“I said she thought she traveled through time. Obviously she dreamed it though, right? I mean, your cousins seemed pretty confident that actual time travel was impossible.”
“Right.” Aiden cleared his throat. “Definitely. Totally impossible.”
Outside the cafe, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. A storm had sprung up just offshore and appeared to be making its way swiftly inland.
They’d almost rescheduled their date, but decided at the last minute to go ahead. At least with their dinner reservations, anyhow.
The rain was now coming down sideways on account of the steady winds. Their trip to the outdoor art exhibit set up by one of the boardwalk galleries was going to have to wait until next time.
Cassie smiled. With the way things were going, there would almost definitely be a next time.
When Aiden had picked her up an hour earlier, he’d been so glad she’d agreed to go that he’d promised Cassie not a single drop of rain would fall upon her blonde head as she traveled to and from his truck through the downpour.
No ruined hair, no running mascara. Aiden would make sure of it.
He was a gentleman like that.
At Alex’s suggestion, Aiden took Cassie to one of her favorite restaurants, Cafe Luna. It was a seaside bistro that offered a gorgeous view of the water and the sort of food Cassie rarely had the chance to enjoy, having lived in a house with a bunch of growing boys her entire life.
Between her parents’ hectic schedules and her brothers’ voracious appetites, cheap and easy was usually the name of the game.
If Cassie wanted a nice meal, she had to find it elsewhere.
But it wasn’t just the delicious plate of chicken piccata in front of her that had Cassie enjoying her evening out, it was also the company. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed this much on a date.
It didn’t hurt that Aiden had been so adorably awkward when he’d first picked her up, submitting himself to a fifteen-minute long interrogation conducted by her younger brothers (her older brother, Tom, had been at work.)
For the first time in ages, Cassie found herself nervous about her upcoming date. So much so, that it took her twice as long as normal to decide on an outfit, an extra half an hour to transform her stick-straight hair into loose golden curls, and another ten minutes to decide on the right eye makeup.
Aiden wasn’t just any guy.
She was determined to knock his socks off the second she walked down those stairs.
If she looked the part, maybe she’d be able to calm her suddenly rioting nerves.
Any lingering butterflies in Cassie’s stomach started flying in formation again, however, the second her baby brothers went to work on the water-wielding O’Connell when he came to pick her up.
The twins grilled him mercilessly while Cassie took her time applying the finishing touches to her makeup—upstairs in her bedroom, with her door open to the hall so that she could hear the conversation taking place downstairs in the living room.
“Do you have a car?”
“I have a truck.”
“Do you have any outstanding warrants?”
“No?”
“You don’t sound very sure about that.”
“No. I’m not wanted by the cops.”
“Do you have a dog?”
“I used to, back when I was growing up in Kansas.”
“That’s good. But a man should own a dog, ya know? So you should probably get a dog at some point.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“How’d you get to be so damn tall?”
“He’s not that tall, Danny.”
“Shut up, Runt. Is too. Well? How’d you do it?”
“I… ate my vegetables?”
“Ew. Even spinach and brussels sprouts? Cause that shit’s disgusting.”
“Is your sister going to be much longer?”
After answering the all-important questions put to him by the twins—and after being studiously ignored by Matthew who sat texting silently at the other end of the sofa—Aiden had the dubious honor of being stared-down by her overprotective father, just home from
“Right.” Aiden cleared his throat. “Definitely. Totally impossible.”
Outside the cafe, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. A storm had sprung up just offshore and appeared to be making its way swiftly inland.
They’d almost rescheduled their date, but decided at the last minute to go ahead. At least with their dinner reservations, anyhow.
The rain was now coming down sideways on account of the steady winds. Their trip to the outdoor art exhibit set up by one of the boardwalk galleries was going to have to wait until next time.
Cassie smiled. With the way things were going, there would almost definitely be a next time.
When Aiden had picked her up an hour earlier, he’d been so glad she’d agreed to go that he’d promised Cassie not a single drop of rain would fall upon her blonde head as she traveled to and from his truck through the downpour.
No ruined hair, no running mascara. Aiden would make sure of it.
He was a gentleman like that.
At Alex’s suggestion, Aiden took Cassie to one of her favorite restaurants, Cafe Luna. It was a seaside bistro that offered a gorgeous view of the water and the sort of food Cassie rarely had the chance to enjoy, having lived in a house with a bunch of growing boys her entire life.
Between her parents’ hectic schedules and her brothers’ voracious appetites, cheap and easy was usually the name of the game.
If Cassie wanted a nice meal, she had to find it elsewhere.
But it wasn’t just the delicious plate of chicken piccata in front of her that had Cassie enjoying her evening out, it was also the company. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed this much on a date.
It didn’t hurt that Aiden had been so adorably awkward when he’d first picked her up, submitting himself to a fifteen-minute long interrogation conducted by her younger brothers (her older brother, Tom, had been at work.)
For the first time in ages, Cassie found herself nervous about her upcoming date. So much so, that it took her twice as long as normal to decide on an outfit, an extra half an hour to transform her stick-straight hair into loose golden curls, and another ten minutes to decide on the right eye makeup.
Aiden wasn’t just any guy.
She was determined to knock his socks off the second she walked down those stairs.
If she looked the part, maybe she’d be able to calm her suddenly rioting nerves.
Any lingering butterflies in Cassie’s stomach started flying in formation again, however, the second her baby brothers went to work on the water-wielding O’Connell when he came to pick her up.
The twins grilled him mercilessly while Cassie took her time applying the finishing touches to her makeup—upstairs in her bedroom, with her door open to the hall so that she could hear the conversation taking place downstairs in the living room.
“Do you have a car?”
“I have a truck.”
“Do you have any outstanding warrants?”
“No?”
“You don’t sound very sure about that.”
“No. I’m not wanted by the cops.”
“Do you have a dog?”
“I used to, back when I was growing up in Kansas.”
“That’s good. But a man should own a dog, ya know? So you should probably get a dog at some point.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“How’d you get to be so damn tall?”
“He’s not that tall, Danny.”
“Shut up, Runt. Is too. Well? How’d you do it?”
“I… ate my vegetables?”
“Ew. Even spinach and brussels sprouts? Cause that shit’s disgusting.”
“Is your sister going to be much longer?”
After answering the all-important questions put to him by the twins—and after being studiously ignored by Matthew who sat texting silently at the other end of the sofa—Aiden had the dubious honor of being stared-down by her overprotective father, just home from
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