Chapter 112
Aria’s POV
I hurried inside with shopping bags clutched to my chest, racing up the stairs and slamming my bedroom door with a loud BANG.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, throwing the lingerie bags across the room in complete mortification. This was all Lillian’s fault! Why did I let her convince me to buy sexy underwear?
My fingers flew across my phone screen: “LILLIAN! I hate you for making me buy this lingerie! Aiden caught me coming home with it and I LITERALLY DIED OF EMBARRASSMENT!” I added a crying GIF for dramatic effect.
Her reply came instantly: “Aiden saw? Was he impressed p>
Why did I ever expect Lillian to feel guilty? She was probably cackling with delight right now.
I’d barely been hiding in my bedroom for ten minutes when the thirst hit me. That stupid boba tea had been way too sweet, and my throat felt like sandpaper.
After my embarrassing encounter with Aiden downstairs-God, why did I have to blurt out “sexy” anything?—I wasn’t eager to face him again.
But dehydration won over dignity. I peeked out cautiously before tiptoeing downstairs.
Thank goodness the living room was empty! I darted to the kitchen, where Lucy was busy preparing dinner. Filling my glass to the brim, I drank half of it in one desperate gulp.
Glass still in hand, I started back toward the stairs when a random thought struck me. The pool. I hadn’t been there since Aiden first showed me around the mansion. Why not explore a bit?
It took me a moment to remember where the pool was this place was ridiculously huge. When I finally found it, the late afternoon sun was casting golden light across the crystal-blue water. No sign of Aiden. He must have finished swimming already.
Oh well. Not that I came to see him or anything!
Just as I turned to leave, he appeared from somewhere, wearing nothing but swim trunks.
Holy. Freaking. Shit.
The sunlight highlighted every ridge of muscle across his broad shoulders, down his perfectly sculpted chest, and those abs-dear lord, those abs. His waist tapered down to slim hips and I couldn’t help but notice his perfectly rounded p>
“Looking for me?” His deep voice snapped me back to reality.
I instinctively stepped backward, suddenly parched again. I took another gulp from
my glass before managing a casual, “Just exploring p>
“Oh.” Without another word, he turned and dove into the pool.
Water splashed onto my bare feet and the hem of my dress. The cool droplets were a shocking contrast to the heat building inside me as I watched him glide through the water. Every powerful stroke showcased the rippling muscles in his back and
arms.
I absently touched my own soft stomach, then my less-than-toned arms. Maybe I should start swimming too p>
Eventually, my glass was empty, and I had no excuse to keep standing there ogling my husband like some teenager. I reluctantly headed back inside.
“Mrs. Carter!” Lucy looked surprised. “When did you get back p>
I started to explain I’d been home for
a while when she added, “The
master’s swimming.
you let
him know dinner will be readin
twenty minutes p>
So much for avoiding Aiden. Back to the pool I went.
He was resting at the edge now, his arms propped on the pool deck.
“Aiden,” I called out, trying to keep my eyes on his face and not his wet chest. “Lucy
says dinner will be ready in twenty minutes p>
He looked up at me. “Okay p>
Was it my imagination, or was there something intense-almost
hungry in his gaze? I blinked, and
when looked again an
his
cool and calm as always.
Maybe I was hallucinating from dehydration.
Crouching by the pool felt awkward, so I absentmindedly raised my glass to drink,
only to remember it was empty. Great.
“I’ll head back inside,” I said, feeling stupid.
Aiden turned his gaze to the water. “Mmm p>
As I tried to stand up, everything suddenly went dizzy. My head spun, and failed my arm to catch my balance. The glass flew from my hand..
“No p>
I lunged forward trying to catch it, completely forgetting I was at the edge of a pool.
SPLASH!
I surfaced, sputtering water, and found myself staring directly into Aiden’s dark, unreadable eyes.
Could I just sink back underwater and disappear forever?
Then, as if falling into the pool wasn’t bad enough, a horrifying realization hit me—I wasn’t even wearing proper swimwear.
I’d changed out of my jeans earlier because they were way too uncomfortable, and had thrown on the loosest, breeziest dress I could find.
Which now… was floating around me like a giant, soggy water lily.
My entire skirt had billowed to the surface, leaving my legs—and, dear God,
probably my underwear-fully exposed.
Just kill me now. I’m done.
Then Aiden clearly noticed, because his lips quirked into a smirk as he said,
“Is this your new tactic, Mrs. Carter p>