Once Upon a New Year's Eve (Meet Cute Romance 2)

“Oh, God.” Gemma closed her eyes and rode out the blast of lust that shot through her. “Don’t say stuff like that. It makes me want to let you.”

“How do you want to proceed with this?” he asked.

Straight to your bed. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. She swallowed. “Carefully, I think. Very carefully.”

“Okay then.” Aaron tugged her closer and rested his cheek against hers.

She could feel his heart pounding against hers, but he kept his hold easy, as if this were nothing more complicated than a dance. When the song was over, he led her back to their table and kept her hand in his as they sat.

“You want dessert?” he asked.

“Maybe later.”

“You want me to take you home?”

And put an end to the dream? Gemma shook her head, and Aaron’s lips curved in that slow smile that made her heart skip a beat.

“Then give me tonight. Let me show you Memphis as it’s meant to be experienced.?

?

How could she say no to that?

~*~

Aaron took Gemma dancing on Beale Street. They moved from club to club, sampling the best music Memphis had to offer. The energy of the New Year’s Eve crowds banished the sense of nagging exhaustion that might have brought the night to an end. When they ran out of steam, he took her to Gibson’s for fresh donuts. They talked for hours over an endless pot of coffee, catching up on years and playing footsie beneath the table. Dawn found them walking in a park beside the river, arm-in-arm and easy with each other.

As the sky began to lighten behind the city skyline, Aaron tugged Gemma over to a bench to sit and watch. The wind off the water behind them was frigid, and she burrowed into him, resting her head against his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Tired?”

“Mmm. I’m so tired, I’m wired. I think if we stop moving for very long, I’m going to crash and burn. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up all night.”

“Grad school, for me,” said Aaron. “And certainly it wasn’t for anything as pleasant as this.”

“It’s like that movie,” she said.

“What movie?”

“Before Sunrise. The movie that made every teenage girl fall in love with Ethan Hawke back in the 90s. He and Julie Delpy’s character meet on the train and end up spending all night wandering some city in Austria. Vienna, I think. Can’t remember. Anyway, they get this one, amazing night together before she has to get on the train to go back to Paris and he has to get to the airport to fly home.”

“Is that all I’m going to get with you, Gemma? One night?”

She lifted her head to face him. “This has been one of the best nights of my life. You’ve made one of my greatest teenage fantasies come to life, and I don’t know how to thank you for that.”

It sounded too much like the preface of an apology. “I sense a ‘but’ coming on.”

“But we have to face reality.”

Aaron braced himself, already feeling the lash of disappointment. “And what’s the reality?”

“The reality is…this is complicated.” Gemma gave a rueful smile and cupped his cheek. “I’m crazy about you. I’ve always been crazy about you. But you’re Rick’s best friend.”

“Do you think he would have a problem with this?” He stroked a thumb over her knuckles.

Gemma considered the question. “I think it would surprise the hell out of him. But a problem? I don’t know. He was never one of those hugely overprotective big brothers. There was such an age gap between us, there wasn’t really opportunity or need. And certainly, at this point, you and I are both unattached adults.”

“A fact for which I find myself incredibly grateful, at the moment.”