“This is going to be that kind of place?”
“It’s South Beach,” Aiden explained. “They’re all that kind of place—even the burger joints.”
I tried to argue a little more—I didn’t mind the trip back to his house—but he was insistent. I gave in to him, which I noticed was becoming a trend.
The kayak rental center had locker rooms and showers. As soon as we were out of our bathing suits and cleaned up a bit, we headed to the Lincoln Road Mall and found a nice department store. I looked at dresses, and a woman came up to me almost immediately to help me with my selection. She gave me a friendly smile and started to talk about the latest styles, but as soon as Aiden walked up, she excused herself and walked away.
“That was rude,” I muttered under my breath.
“Happens to me all the time,” Aiden said dismissively. He indicated the red cocktail dress I had in my hand. “I like this one.”
I checked the price tag and rolled my eyes, but it became very clear very quickly that Aiden wasn’t going to compromise on anything, including who was paying for the expensive—and very short—dress he picke
d out. He claimed it would be the only way I could ride on the back of the bike since a long one would get in the way. In protest against his overindulgence, I quickly bought matching shoes and a purse while he was waiting in line to buy my dress along with the clothes he had selected for himself. He glared at me when he saw what I had done then smiled half a grin.
“Sneaky thing,” he muttered.
The attendant at the changing room didn’t seem inclined to help us, but Aiden slipped her some cash, and she let us use the store to change into our fancy clothes. He was already done changing when I walked out. The lack of backward cap, the dress pants and blazer made him look like a completely different person from the one in the casual clothes he had worn so far. I almost didn’t recognize him without all the tattoos showing.
Of course, when I moved closer, I could still see some of the marking around his neck. I realized I didn’t even know what it said though there were obviously words written across his throat. I would have had to get up close to read them, and that just seemed so rude.
We ended up at a steak house right on the beach and sat out on the patio. The evening was perfect, just like the day had been. I had a glass of the best wine I had ever tasted, but Aiden didn’t try it. He said he never drank when he had the bike out.
“Are you glad you came?” Aiden asked as we finished our dinners.
“Yes,” I said. My face warmed, and I wondered if he could see my blush.
“Good.” He sat back and looked around the patio. “See anyone you recognize?”
“No,” I said, “should I?”
He leaned close to me.
“Judge Judy is over there, just at the edge of the patio near the gate.”
“Really?” I glanced quickly, trying not to be too obvious.
Aiden snickered quietly.
“She lives around here somewhere,” he said. “I’ve seen her a few times. David Beckham and Posh Spice are inside, just by the door.”
I tried to look through the window and thought I could see the couple he meant, but it was hard to tell.
“He plays soccer, right?”
“Yeah,” Aiden said, “or at least, he did. Now he’s starting up a major league soccer team here in Miami. You never know who you might see around here.”
Aiden’s phone beeped, and he glanced at it. I tried to look around at the other patrons, wondering how many other famous people were around me, but I kept peering back at his face. His jaw tightened as he glared down at the illuminated screen.
Whatever message was on the phone, he wasn’t happy about it.
“Ready to go?” he said suddenly.
“Um…sure.”
Aiden called for the check and led me back out to his motorcycle. He didn’t say a word as he strapped the helmet to my head, climbed on, and started up the engine. I wrapped my arms around him. I could feel the tenseness in his chest as I held on, and we sped north up Ocean Boulevard.
“I have some work to do,” Aiden announced as soon as we arrived back at his house. “I’m sorry about that. I had planned on ignoring it while you were here, but sometimes it can’t be helped. You want a glass of wine or something? I could get a fire going in the fire pit if you wanted to hang out there.”