Aaron helped me out of the bow rider. I looked around myself. The island had certainly looked smaller from a distance. The house had too.
Watching the island from afar I had expected a little wood cottage or a small, cozy house. I felt stupid for thinking that way. Nothing associated with Aaron Woodwords was ever less than the most extravagant thing possible. The house—rather the villa—standing proudly in the middle of the ocean was twice as big as my father's residence.
Tobias arrived on the island on a second boat with our luggage, a few minutes later. As if on cue, the doors of the villa opened and a woman emerged.
"This is Margot. Tobey's wife. They both work and live here," Aaron introduced her.
Margot congratulated both of us with a pleasant smile. She then led us inside the villa. Our bags were sent to our room and I excused myself to freshen up while Margot was setting up the dinner table.
Aaron had taken the balcony to attend a phone call. I rummaged through the bag and ended my search on a breezy, printed maxi dress. Nadia had helped me pack most of these bags. She, in particular, had bought this one for me. 'His surprise could be a beach cottage' she had said to me. I could have never guessed she knew about it.
Also her 'beach cottage' was a very humble use of words for a villa on an island.
"Allow me to help," I heard Aaron say as I was going towards the bathroom.
I turned to look at him as he tossed his phone on the bed. His hands went around my waist and he pulled me closer. His lips touched my cheek. A soft kiss, light as a feather caressing the skin. When his lips moved to claim my lips, gone was the softness. Aaron's hand slid up my back to the zipper of my dress. I gasped at the first tug.
"I- I need to get ready," I said. Our noses were touching, our breaths were mingled together and I felt Aaron smile over my lips.
"I know. I'm helping."
"You're not helping. Dinner is being set up." My arms were around his neck, my body fitting into his arms like it always belonged there. I don't think I was helping either.
"Dinner can wait," Aaron whispered. He dipped his head to trail kisses down my neck. I closed my eyes and swayed to his rhythm.
It was the ringing of his phone that broke the spell, yanking us back into the real world. I took a step away from him. Aaron groaned in frustration as he reached for his cellphone.
"This better be important, Carter," he threatened over the phone.
I hadn't realized how erratic my breathing had become until I pulled back. My knees were jelly as I picked up the maxi dress from the floor. I had no idea when it got there.
'I'm going to change,' I mouthed to Aaron. He put the phone away from his ear to whisper in my ear. "Hmm. I can wait."
He walked back to the balcony. I had to take a moment to get my heart under control before rushing inside the bathroom.
When I walked out of the bathroom, Aaron wasn't in the room. I put on a little makeup and walked out of the room to search for him. I found him standing near the foyer, still on a call. He had changed into black shorts and a white shirt. He was mesmerizing. He took my breath away every time I looked at him.
As if he could feel my eyes on him, he turned to me. His face which had been lacking any sort of expression until now looked amused. Aaron smirked. He knew I was ogling at him.
He stretched his hand out for me and I walked to him with happy, bouncy feet to take it. By the sound of it, his conversation with whoever was on the phone was far from being over. Though it didn't stop him from directing the person to end the call.
"How is it that you always look this beautiful?" Aaron placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me outside the villa. He had switched his phone off and left it on the side table. A simple gesture, but it meant the world to me.
"How is it that you always look this handsome?" I twisted the question and flung it back at him.
"I try not to. But I can't help it," he said, making me laugh out loud.
"Why are we going out?" I asked, still chuckling at the self-flattery.
"To have dinner," said Aaron, simply.
Moments later I finally had my answer. The whole backyard was lit with yellow fairy lights. A wooden pergola was built near a line of stones at the border of the island. Green creepers ran along the posts of the pergola. A table for two was set up in the middle with dishes covered with designer silver domes mirroring the yellow flames of the candle lights.
The water bordering the island looked almost black at night, reflecting the shimmering crescent of the moon. The wind was cool, I could smell the salt in it. I closed my eyes for a brief moment as it fanned my hair. This was the peace that could not be found among the tall buildings and expensive cars of New York city.
Aaron drew a chair for me and instead of sitting on the opposite side, he pulled his chair closer to mine. He uncovered the lid of the dishes to reveal several kinds of seafood. I'd be lying if I say I had tasted or even seen any one of them before in my life. I knew it was Margot who had cooked them, but they looked perfectly good to be served at a Michelin star restaurant.
"They're Margot's exclusive dishes, only available at some of my restaurants. You get to taste the original," Aaron said. That explained a lot of it. They are served at Michelin star restaurants, after all.
I took my first bite and sat back in my chair, startled by the burst of different savory flavors in my mouth. "They're amazing," I said in awe of it.
"Told you," Aaron smiled, digging in his own plate. He poured two glasses of champagne and passed one to me.
