The loud growling of Anna's stomach pulled Aidan back to reality, but he didn't move away from her. He didn't leave her lips either.
He was staring at her, his body pressed down on hers, until she hacked a cough and he straightened up quickly.
"Are you okay?" he helped her upright, and she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, looking flustered as she clutched her stomach. "I'm famished."
He had been about to head out to get some groceries when she bumped into him. When he got home and realized she wasn't back yet, he wanted to cook her something.
"Let's get you inside," he stretched his hand out to her, and she took it. He used his left hand to wheel two of the boxes.
She noticed how he was struggling with them, so she extricated her hand from his hold.
"Take two, I'll come behind you with the other two," she suggested, and he noticed she was avoiding his eyes—probably because of that awkward kiss. Was he supposed to apologize to her for accidentally kissing her?
For the first time in years, he also felt embarrassed. He had no idea how to act after what just happened between them. It was an accident, but he should have stepped away immediately and not made it that awkward.
"You sure? There are four flights of stairs."
She nodded again, quick and dismissive, not even questioning the lack of an elevator. He had expected her to. He already had a suggestion planned if she didn't want to live there with him.
But she wasn't saying anything about the building.
He sighed, wishing things could be different.
By the time they reached the floor, they were both breathless. Anna let go of the boxes and bent down, laughing softly.
He had absolutely no idea why she was laughing, but he joined in.
"Why are you also breathless? You should be used to taking the staircase every day already, right?"
"Yeah," he said, feeling a little shy.
He took the boxes from her and wheeled them to his door, unlocked it, and entered. She followed him in.
The door slammed closed behind them, startling her slightly.
"I didn't know you'd be back already," she said behind him, looking around the apartment.
It was a one-bedroom apartment, with a spacious living room, a spacious kitchen, and an ensuite bathroom.
"Yeah, I didn't want to leave you stranded, so I had to leave as early as I was done." They were now in the living room. She was still glancing around, though not making any comment about it. "I'm sorry, but this was the nicest apartment I could get with my budget."
She nodded in understanding. "It's okay."
The exhaustion in her voice was obvious, and Alexander instinctively knew something was wrong.
"Are you okay?" he asked, keeping his gaze on her.
Annalyn sighed at the question. She sat down and threw her head back on the couch.
"I'm alright. I'm just… pissed."
He sat beside her. "Would you like to talk about it?"
She turned her gaze toward him and stared at him for a long moment.
"Talk to me, Annalyn," he mentioned again.
"You know, I never actually said thank you for agreeing to marry me on such short notice. Thank you so much, Adrian. It's been a long day," she smiled wearily.
He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Don't change the subject, dear wife. Did something else happen?" he insisted.
"You're so nosy," she muttered with a tired smile tugging on her lips. Her words made him chuckle.
"It's just… Sophia. I went home to take a few things I needed. She was there and so was Kathryn, and things didn't go so well," she winced.
"Did she say something bad to you?"
Annalyn sighed again. That was probably the millionth time she had done that since she walked in.
"You don't know half of it."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
As soon as those words slipped past his lips, Anna sat up and held his gaze. "Yes, actually. There's something only you can do to help."
He nodded, urging her on.
"Well, Kathryn has made it her prerogative to make sure that I never get it. Despite the publicity and media announcement that I got married, she refused to believe. They think you're fake, and if I don't convince them otherwise, she is going to do everything humanly possible to take the company away from me."
She rushed the words out so fast that it left her slightly breathless when she was done, but he got the point.
"I can't afford to let that happen, Aidan. I can't. You need to help me."
Aidan suddenly had a terrible feeling about this entire discussion. "She doesn't have any right to do that since this is strictly between you and the family lawyer. Why are you letting her do this to you?"
She pouted. "I think she has him wrapped around her finger."
"Still…" he trailed off. He was suddenly upset that this was happening to her when she had no one else.
He sighed and asked gently, "What can I do to help?"
