Maybe it was touching.

Or maybe I had forgotten what it was like to be treated nicely.

Even though Ian had never mistreated me, he hadn't exactly made the effort to go the extra mile and do the little things he could to keep me happy.

I tried to get him his favorite donuts whenever I passed by that bakery. He would be happy and he would eat it. It was never reciprocated.

I hated that I wanted to it be.

I didn't do things for him expecting him to do things for me, too. Then again, shouldn't your boyfriend, or any person that you're with do things for you just to keep you happy?

Maybe I was just so out of touch with it.

My heart swelled when I walked in through my door that evening.

Aiden had snuck in before me and set up candles around the house, with a bouquet of brightly coloured flowers and the coffee table was set up with the sushi that he had promised.

I didn't mean to, but tears came to my eyes.

"Aiden," I practically cried.

His eyes widened, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his smile drooping.

"Nothing's wrong," I told him, closing the door, "Everything's so right. Look at all this. Oh, Aiden, it's so beautiful."

That made the smile on Aiden's face return. "I thought you might like a nice dinner," he said, "That I didn't cook."

I gave him a look. "I like your cooking. Remember, I ate like three servings of spaghetti yesterday?"

Aiden laughed and nodded. "Come on," he waved me over to the coffee table, "Do you want to eat now?"

"Starving," I told him, discarding my bags on to the table and walking over to him.

Aiden wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him, kissing me. I melted into him, loving the way he kissed me.

"Let's have dinner," he said to me.

We sat down and Aiden handed me various types of sushi, stuffing them into my mouth.

"So," he said, "I spoke to Ian today."

I glanced at him, a sushi roll halfway between my plate and my mouth. Out of fear of dropping it, I stuffed it into my mouth and nodded. "About what?" I asked, my words coming out strangely.

"About yesterday."

"Aiden. What did you say to him?"

Aiden shook his head, telling me that it's not what I think. "I called him into speak to me because I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. And I was right."

"You were right about what?" I asked.

"About why Ian came in to meet you last night, so suddenly."

"Go on."

"It was Caroline."

My eyes widened.

"What do you mean it was Caroline?" I asked.

Aiden put down his chopsticks. "Caroline had half-threatened, half-bribed Ian into talking you into getting back together with him."

"Caroline doesn't even know Ian," I said.

Aiden shook his head. "But I'm sure she had her ways of finding out."

I frowned, shaking my head. "Why does getting me back together with Ian do for her?"

"According to Ian," Aiden sighed, "Caroline was intending to take you away from me in the hopes that it would leave me a shell of a man, who she could bend to her will."

I made a face. "That's dumb."

Aiden smirked. "Actually, Rosalie, I think there's some validity to that assumption. It's highly possible that I would become a shell of a man without you."

I rolled my eyes and pushed his shoulder. "Stop. You would have been fine without me."

Aiden shook his head. "Even when I didn't know that you existed, I was looking for you, Rosalie."

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "Stop it, Waffle-Man."

Aiden threw his head back and laughed. "That was very random, by the way. I enjoyed it immensely. I wouldn't dissuade you from sneaking a note into my pocket every day."

He put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him so that our faces were just inches apart. He watched my eyes.

"What happened with Ian?" I asked.

Aiden shrugged. "Nothing. I told him to beat it or he would be sorry."

I opened my mouth, but he stopped me. "Don't worry, Rosalie. Nothing will happen to you. I will make sure of that. I'm already working on something."

I sighed, looking at him. "Do you think Caroline is dangerous?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it."

"Well, you know what they say," I told him, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Aiden laughed again like I was absurd.

"And the devil wears Prada," I added.

Aiden continued to laugh until he had to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me towards him and kissed my temple.

"Rosalie, I will promise you that no harm comes to you. Especially not from Caroline Baxter," he said.

I exhaled deeply. "If you say so."

"I do." He punctuated his sentence with another kiss placed on my temple, "Tell me something, Rosalie."

"Hmm."

"Why is there a bowl in your kitchen cupboard that is cracked clean in half?" he asked me.

I burst out laughing, remembering the story. "Oh, God. So, a while ago, I tried to make some cookie dough, right? The edible kind. I guess I wasn't paying very close attention to the measurements, whether they were cups or tablespoons and I ended up making such a thick batter that I could barely stir it. Finally, when I thought things would be better if I just mix it hard enough, I ended up snapping my wooden spoon and hitting that bowl against the counter so hard that it cracked. I keep the bowl as a reminder that I shouldn't cook."

Aiden laughed again, musically. The way he laughed made me want to tell him all the ridiculous things that I had done throughout my life so that he would have to keep laughing.

"For someone who is so good as so many things, Rose, you sure do seem to suck at cooking," he said, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I shrugged and popped another piece of sushi into my mouth. "You can't have everything," I said.

Aiden smiled at me. "I have everything." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "My grandmother would love you."

"Everyone's grandma loves me," I shrugged, "I'm very loveable."

Aiden nodded. "Oh, you definitely are."

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me.

We hadn't really said it.

There were times when I thought it was right there, but it didn't seem like the right time.

We sat there in each other's company eating sushi, Aiden choking on the wasabi because he was a spice-lightweight and me laughing at him. He got me back by making me list all of my kitchen mishaps. I got him back by forcing him to tell me embarrassing things that he had done, like almost eat a ladybug thinking that trees grew MnMs.

It was one of the most peaceful nights I had had in a long time.

That was, however, until Aiden got the phone call.

He sat by me as he pressed the phone to his ear. "Hey," he said down the line, "What's up?"

He listened and his eyes wandered the room. "Right now?"

I saw his ears perk up. "Great, man. I'll be there right away. Thanks."

He put his phone back into his pocket.

"Rosalie, my darling," he said, "We're going on a little adventure."

*

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