Acts of Redemption by Eleanor Aldrick
What have I done?! How could I ever face my sister again, knowing that I’ve been with a man that was hers in the first place?
The hot water from the shower spray cascades down my body, cleansing away the day’s grime but leaving all of the guilt behind.
“Miss Montgomery?” Sylvie calls through the bathroom door, startling me out of my thoughts.
“Yes? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes dear. I just wanted to let you know that the dress for tonight’s dinner is pressed and on your bed.”
“Thank you!” I bury my head back under the spray and groan.
It’s been a week since Aiden and I made love. Calling it anything else would be a damn lie. The way he looked at me like I was his world, the tenderness in his touch as he worshiped every inch of me was nothing short of adoration.
What ensued after? The complete opposite.
We fell asleep in each other’s arms after I agreed to come with him to the wedding, but when I awoke, he was nowhere to be seen.
Stepping out of my room that morning, it was as if I’d been labeled a leper. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye, much less direct a kind word toward me.
Then this morning, William stopped by and demanded Aiden show up to their weekly dinner, and when Aiden tried to use me as an excuse, William shot him right down. Reminding him that his home is one of the safest in the nation and that Bella would love to meet the other woman in the boys’ lives.
I smile at the thought. The twins and I have become quite the little team, and I already can’t see my life without them.
If only they weren’t attached to such an infuriatingly bipolar man.
I get that we aren’t the ideal couple. My past, and hell even my present, hold massive obstacles. But couldn’t we live in our little bubble just a little while longer?
The water turns ice cold and my breath catches as I quickly turn the knob cutting off the spray. Time to face reality.
Wrapping the soft fluffy towel around me, I exit the bathroom and step into my room where a beautiful linen dress sits on the bed.
The squared neckline is structured, a perfect match to the full pleated skirt, hitting just below the knees.
Unable to contain my excitement, I squeal loudly when I see the gorgeous pair of Chanel espadrille wedges sitting to the right of the dress. They aren’t even supposed to be out yet. How did they manage to snag a pair?
The door bursts open and a wild-eyed Aiden looks around frantically, gun drawn.
My hands fly to my mouth as I let out another shriek and my towel drops, giving Aiden a full view of my body.
His eyes focus on my naked body and his throat visibly bobs.
“What the—” Titus rushes in and takes inventory as my whole body flushes fifty different shades of red.
“GET OUT!” Aiden roars at Titus, blocking his line of sight as I scurry to pick up the towel laying at my feet.
“Okay, okay. Sheesh. I didn’t mean to see your girl naked, man. The screaming—”
“OUT NOW!” Aiden shoves Titus through the door, closing it as soon as his friend is through the threshold. Aiden’s head presses into the closed door and he lets out a slow breath. “Why did you scream? You should know that we are all on edge here. You screaming while naked will only invite unwanted eyes.”
“You can turn around now, I have the towel back on. And who says they’re unwanted.” I know he was talking about Titus, but I can’t help but poke the bear. He’s been ignoring me and this is the most reaction I’ve gotten from him in the last seven days.
His nostrils flare and his eyes narrow. “Charlotte—”
“What, Aiden? You think you own me because we had one night together? Well, news flash. You don’t. Especially if you just throw away what we had like it didn’t matter at all.”
Three big strides and Aiden has me picked up and pinned against the wall. “I did not throw it away.” His deep voice is low as he speaks right into my ear—our cheeks touching, the rough sensation of his stubble against my skin sending shivers down my wet body. His chest vibrates against my own and my legs instinctively wrap around him, needing him closer. “I’m protecting you. That’s all I ever do. That’s all I ever want.”
His words turn my want into full blown rage. How dare he push me away under the guise of protection.
Pushing at his chest, Aiden drops me like a hot potato. All the heat I felt in my lady parts has now traveled to my head and I am fuming. “Protect me? By destroying my heart?” I immediately realize what I’ve done and grimace.
I’ve laid my cards out, giving him all the power. He now knows that this is much more than just a fling to me.
His jaw drops and his face goes pale. Yup. Earth, please swallow me whole.
Needing to change the subject immediately, I turn to what started this whole mess, “And for your information I wasn’t screaming. I was squealing. How in the hell did you manage to snag a pair of the new espadrille wedges? They aren’t even out yet!”
Real smooth, Charlotte. Go from heart breaking to superficial in two seconds flat.
Aiden blinks, rightfully confused, so I emphatically point toward the shoes on the bed.
“Oh, um. I called in a favor with Cassie, my daughter’s best friend. She’s a personal stylist.” He walks toward the closet behind him and opens it, revealing a wide selection of casual to formal wear and my jaw practically hits the floor. All of it is designer and all of it is worth a small fortune. “She dropped off all of these things yesterday and Silvie put them all up for you while you were in the shower. You were in there quite a while.”
“Aiden,” I walk past him and lift a hand to all of the beautiful fabric. “This is too much. I don’t even want to imagine what you spent on all this.”
“It’s not too much. I know you’re accustomed to these things and I didn’t want you to feel without. I’ve already taken you out of the type of home environment you’re used to, the least I could do is give you some of the amenities you enjoy.”
Turning toward him, I see his hazel eyes are full of insecurity. As if I could ever view him as not being enough.
