Aidan checked his watch for the third time and wondered if it had broken. Then the display lit up, indicating he had received a new text message on his cell phone. The damn thing was working. Why the heck time didn’t go by fast enough? He used to be a patient man. That was before meeting a certain blonde siren who had stolen his heart and wrested control of his brain. And that was just the G-rated list of the parts of his body in which Moira had been reigning since they first met a few weeks before.

He crossed his arms again over his chest. His butt was getting numb from leaning against her car for over an hour, but there was nothing he could do about that. He glanced around the parking lot behind the restaurant. It was packed full of customers’ cars who had arrived for dinner. He snapped his head up when the backdoor squeaked open. His heart skipped a couple of beats, then deflated like a pierced balloon when he recognized Ana. She sauntered toward her car, parked beside Moira’s, as he found out when she stood in front of him.

Hands fisted on her hips, almost as tall as him, the red-haired waitress didn’t wear a friendly expression in her amber-colored eyes. Their hue was close to Moira’s, but the effect they had on Aidan was light-years apart. “Moira is one of the best people I know. I would hate to see her suffer more than she had already endured. You may be a great guy. I don’t know you, so forgive me if I speak out of turn.” Ana stepped into his personal space, something common with Brazilians, but her squinted eyes and thinned lips left no room for doubt that her intent wasn’t to be affable. “If I spot Moira shedding so much as one single tear over you, run. But, consider yourself warned. I will hunt you down and make you suffer.”

He bit the inside of his mouth to contain a smile. Not out of disrespect for Ana. On the contrary, he was touched Moira’s friend watched over her like that. It confirmed his gut feeling that Moira was an amazing person. The smile stemmed from the fact that Moira’s friend had no reason to fear.

“I believe you would. I’ve got only the best intentions toward your friend. You don’t need to worry.”

The formidable waitress eyeballed him before relaxing her shoulders. Aidan could see why she had stolen Noah’s heart. Too bad his friend was blind to his own feelings. Ana’s features softened, and a smile graced her lips, like the sun after a rain cloud passed in front of it. “I believe you too. You be good to her then, but you might consider being a little naughty from time to time as well.” Her wink was captivating as she opened the door and climbed in, then drove out of the lot.

Noah was a lucky son of a bitch. Aidan had witnessed his interactions with Ana, and he didn’t understand why the couple thought they were just friends. How could two smart people be so dense?

Tristan parked his roaring M4 at the spot Ana had just vacated and killed the engine. He hopped out of the convertible without opening its door. “Hey. Moira hasn’t come out yet?” Aidan shook his head. “I’ll tell her you’re waiting for her.”

“She doesn’t know I’m here.”

Tristan’s expression darkened. “So, why are you here? I thought you two were going out.”

“I was hoping to convince her of that.”

The American knitted his eyebrows, then clasped Aidan’s left shoulder, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ve known Moira for a few years. I care for her like a little sister. Life has dealt her a bad hand, but she’s aced it. She’s a hard-working, single mom, who doesn’t need more grievance. You get my drift, right?”

“Loud and clear. No need to worry.”

“Good. I’d rather not have to explain to the police why I had to rearrange your features.” He winked and let go of Aidan’s shoulder.

Pumping the fist that Tristan held up for him, Aidan smiled. “I wouldn’t like that either.”

“Hey, boss. Bye, boss.” Moira’s lilt sparked delicious reactions on Aidan’s skin and muscles, but when Tristan got inside the restaurant, she scowled at him. “Tell me you’re not waiting for me here in the parking lot of my place of work, leaning against my car as a freaking stalker.”

“You stopped replying to my texts and wouldn’t pick up the phone.”

“I’ve got to work, take care of my house and my family. Texting you every ten minutes isn’t a priority for me.”

Aidan heard in her voice the smile she was struggling to contain.

Hope was still alive and well.

Praying the charm of the Irish would work on Moira, he filled his eyes with as much warmth and tenderness as he could summon. Then, tipped his head to the left and lifted her chin until their stares met. She had been talking to his chest, and he wouldn’t have any of that. Their eyes locked, and there was no mistaking the spark he witnessed in her whiskey eyes before she dropped her lids down.

“Please, don’t hide from me. I need to know I’m not crazy.”

She dragged her eyelids up.

Electrifying.

The fire in her stare matched his own, setting his soul ablaze. His cock strained against his jeans. Aidan bent down until his lips were at level with hers. He watched her throat bob up and down with her swallow. A thin vein throbbed on her temple, a thick one beat under the skin of her neck. Her lower lip twitched, but she didn’t move.

