His gaze dropped to her mouth and his voice dropped too. “And I’ll let you repay the damn favor.” Apparently done indulging her, he practically hoisted her into the truck, then leaned in to do her seat belt for her, like that might keep her from running. When she was locked in, he came around to the driver’s seat and slid in behind the wheel. He shook his head and sent a myriad of raindrops flying before turning over the engine and cranking the heater. “You warm enough?” he asked.

That he cared enough to ask, coupled with his gruff voice, had her getting there. “Yes,” she said. “Thanks to you.”

“You have enough wood loaded in your place?”

“I do,” she said. Also thanks to him. “I haven’t used too much, I’ve been at work.”

“And apparently doing my mom’s hair while you’re at it,” he said, and spared her a glance.

“She looked pretty tonight, don’t you think?”

He grimaced. “Yeah.”

“And happy.” Lily shook her head. “I can’t believe you and Gray tried to sabotage her date.”

“She’s not ready to go out. She’s …”

“Feeble?” she asked dryly.

He sighed.

Lily found a laugh. “Aidan, she’s fantastic. Really.”

“She’s not ready for a man in her life.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Why not?”

“Yeah, why not? She kicked your father to the curb a long time ago.”

“She’s … frail.”

“Because of her hip? She says it’s feeling better every day. Besides, that shouldn’t keep her from dating.”

“She doesn’t pick the right men.”

She stared at him a moment. “That’s her choice. You realize that, right?” she asked gently. “Doesn’t everyone deserve their own version of a happily-ever-after?”

“Yes,” he said meaningfully, and slid her a look.

“Oh, no,” she said. “We’re not talking about me.”

“We should be.”

“But we’re not.”

They drove in silence. Aidan handled his truck like he handled everything in his life—with easy, effortless confidence. It wasn’t fair at all. He pulled into the lot of her building, and Lily hopped out of the truck practically before he’d stopped. When she turned back to close the door he was there already standing before her, big and rock steady.

“In a hurry?” he asked, brow raised.

“Yes.” In a hurry to not kiss him again.

He smiled. He knew, the bastard, as proven by his next words.

“You don’t trust yourself around me,” he said, sounding way too pleased with himself.

“I trust myself just fine,” she said. “It’s you I don’t trust.”

He laughed, looking smug and … damn. Hot. Extremely hot.

“I’m serious,” she said. “You have this way of mowing over my roadblocks.”

“Are you referring to the present or the past?”

“Both.” She pointed at him. “But we’re not talking about it.”

“Why not?”