Virgin Marriage by Alexa Riley

Chapter 7

Aiden

“Really, Savannah?” I say as I turn to look at her.

“Really, Aiden?” She mimics my voice and rolls her eyes. “My father was right beside us. What the hell were you doing?”

“I don’t know!” I shout as I slam the door to the limo shut and we pull away from the curb.

“Take her home and drop her off. I need to go back into the city,” I say, pulling my phone out to text Caroline.

The first one is marked delivered, then the rest don’t go through. I let out a frustrated growl as I try to call her, but it says I can’t reach the number I’m trying to call. She’s blocked me.

“Fuck,” I mutter and shove my phone in my pocket.

“Aiden, what’s going on? Who was that girl?”

“I’ll explain later,” I say, leaning forward in my seat to yell to the driver. “Can you speed it up, please?”

“Tell me what the fuck is going on. I’ve never seen you like this before,” she says. She’s looking at me with a mixture of shock and fear.

“I met her in the park. I asked her to have dinner with me tonight, but I forgot I told you I’d go with you to the animal thing.” I let out a frustrated breath and rub the heels of my hands against my eyes.

“Do you know anything about her?” Her eyebrows pull together in confusion. “You can’t just date out in the open like that. See what almost happened tonight. We agreed that if you ever wanted to do that, you’d be discreet.”

“Things got carried away. I got carried away,” I say as I look over at her. “She’s different.”

“She looked desperate,” Savannah says and rolls her eyes again.

“You sound like a bitch right now,” I spit out. I won’t have her talking bad about Caroline.

“Aiden, she looked at me like I stole her happily ever after out from underneath her. What do you really know about her? Because I guarantee you, she knows you’re rich.”

“That’s enough!” I shout, and I’m surprised at my tone. I’m not one to get heated about things. The joke has always been that I’d agree to let someone in the house to murder us instead of being rude and asking them to leave. But right now, the only thing I feel is angry.

I’m angry that I agreed to this fake marriage with Savannah, I’m angry that the night was ruined because of it, and I’m angry that I can’t get to Caroline as fast as I want to.

Savannah lets out a humorless laugh and crosses her arms. “You can be pissed if you want, Aiden, but I’ve known you a very, very long time. And if you think I’m just going to let some freeloader march in and weasel her way into your life without any sort of fuss, then you really don’t know me.”

“I know right now you’re talking out of your ass. You don’t know her, and you don’t know what I feel for her.”

“Don’t tell me you’re in love.” She laughs for real this time and it’s like nails on a chalkboard.

I look out the window and think about what I feel when I’m with Caroline. I’ve never been happier than when she’s near me. We talk nonstop and it’s so easy. Isn’t that what love is supposed to be like? I’ve never been in love before, so I wouldn’t know, but I do know that the feelings I have with her I never want to end.

The limo comes to a stop and Savannah is all too eager to get out of the car. Before she closes the door she looks back at me and narrows her eyes.

“Go ahead and have your fun, Aiden. Just remember that you’re rich and powerful and aren’t the ugliest guy in the city. Women will use you and try to trap you. Make sure she isn’t trying to get into your pants just to get into your bank account.”

“It’s not like that,” I say as I grip the door handle.

Savannah gives me a smug smile. “Look me in the face and tell me you weren’t going to fuck her tonight if you didn’t already promise me you were going with me?”

“That’s none of your fucking business,” I say, grinding my teeth.

“Do what you’ve got to do, but leave the trash by the curb.” She slams the door and before I’m able to respond the driver hits the gas and we’re off.

I don’t know what the hell her deal is. When I got home I had intentions of getting dressed and rushing back out to see Caroline as quickly as possible. But when I got there, Savannah was already dressed up and sitting at the bar in the kitchen waiting on me. I couldn’t just leave her there alone and I felt really bad that I’d already promised her and made her get the tickets. She told me her dad was going and I knew I couldn’t let her go alone. He’s awful to her with his comments about her weight and her clothing, even how she wears her hair. She can’t ever win and I knew if she went without me it would be even worse.

It’s the reason why we got married to begin with. Not only did our families arrange it, but I knew that it would finally be a chance for him to ease up on her. It didn’t last long before he started the comments about her not getting pregnant. Never mind that the two of us are virgins and haven’t even so much as kissed. We didn’t even do it on our wedding day. We made the priest skip that part and we walked down the aisle as quickly as we could. This was all to make him happy and it’s taken some time to realize he never would be.

Me falling in love wasn’t part of the deal. I honestly believed it would never happen. I just assumed I was missing that part of my brain that found other people attractive, making me a perfect husband for Savannah. I had no attraction to her, and I wouldn’t need to have my own love life. But the moment I saw Caroline everything changed.

I found myself hanging off of her every word and unable to take my eyes off her. The simplest touch, the slightest movement and I catalogued it all. There was nothing about her I didn’t notice or remember and I’ve never been that way before. I’ve known Savannah my entire life and I couldn’t tell you what her favorite flavor of ice cream is, or which side she parts her hair on. But in the time I’ve known Caroline I’ve memorized it all and I’m desperate for all of it. I need to know every aspect of her life and habits and then I want to make a future with her.

