Alarm

The cons were also easy. There was no denying that I didn’t really know anything about Aiden Hunter. That should have been enough to keep me away. He was sketchy about his work, which set off alarms in my head. Sales could mean anything. He was also scary-looking with all the tattoos and huge muscles. He was not my type.

However, I couldn’t get over the idea that I was being totally unfair to him. If I had been a police officer, I would have definitely been accused of profiling. It wouldn’t have been any different if he had been wearing a turban, and I had assumed he was a terrorist. I wasn’t like that. I didn’t discriminate against people because of how they looked.

Did I?

Maybe everyone does to some extent, but that didn’t mean I had to act on it. Deciding to avoid him would be exactly that. Would I think differently if he had been in a suit, covering up the artwork all over his body? Probably. How screwed up was that?

The fact was he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d helped me out when I was too drunk to make any kind of rational decision, didn’t take advantage of me, and didn’t seem to be expecting any sort of repayment for his good deed. I, on the other hand, had spent most of my time judging him based on his appearance.

Who was the bad guy here?

Yes, he’d been a little dodgy on what he did for a living, but he might also just be a private person who didn’t want to divulge too much to someone he just met. I hadn’t told him much about what I did for a living, either. I wouldn’t even tell him where I lived.

Deciding I was just being silly, I took a deep breath, raised my hand, and knocked. The door opened immediately.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stand there.” Aiden’s boyish smile beamed down at me as he waved me into the apartment.

My heart fluttered when I looked at him.

“You knew I was out there?” I asked as my face heated up.

“I saw you drive up.” He pointed to the small window overlooking the parking lot. “Have a seat. I’m just finishing up my packing.”

He stepped to the side of the door, but his shoulders were so wide I still brushed up against him when I walked in. The brief encounter sent shivers down my arm where our skin touched.

I scuttled past, ignoring the way my skin tingled where we met, and sat on the single chair in the living area and looked around. The suitcase that had been open that morning was now closed and upright near the card table. Aiden disappeared into the bathroom and came back out with a black toiletry bag, which he shoved into the front pocket of the luggage. The sleeper sofa was folded back, and the apartment looked even emptier than it had before.

“I thought you were leaving tomorrow.”

“I am,” he said. “I just like to have everything together the day before.”

“You are very organized,” I commented. He grinned at me.

“Want something to drink?” Aiden asked. “I’ve got beer and some Sprite, I think.”

“No,” I replied, “thank you. I just wanted to return these.”

As I held the bag out to him, I tried not to meet his eyes as. Every time I seemed to look at them my brain turned to mush.

He laughed.

“In a grocery bag, huh? I guess you managed to get your shopping done.”

“I did.” I smiled sheepishly.

Aiden took the bag and crammed it into the top of the suitcase. He tossed in a few more items from the card table and zipped up the bag before sitting down on the couch and facing me.

“So, I was thinking,” Aiden said as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, “maybe we don’t have to wait until I get back. Maybe you could just come with me.”

I stared at him a minute, trying to figure out if there was some joke I was missing. I was probably distracted by the movement of the muscles in his forearms when he leaned on his legs, and I didn’t quite understand what he was trying to say.

“Come with you where?” I asked.

“To Miami,” he replied. “I still have another week off from work, and I think maybe a nice little vacation would be good for you.”

“Vacation?”

“Yeah—sunny Florida and all that. Have you been?”