She didn’t try to escape, but she didn’t encourage him either.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” He waited. Her eyes fixated on his mouth made blood rush down to his crotch. His hard-on twitched against the rough material of his zipper. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, you’ll have to stop me.”

He moved a couple of inches closer and stopped again to give her time to react. She glided the tip of her tongue over her lip, and it undid him. Barely containing the urge to plunge his tongue inside her warm mouth, plundering her sweetness, Aidan rubbed his open mouth against hers. A light caress, a tentative touch to gauge her reaction.

When he withdrew his mouth, intending to angle it better, Moira buried her fingers in his hair, pulling the long strands, then laced her fingers behind his neck and crushed her curves against his body.

Thank God I was right.

He gently pushed her against the car, pinning her with his lower body and cupping her face. Their moans mixed as he pulled her lower lip inside his mouth, sucking it, licking her teeth, and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

His cock twitched again when Moira ran her nails down his back.

He let go of her lip and pulled back just enough for their eyes to meet. “I could do this forever. You’re sweeter than I had imagined.”

“Except nothing has changed in the last couple of days since we last spoke. I still have a complicate life with two children who depend on me and nobody else. I cannot do this, Aidan.”

“My feelings haven’t changed either, Moira. I’ve told you I’m not going anywhere. I’d love to help you and your kids. Just say the word, and you’ll get whatever you want, whatever you need.”

“If only it were that simple.”

“Give me a chance to prove it can be simple.”

She cupped his face and he closed his eyes to soak in her warmth. Her thumb traced his lower lip, and his pulse spiked. “You’ve no idea how tempting your offer is, but I have to say no. I’ve made bad choices in life, but I owe the consequences. I’ve got this. Plus, I’m ten years older than you.”

“That’s just a stupid number.” He interrupted her, but she put her index finger on his lips, and he stopped talking.

“Soon, you’ll become this huge rock star, with groupies and top models throwing themselves at your feet. Then, this number won’t be so stupid. I gave my heart once to the wrong man, and it cost me the best years of my life. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

“I’m nothing like your ex-husband. But, you’ll never know it if you don’t give me a chance. Give us a chance.”

Moira’s smile was so sad, it gutted him. He wanted to scream and punch something. Mostly he wanted to find Bob Mathias and punch him to a pulp. Those feelings were foreign to Aidan, though. He had always been the peacemaker, the moderator. Then again, his feelings for Moira were also new to him. He had never felt so protective of another human being.

She whispered, “I don’t doubt you’re better than Bob. I don’t doubt you think you’ve got feelings for me. Now. But, what happens in a couple of months? In a year? You’re young, away from home, from your family. Your feelings may be true, today but, will they last? This is all too soon, Aidan. I don’t believe in love at first sight. I’m not sure I believe in everlasting love either.”

His heart ached for her sadness, her lack of faith. Words would not convince her. That much he had learned in the last weeks.

“I hear you. And I respect your concerns. You’re also considering your kids, and I couldn’t agree more. I will give you the space you need to process whatever it is that connects us. That much you can’t deny. There is a connection here.” He touched his palm to her chest, then to his.

She nodded, her eyes glued to his face.

“The only thing I ask you is that you don’t shut me out. I will always respect your boundaries; our relationship will move as fast or as slow as you choose. But, if you shut me out, there will be no relationship, right?”

A reluctant smile curved her lips, allowing his heart to hope. “What am I going to do with you? Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Oh yeah. Did you? You worry I might trade gold for glitter. I would never do that. When I find something I want, I stick to it, no matter what. But you don’t know that about me. Yet.”

She gazed into his eyes, but said nothing for a while, until she grinned, and his world turned brighter. “You’re not joking.”

“I am not.” He grazed her lips. “And I will prove it to you, no matter how long it takes.”

She crossed her wrists behind his neck when he stooped to claim her lips again. His mischievous side flared, and he stopped, a hair’s breadth away from her expectant mouth. He thrust his hips forward, imprinting his hard-on on her soft belly. He wanted Moira to know how she made him feel. “Please, don’t let it take too long though. I’ll be fighting finger cramps until you let me love you.”

She plunged her tongue inside his mouth, moaning against his lips, tearing at his long hair. And he never felt more alive. He returned her passionate kiss in kind.

Moira didn’t know it yet, but she was going to be his and nobody else’s. Aidan was sure of that. Not because he was a creepy stalker, but because his heart was hers and nobody else’s.

Aidan just needed to prove it to Moira.