Aiden squeezed her hand. Curiously, the part of Sadie that wanted to slap him had surrendered to the part of her enjoying the warmth of his palm. “She told me the same thing, didn’t you, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart? That might be pushing it. Sadie gave Aiden a warning glare. He ignored it.

“How long did it take?” Aiden asked her. “Two, three weeks to wear you down?” Keeping their hands intertwined, Aiden wrapped her arm behind her back and pulled her to him. “She couldn’t resist me.”

He really did smell good, she thought as he brought her against the wall of his strong chest. Wait. She was supposed to be upset. Or something.

She inched away from him when Rick offered a generic “Guess when you know, you know.” His smile was tight. Sadie remembered their handful of dates in January and February and felt another pang of guilt. Using someone to salve her wounds, when she knew he felt something for her, was reprehensible. Sadie should have broken it off early, or never gone out with him at all. Rick was a nice guy. A really nice guy. And she hated hurting him. But, nice or not, he hadn’t made her pulse shake like a pair of maracas.

Not like Aiden.

Rick pointed out the food tables and tubs of ice where they could stow their beers and took his leave. Sadie blew out a breath, feeling like a dirty liar.

Aiden chuckled softly.

Sadie glared up at him. “‘Sweetheart’?”

“Yes, dear?” He beamed down at her.

“You shouldn’t rub it in his face. What was all that about?” She pulled her hand out of his.

“I’m buffering.” Aiden rubbed his hands together. “As requested.”

“But married, Aiden? Really?”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “He seemed pretty upset to hear about our engagement. I thought you said things weren’t serious between you two.”

She took in Aiden’s stiff posture, the intense look on his face, the frown lines bracketing his mouth. Was he…jealous? Of Rick? And why did she feel a rush of exhilaration at the idea? “I—”

“There she is!”

Oh no.

Perry. He strode through the grass in loafers, sliding a hand down his ugly maroon tie. A tie and khakis. Always on the clock. Perry may have been good at sales, but he was crap at reading body language.

He ignored Aiden, a virtual wall of tension by her side, and said, “So. Did you ‘close the deal’ with Rick yet? If you know what I mean.” He rolled his eyes, then seemed to notice Aiden. “Hey. Perry Bradford. I work at Midwest with Sadie. You in the business?”

Aiden stood, hands at his sides, and glared at Perry. “Aiden Downey, manager, Axle’s,” he announced, his voice as rigid as his body.

“Oh-ho!” Perry got in Sadie’s face. “My God, you do get around.”

She’d barely had time to get offended when Aiden reached past her and wound a fist around Perry’s tie. They were the same height, but Aiden had the benefit of brawn and somehow still managed to look down at Perry. “Say it again,” Aiden said as calmly as if discussing the weather. But he wasn’t calm. His nostrils flared. A muscle in his jaw jumped.

Aiden looked mad.

And hot.

Perry attempted to pull away, sloshing beer onto his shoes in the process. He clasped on to Aiden’s wrist, his teeth drawn back in a grimace. He forced a shaky smile. “Easy, buddy. She knows I’m joking.”

Aiden tightened his hold and hauled Perry half an inch closer. “Yeah, but I don’t.” He released Perry a moment later. Perry stumbled, straightening his shirt with one jittery movement after the other. He stalked off, muttering something incomprehensible as he did. When he got far enough away, he threw the word asshole over his shoulder.

Sadie winced, worrying Aiden might tear after him and break his nose. Worrying more how she might like to see that play out. But Aiden’s face had lost all rage, and he laughed lightly, his easy smile sliding across his lips as if it’d been just under the surface the whole time.

“There,” he said. “That ought to help.”

Sadie didn’t think she’d ever had someone stand up for her honor before. Stand up for her at all, actually. She rose to her tiptoes and grasped Aiden’s neck and kissed him. Just a brief press of lips, and not nearly long enough for her taste. She lowered to her heels.

Aiden’s lips were still pursed when she drew away. His hands landed on her hips. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice rough.

She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t take the dark intensity in his eyes. But she did anyway. “Thank you.”

His infallible smile returned, the intensity in his eyes replaced with impishness. “What do I get if I punch him?”

An hour later they found a pair of empty lawn chairs. Sadie collapsed into one while Aiden went to grab her another beer. Jade flopped down into the chair next to her and leaned over the arm, nearly tipping it over.