"I noticed James missing during the ceremony," Aaron commented, "what did he do?"
Warmth spread inside my chest knowing he would automatically assume James to be the culprit for any situation. There was this other thing that he hated him for his own reasons, but it felt good to have someone to trust you.
"He had an important meeting," I told him the truth.
It was strange how I felt nothing as I said those words. The hurt and pain I had felt this morning had vapourised to nothing. Not a hint of sorrow for my father missing my wedding.
I was being too harsh, being unreasonable, was what he would have said to me if he was here—with worse phrasing of words, of course. I thought back to how Dylan had decided to stay at my wedding during a shootout and Aaron had switched his phone off to give me his undivided attention. I was not being too harsh. I was not being unreasonable. It was my father who had a blindfold on that allowed him to see nothing beyond bundles of cash.
"And?" Aaron asked. He was looking at me to continue.
"That's it." I smiled. That was it. Just a meeting.
Aaron's face hardened, fury spilt in his green irises, and a frown appeared on his forehead. But when he spoke, his voice was as cool as the breeze fanning our faces.
"What about Juliea? She didn't seem to be an important part of the ceremony either. I know her other daughter is more like her, but she is still your mother."
"She is not my mother," I withdrew my hands from the table and placed them over my lap. This was not what I wanted to discuss with him. I wanted to forget about the things I've gone through because of them. I wanted to forget about them. All of them. But as Aaron shifted closer, his hand taking hold of mine, his face looking more in pain than I was feeling right now, I knew he had to know. He had to know at least that.
"She is my stepmother. Lahaina is her daughter. My father married her for money," I said, feeling a little more confident as he held my hands to reassure me.
"Classic James. No wonder why you're so different from them." Aaron brought my hands to his lips to kiss them.
He made me turn back to the food and slipped a fork in my hands, gesturing for me to dig back in. "You wouldn't want to waste such exotic dishes. I also have your favorite desserts in line after you finish this meal," Aaron said, waving the clouds of sorrow that had threatened to ruin the evening.
Every sentence he spoke from then on was to lighten the mood until I was laughing again. He told me stories about surfing and snorkeling around the island with his friends. Every story involving Kevin, Brian or Nate was nothing short of a mini sitcom episode.
By the time Aaron took my hand to pull me up to dance with him, I was giggling at anything and everything he said. It wasn't the effect of the champagne making me this way. I had not gone further than a glass to be intoxicated. It wasn't the alcohol. It was the man.
His hands were around my waist, mine around his neck as we swayed to the slow, romantic music. I rested my head over his chest listening to the peaceful sound of his heart beating within.
"I would freeze this moment if I could," I said.
"I wouldn't suggest you do that," Aaron said. He kissed the top of my head.
"Why? I think this is perfect," I said, closing my eyes.
"I want a lifetime with you, Caroline. Not a frozen moment. A future together. It might not be perfect, but as long as we're together in those imperfect moments, it would be fine."
I looked up at Aaron. My heart had never felt more full with the love I felt for him. "That sounds like a better plan," I agreed.
That sounded like the best plan.
We stayed like that, in each other's embrace, swaying to the wind in the silence with no sound other than our steady breathing and our rhythmically beating hearts. Then Aaron's hand shifted lower as he picked me up and started to walk back to the villa.
"What are you doing?" I asked, caught off guard.
"I'm going to make love to you, Caroline," Aaron husky voice spoke in my ear.
My heart skipped a beat, then started to hammer inside my chest. My body started to tingle with anticipation as he kicked the door shut to our room and lowered me on the bed.
"I have waited for you for so long, my love." Aaron's lips hovered over mine, the words vibrating through the short distance between our faces.
He kissed me gently at first, then angled his head to deepen it, our lips moving in perfect sync. I ran my hand through his hair as he trailed kisses down my neck and collarbone. A moan escaped my lips as he kissed at the spot between my collarbones.
Aaron pushed himself up, his eyes not moving away from me as he unbuttoned his shirt, discarding it to the floor below. I took a sharp intake of breath as he revealed the muscles. He took my hand and pulled me to sit in front of him.
He must have noticed the nervousness on my face because he cupped my face, planting a soft kiss on my temple. "Relax. I'm going to take care of you," he assured.
I nodded, leaning forward to kiss him. His hands moved around me as he undid the zipper. My dress joined his shirt on the floor.
Aaron pulled back to look at me. His eyes were fire, burning every inch of me. "You're breathtaking," he said.
Heat coursed through my body and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips took their claim, his hands moved all over me, his knee thrusted between my legs as he pushed us back on the bed, to make slow, sweet, passionate love to me.
- Analia