She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she faced him squarely. "I need you to go to dinner with me."
A slight wave of uneasiness rolled through him. "Dinner?"
She nodded intermittently. "Yes, Kathryn invited us to dinner tomorrow at 7, please? I really really need to make them see. They've taken so much from me already. I can't let them take this last thing away from me."
"Dinner? With your stepmother and stepsister?" he asked again to be sure he understood her request.
She nodded. Her expression was a mixture of worry and apology.
"You know that's a bad idea, right? They tried to kill you. You were drugged. You don't want to go in there and eat yourself to death, do you?"
She smiled, giving the vibe of I-know-what-I'm-doing.
"Once everything works out and I get the company, I will give you the shares according to our agreement. It's just one dinner," she pleaded.
The fact that she mentioned money as a means to sway him made him feel amused.
Before he could respond, her stomach growled again and he recalled she had mentioned being hungry. "Let me fix you something."
"You can cook?" she called after him as he strolled casually to the kitchen.
"Yep. I was about to go get some groceries when I met you downstairs. Can you make do with noodles? Or…" he turned back abruptly and she bumped into him. His breath caught as he stared down at her, and something shifted in his chest.
She stepped back quickly. "You were saying?"
That jerked him back to life. "Pizza. Should we order some pizza instead?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm not a fan."
"What about pasta? I don't just have enough ingredients."
"You know what? Noodles will do. Taking that this once won't ruin my diet, will it?"
"Ahh!" he realized why she didn't want noodles at first. "Sit still, I'll get it to you shortly."
She nodded, grabbed a stool, and sat opposite the counter, watching him cook.
He expected her to ask him some questions in the process, probably about the apartment, or about him, or how he learned to cook. But she didn't, and it made him wonder if she was just trying to keep things professional between them.
This thing between them was business anyway, and they shouldn't let personal lives get in the way. Especially his personal life.
And for a moment, he watched her from his peripheral view, and when she caught him staring, he looked away quickly.
"About the dinner, what do you say? Will you come with me?"
"I'll think about it," he answered indifferently.
Annalyn groaned at his words. "What's there to think about? You already came this far. Even though you only just met me today, we are legally married. A dinner won't hurt, really."
Anna sounded slightly irritated now, and he smiled as he dipped the noodles into the hot boiling water. This woman had no idea that getting him to marry her was literally the hardest thing she could ever ask him to do.
But she didn't know, and he wasn't going to tell her.
Aidan stood up and held out his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. I'll come with you."
"7 p.m. tomorrow then?" Her face split into a bright smile.
He nodded with a smirk. "It's a date."
She shrieked in excitement and jumped down from the stool like she hadn't been looking tired just a while ago. She walked back into the living room and he didn't hear her voice anymore. So he hastened up with his cooking, pulled out a wine bottle he bought on his way back from work, and poured some for her in a glass. He placed the plate on a tray along with the wine, then picked it up to serve her.
When he got to the living room, she was slouched there with her legs spread out and her head thrown back in exhaustion.
He smiled and placed the tray down on the table in front of her. "You should eat and take your medicine so you—"
He stood upright to see she was already fast asleep.
"Oh."
He contemplated waking her up to sit and take some pain reliever, but he figured she needed the sleep more than anything else.
The day had been so long for both of them.
He took the meal back to the kitchen and gulped down the wine before heading back to the living room. He picked her up effortlessly, and surprisingly, she was so light.
Aidan moved to the bedroom, kicked it open to enter. The bed was already made, so he put her down carefully, moved to her feet to take off her shoes. For a moment, he just stood there, staring at the woman he'd said yes to that morning.
He leaned down, pulled the duvet up to tuck her in, and before he could stop himself, pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The memory of their earlier kiss flashed behind his eyes. He snapped out of it, straightened, and mentally slapped himself.
Storming out of the room, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, with his heart thudding."What the hell?!"