Sadie held out a hand to help but Jade righted the chair with an awkward splay of one leg. “Hottie with a body is your fiancé?” Sadie guessed she was attempting a whisper. She didn’t quite make it. Sadie sent an apologetic smile to a few people hovering nearby.

“Wow, word travels fast,” Sadie said.

“Yeah.” She glanced at the fire. The flames were no longer two stories high, making it safer to sit close. “Perry is trying to take Rick’s account out from under you,” Jade said with a sloppy wave. “But I heard Rick say he wasn’t going to sign with that bag of dicks.”

Sadie chuckled. “Did he, now?”

Jade let out a sharp laugh. “He may not have used that exact terminology.”

Sadie felt Aiden before she heard him. A tingling on the back of her neck like static electricity. “Hi, Jade.”

“Hi, hottie,” Jade said with an exaggerated wink. “Have you two set a date yet?”

Aiden didn’t hesitate. “Well, I would get married tomorrow, but Sadie wants a huge wedding. Massive. One that trumps the royals.”

”No way, you should go to Jamaica.” Jade shoved Sadie, bringing her back from blankly staring into the flames. She gave her an impatient smile. Thankfully, Jade said nothing more on the subject after that, excusing herself and clambering out of the chair. She nearly spilled out of her top in the process.

Aiden sat, eyes wide, looking shell-shocked. “Could have gone my whole life without seeing that,” he joked. He handed over Sadie’s beer and took a drink from his own.

Sadie didn’t laugh.

“What’s wrong?”

Nothing. Everything. “I don’t want a huge wedding,” she said.

“No?” Aiden shrugged with his mouth. “What’ll it be, then? Courthouse? Vegas? Jamaica?”

She didn’t feel like playing any longer. “I don’t want a wedding at all.”

“Well, don’t I feel the fool.”

“Stop joking about this, okay?” Sadie wasn’t sure where that came from, but suddenly her patience was very thin. She guzzled down a few swallows of beer.

Aiden leaned in and forced her to acknowledge him. “I’m sorry if I took things too far. I didn’t know.”

And she was overreacting. “It’s fine.” She raked a hand through her hair.

After a moment, Aiden asked, “You really don’t see yourself ever getting married?”

She thought of the wedding she’d planned. The caterer she’d booked. Invitations she’d ordered, then subsequently shredded into tiny pieces. The flowers she’d debated over. The chicken-or-steak option she’d been sure to include on the RSVP cards. It’d all been for naught. Wasted time, wasted hopes.

“Never,” she said.

“That’s too bad.”

Sadie turned to see Aiden tip his beer to his lips. A wave of melancholy washed over her, almost like she regretted giving such a final answer on the subject. So change the subject. “What do you think about putting a second motorcycle in the display window?”

Aiden turned to her, a puzzled look on his face. “You really don’t think I could talk you into marrying me?”

Sadie nearly choked on her beer. All the blood rushed from her face to her toes, making her brain temporarily seize. No, of course not. Just say it. No way, Jose. But she didn’t. She just sat there, staring at him, eyes as round as a pair of Harley Daymaker headlamps.

“Yeah,” Aiden sighed. “Rick probably didn’t buy it, either.” He spared her a glance. “Think I jumped the shark? Want me to tell him I lied? That I’m a client who has no friends, so you invited me out of pity?”

His careless smile was intact, but Sadie could see a dab of sadness in his eyes. She knew he’d lost his best friend when he found out Daniel slept with Aiden’s then-wife. She wondered how many people he’d alienated in the process of walking away from his and Daniel’s business. She wondered if she counted as his friend. If she wanted to…

She put a palm on his arm. “You have friends. You made two or three friends within five minutes of being here. And I’m fairly sure Jade would have your babies if you asked nicely.”

He sputtered, spitting beer on himself. He sent her a dimpled smile as he swiped the foam from his lip and nose, brushed stray droplets off his shirt. Sadie stared a little too long at his lips. They were slightly damp and causing an equal reaction in her nether regions.

She cleared her throat. “Whatever you do, don’t confess we’re not really engaged. Perry doesn’t need another thing to tease me about. And Rick might get angry enough to cancel our contract.”

She felt the weight of Aiden’s stare and turned to find him frowning. “You’re seriously worried about losing Rick’s account.”

Sadie wasn’t sure if worried was the right word, but she was concerned. Who wanted to lose anything? Be it a client, a game of checkers, a fiancé…“If I do, I’ll find another,” she said, not feeling the conviction of her words.