My hand reaches toward his, squeezing tightly. “This house is much more of a home to me than the estate ever was. You, the boys, and Sylvie...” I stop before I blurt out something I’ll regret, like giving him a full blown confession of love and try for something a little less frightening. “You all are like the family I never had, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.”
Aiden’s tanned skin deepens, his soft smile bringing out that dimple I love so much. “Maybe when this is all over, you can see where we really live.” His chest puffs up like a proud peacock, no doubt thinking about the impressive estate of his nestled amongst five acres, smack dab in the middle of one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Texas.
I’m about to tell him I’d love that when his proud expression falters and his ice cold walls of indifference are back up, making my heart crumble into a million little pieces right along with it.
“We’re leaving in an hour. Please don’t be late.” Without another glance, he turns and walks out the door, slamming it behind him.
My palms sweat as we approach the massive New England cottage styled home. Unable to walk in through the front door for fear of being seen, our blacked out SUV enters directly into the garage located behind the porte cochere. Once inside, the rolling door shuts, leaving us in darkness before the boys pile out excitedly.
“Yessss. We get to use the secret entrance today!”
Secret entrance? Why am I not surprised? Aiden doesn’t leave anything to chance, and the option of me being spotted coming or going from one of their residences is not going to happen.
My eyes get used to the dimmed lighting and I see the boys have scurried to the far corner of the garage where there’s a pallet on the floor. Aiden pushes a couple of frames on the wall behind him and the pallet rises like something out of a James Bond movie.
Cocking a brow, Aiden waves toward the entrance. “Ladies first.”
The boys chuckle as they step aside, “Yes, Char. Ladies first.”
Ruffling their hair as I walk past, I can’t help but smile. These two have my whole heart. “Okay then, but if I fall you two are going to help me up.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both say in unison.
Stepping onto the lowered platform, I pray my wedged heels don’t give out. I’m just glad Sylvie didn’t come or she’d be forced to come down this ladder to the platform.
Finally down onto the platform, the boys and Aiden join me before we all start to lower deeper into the ground. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit hesitant, the cobwebs around the drop shaft doing little to dispel my fears.
Coming into the light, I see a well maintained corridor, presumably leading into the main home. Okay, this isn’t so scary anymore. My shoulders relax and I let out the breath I was holding.
Aiden chuckles beside me, “You okay?”
“Yes.” I glare at him. “Not all of us were built for mystery and suspense, you know.”
He just smirks at me, placing his hand securely on my lower back as the boys run ahead of us. The feeling of his strong palm pressing against me so intimately sends goosebumps erupting over my skin, and I shudder. Aiden’s eyes widen and his mouth goes slack as he realizes what he’s done. Just as soon as the intimate gesture arrived it’s gone. Aiden drops his hand and the coolness I feel is much more than just the lack of his body’s warmth.
Before either of us can say anything, the boys burst through a white door opening into a massive game room. A pool table sits in front of a massive bar area, and directly adjacent to it is a huge television screen surrounded by theatre style seating.
The twins main line it to the TV and pick up the controllers sitting above one of the many game consoles. The smiles on their faces are priceless and the way they take control over the room lets me know they’ve spent countless hours in here.
“Boys, you get to play after dinner. You know the rules.” A beautiful brunette walks into the room and I can’t help but stare.
Her piercing grey eyes contrasting with her almost black hair are absolutely stunning, and her round belly does nothing but accentuate the glow in her radiant complexion. She must be eight months along!
Her eyes meet mine and a welcoming smile spreads across her lips. “You must be Charlotte. I’m Bella, Aiden’s daughter.”
My mouth slacks. I knew Aiden had a daughter, but I just didn’t picture a full grown woman. She’s absolutely stunning and my mind wanders to what her mother must’ve looked like. Shaking my head, I finally snap out of my daze. “Excuse my manners, they’ve seemed to have left me. Yes, I’m Charlotte Montgomery.” Aiden smirks by my side. Nothing gets past him and the fact that I’ve chosen to use my maiden name is no exception. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Aiden speaks so highly of you.”
“Does he now?” Bella elbows her father as he places one of his big hands on her belly.
“How are you feeling? How’s the peanut doing?” He looks at her like she hung the moon, and the love he holds for her is palpable.
“We’re both fine. I swear, if I let William dote on me anymore, you’d be seeing me on a literal pedestal. People fanning me and feeding me grapes while I get morbidly obese. The man doesn’t even want me walking laps in our gym!”
“Do not exaggerate, woman.” William walks in, a playful smile playing at the corner of his lips while a little toddler grips on to his hand.
Crouching down, I meet the little one eye to eye, “And you must be Harper. You are such a beautiful baby.”
She gargles something in response and giggles before hiding behind her father.
“She’s always a little shy at first, but she will warm to you.” Aiden whispers behind me as I rise from my crouched position, his hand finding its way once more to my body, fingers gripping around my waist.
Bella’s eyes travel to her father’s hand and they widen before quickly glancing at William and smiling. “Let’s all head to the dining room. The rest of the crew is already there, and I’m sure they’d love to officially meet you.”
Taking in a deep breath, I follow the adorable trio into the rest of their home and brace myself for a night of the unknown.
Once again, I’m left feeling unsure of where I stand or if I even fit in. All I know for certain is that so far, these people feel far more like family than my blood relations ever did, and that’s definitely something worth exploring.
