Page 43 of The Fall Fix Up

Janae nodded. “That’s actually quite comforting when I really think about it.”

Ellie’s smile was wide as she ran Janae’s card through the reader. “Exactly. This place is like a built-in background check. Just make sure to close your blinds unless you really want to get people talking.”

Janae laughed as she grabbed her books and made her way back into the sunlight. The conversation with Ellie just gave her another reason to take things slow with Aiden. She knew they would need to talk about everything eventually. Ambiguity wasn’t always a bad thing, but it could get old fast.

The plant nursery was a few blocks away. As she slipped inside, the smell of greenery assaulted her senses. She walked around the aisles just as unhurried as before, taking time to enjoy the quiet as she looked over all the plants. She stopped in front of a row of succulents, all different shapes and shades. She wasn’t sure which one Aiden had had before, but from the quick conversation they’d had, she wasn’t sure if he knew either.

She picked one up, turning the pot this way and that in her hands. It was a hardy green color that reminded her of a ripened cucumber. On a whim, she grabbed a second that was the same shade of green.

“So they won’t be lonely,” she muttered to herself before rolling her eyes at her own antics. And now I’m the lonely one talking to herself.

She shook her head at her own ridiculousness but walked over to the sales counter before she could second-guess herself. She left, not wanting to get roped into buying anything else, but as she made her way back down the sidewalk, doubt started to creep in. Was she overstepping? Aiden hadn’t said anything about wanting another plant. She had just bought them on a whim instead of really pausing to think if she should. Peter had always hated when she spontaneously made decisions like this.

By the time she was walking up the stairs on her front porch and letting herself into the house, she still hadn’t decided on what to say. She dropped the bag of books on the couch and made her way to the hallway. The water was running in the bathroom, so she made a detour to Aiden’s room.

It smelled faintly like clean laundry and that same spicy sweet scent that was uniquely him. She crossed the room quickly, stepping over to the bedside table, and cradled the succulents carefully. When she saw a familiar book, she paused and looked down. It was an art book from the living room shelf.

“Is he reading this?” she asked herself as she stared. Maybe she wasn’t the only one doing research. The thought that he was reading a book about art for her had warmth blooming in her chest. When his cell phone screen lit up beside the book, she broke out of her musing and realized she had potentially crossed a line.

She had marched into Aiden’s room without stopping to ask if this was okay. Sure, it was her house, but this was his room—his private space. The thought that she had infiltrated it had her frozen in place with indecision. Should she drop the plants off and leave or take them with her and come back when she knew he was in here?

“Janae?”

She was startled by her name being called and whirled around. Aiden was standing in the doorway, a towel slung low on his waist. Water droplets clung to his hair and skin, tracing slow arching paths down his chest. Janae’s mind went blank.

“Is everything okay?”

“I am so sorry,” she blurted out. “I didn’t mean to just barge into your space. I just wanted to leave these for you, but I saw the book you were reading and was curious.”

Aiden glanced over at the table before his gaze slid to her hands where she still was cradling the two plants. When he smiled, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“I was curious about your art,” he said before gesturing to the plants. “You got two of them. Is it so they don’t get lonely?”

Janae smiled. “Exactly.”

When he smiled in return, heat rushed over her face, and she realized that he was more than a little naked under the towel.

“I should go.” She set the plants down on the table and tried to ignore the heat of him as Aiden moved farther into the room. “I’ll let you get dressed and . . .” Her voice trailed off when she looked up and saw him coming closer.

Aiden paused but reached a hand out, cupping her shoulder. “Thank you.”

She swallowed hard and nodded sharply. “Always. I mean . . . Yup.” Not wanting to make an even bigger fool of herself, she turned and made her way out of the room. She heard Aiden’s soft laughter behind her but didn’t stop until the door was safely closed.

Chapter 18

Aiden sighed when he pulled into the shop parking lot. He hadn’t seen Janae this morning before heading out to work and it was throwing off his entire morning.

He knew it probably shouldn’t be affecting him quite this much. It wasn’t like he had to see her every morning. Sure, they usually bumped into one another as they went through their routines of showering and preparing for the day. It was a routine that Aiden had come to enjoy after years of living alone. But still, it shouldn’t throw him off his game this badly. He had his job, and he had his friends. He hung out with Vini when they were both free and enjoyed game nights and watching sports with Thomas and Bradley when their schedules aligned. It wasn’t like he didn’t have things to do and other people to do them with. Sure, his family life left a lot to be desired, but that didn’t mean he should be this bereft at not catching a glimpse of Janae one morning out of the entire week.

It didn’t help that, since their last kiss, his head had been all over the place.

“Oh, hell,” he grumbled when he remembered he needed to call his father this morning.

It had been a week since they’d last talked, and while the conversation hadn’t yielded any forward motion, he couldn’t wait too long to follow up. He didn’t want to overextend his welcome and he definitely didn’t want to seem like he was trying to use Janae, so he needed to get things in order.

His dad’s phone rang a couple times before the call connected. A sigh came through the line. “Aiden, now is not a good time, son.”

He fought hard not to groan aloud at the immediate brush off. Giving his frustration a voice never led to anything productive when it came to dealing with his father. Stubbornness was unfortunately an inherited trait. He had never met his grandfather, but Aiden wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been just as bullheaded as Aiden and his dad.