Savannah’s words hit me in my chest because I know they’re lies. Caroline isn’t just trying to get to my money. She works hard for what she’s got and she’s proud of that. There is so much I don’t know, but what I do know is that she has the kindest heart of anyone I’ve ever met in my life.

The car stops outside Caroline’s apartment and I jump out. I rush inside and wave to the doorman before I hop on the elevator and hit her floor. Thank god she didn't tell him not to let me in. I have a feeling if she kicks me out now, I’m not going to get lucky a second time, so I pray that I can convince her to hear me out.

I get to her door and I take a breath before I knock. As soon as my knuckles connect with the wood, the door is jerked open and Gia is rushing out into the hall. I look over her shoulder and see Caroline sitting on the couch with Elvis.

“Caroline, listen to me. It’s not what you think.”

“You’re an asshole and a liar,” Gia says as she gets closer to me. She’s flailing her arms as she yells. I don’t want her to hit me and I’m not going to lay a hand on her. But I need to get her to stop screaming so that Caroline can hear me. So I yell something I know will get both of their attentions.

“I’m married, but I’ve never had sex with her,” I blurt out, and Gia stops. I can’t bring myself to say “with my wife” because while we might legally be married, she isn’t my wife.

“What?” Her eyebrows pull together in confusion and Caroline stands up from the sofa to look at me.

“I’ve never had sex with anyone actually.” I should be embarrassed, but if this is what it takes to get her to listen to me, then I’ll do it. “Savannah is a family friend that I agreed to marry because of her father. I’ve never touched her. It’s a marriage in name only.” I tell her the truth. All the reasons I agreed to marry her to begin with aren’t sitting as well with me as they once had.

“She sure as hell didn’t act that way,” Gia says as she crosses her arms, not backing down.

Caroline has moved closer to the door and I try to keep talking.

“Her father was there right beside us. She has to put on a show of being the jealous wife because that’s what he expects. I’m not going to say she isn’t a little rough when you first meet her, but she means well.” She does. She has so much bottled up inside of her she is about to burst. She doesn't know how to deal with it and, to be honest, I don’t know how to tell her to deal with it. I know we still both struggle with my sister’s death. It’s the icing on the cake of our show of a marriage.

“Rough? Is that the word we’re using?” Gia looks at me like I’m stupid.

I glance back up to Caroline and keep my eyes locked on her. “She’s my friend and I won’t talk bad about her. She’s had a tough life and she’s protective of me. But I swear to you that I’m not doing this behind her back. I’m not in love with her. I’ve never felt anything for her like what I feel with you.” I stare into her beautiful eyes, wanting her to see the truth.

I watch her wipe away a tear and I feel like a complete piece of shit for causing those tears. I need her to understand that I’m serious about her and what we could have together. I just need to figure out how to get her on my side.

“Let me prove it to you, Caroline. I can take you home and introduce you to her and we can explain. But I swear, on my honor, that what I feel for you is real.”

“Why would you do all that?” Gia asks, looking down her nose at me. “Why would you agree to marry someone you didn’t love?”

“Because he’s a good guy,” Caroline says as she steps out into the hallway. “I’ll take it from here, Gia. Just give me a second.”

Her friend looks like she doesn’t want to walk away, but after a moment she finally gives in. She steps inside, and when she doesn’t close the door, Caroline reaches in and pulls it shut, leaving us alone out in the hallway.

“I told you I wouldn’t cross the threshold,” I say, trying to make her smile.

When I see the edges of her lips pull up my heart relaxes by a degree.

“Yeah, it’s all going according to plan,” she says, and I sigh.

“I’m so sorry. I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn’t know how to explain that I’m married but not in the way you think. And honestly, I thought it would scare you away.”

“It did,” she says, and it’s my turn to smile.

“I’m going to make this up to you.” I take a step towards her and take it as a good sign that she doesn’t run from me. “It’s late, and I know that tonight I shouldn’t come in. Tomorrow morning, let me walk the dogs with you again and then let’s have that dinner date. You can come to my house and meet Savannah, and then I’ll bring you home.” She doesn’t answer right away and I reach out and take both her hands with mine. “Let me fix this, Caroline. I know what we have is something that comes along once in a lifetime. I’m not going anywhere, so let me make it better.”

She bites her bottom lip and I touch my finger to her chin. After a moment of hesitation she nods and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” I say, pressing my forehead to hers.

“You better not hurt me again,” she says, and I look into her eyes.

“Never,” I vow, before I press my lips to hers.

We kiss for a long time, but it’s not as hot and fast as it was before. This time it’s tender and sweet as I pour my heart into it. I don’t want to do anything to ruin what we might have, and if that means going slow, then that’s what I’ll do. There’s a fire inside of me that was lit the day I saw her, and it’s impossible to put out. It grows more every time I’m with her, and the longer we’re together the less I want to be apart.

“I’ll pick you up in the morning.” I say, and she smiles at me and nods. “I’ll text you on the way home.”

“Goodnight, Aiden,” she says before I lean in to give her one last kiss.

“Goodnight, my heart.”

When I press my lips to hers it’s almost impossible for me to pull myself away. But finally I take a step back and wait for her to go inside before I breathe another sigh of relief. I thought I lost her and I won’t let that happen again. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her mine, and that includes no longer being a married man.