunity.
Chapter Six
Kal tried to not let her mom catch her sneaking pe e ks at her BlackBerry while they were at the cake - tasting party.
This is sooo boring.
A quick trip to Vegas was looking better all the time. Yes, all her life she’d dreamed of Mr. Right on his white steed and a storybook wedding. What she’d gotten was a reluctant archdemon who had to pop her cherry to get rid of the wraith inside her, becoming his soul mate in the process.
Not that she was complaining, because an eternal life with Will Hellenboek was pretty dang sweet, to say the least. The problem was, with reality shaving the pretty edge off the dreams, the wedding didn’t matter to her anymore. What mattered was surviving the sugar coma her mother and best friend, Becky, were determined to put her into sampling wedding cakes.
“What do you think about that one?” her mom asked.
Kal tried not to roll her eyes. “It’s chocolate.”
“No, Kalypso Kid, it’s not chocolate. It’s ‘Viennese Mocha Truffle.’” Becky grinned.
Kal’s will gave out. Her eyes rolled. “It’s chocolate. It’s good chocolate, but it’s still chocolate.”
I so never should have told Mom that Ryan insisted on paying for everything.
Even though her mother hadn’t met Ryan, she was already gushing over him as if he was an adopted son.
Without a budget to stick to, her mother went nuts. It was a small secret between Kal and Ryan, a wedding gift, he’d explained when he presented her with a corporate credit card to use for all the wedding expenses.
Both realized it would be more comfortable to not tell Will that part.
Her mother didn’t care . I t meant she could throw the wedding she’d always envisioned. Another set of samples was placed before them. Kal never realized cake tasting parties were so popular, and she wished she’d eaten a decent, protein-packed lunch beforehand.
Her mom pointed to a red velvet cake sample. “What about this one?”
“The term ‘bleeding armadillo cake’ comes to mind. And that would be a firm no.” Kal tasted it anyway because it was her favorite flavor of all the ones offered so far.
Somehow, the thought of a red cake at an