My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Isla

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“I didn’t ask for the candles,” he says quickly, seeing my reaction. “The hotel apparently thinks any dinner for two calls for romantic ambiance. I can blow them out if…”

“No; it’s fine; it’s nice,” I tell him, as I walk over to the table. “What did you order?”

“A little of everything, because I didn’t know what you would want,” he gestures toward the covered platters of food. “Singapore cuisine, chili crab, chicken rice, laksa; all the classics.”

He ordered me Singaporean food so that I could “experience it,” as he said.

“Thank you,” I murmur.

“Stop thanking me.”

“Then stop doing nice things that make me want to thank you.”

He smiles and pulls my chair for me to sit down. He sits down across from me, and our knees almost touch under the small table

He takes the lids off the platters of food, and I can’t believe how great the food smells; it smells spicy, it smells savory; there is so much going on in the aromas of the foods that I can’t imagine what they taste like!

“How adventurous do you feel?” he asks.

“I feel very adventurous; I want to try everything!” I tell him.

He starts explaining how to eat the crab, how to appreciate the simplicity of the chicken rice, how to enjoy the savory and slightly sweet qualities of the laksa.

I eat the crab first; I’m so messy that I have crab sauce all over my fingers, and I get to lick them clean. I see Aidan looking at me.

“Good?” he asks, his voice sounding rougher than normal.

“Incredible.” I reach again for my wine. “How do you know so much about food in Singapore?”

“I have been coming here for a while. I made a point of learning about it. In order to do business in a country, you should know about its culture and food is some of the culture.”

“Teach me,” I say on impulse. “Not just business but everything. From how to navigate the cultures and how to enjoy things that I have never seen.”

“That’s why we’re here.” He spears a piece of chicken. “Before this trip is over, you will be an expert on Singapore.”

We eat, talk and he tells me about Lee Corporation, the business culture of Singapore and our meeting

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Chapter 43

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tomorrow. I listen, ask questions and take everything in.

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But I’m aware also of… How close he is to me; how his knee brushes against mine under the table, how candlelight makes his eyes look so dark and the way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention to him.

“You’re doing it again,” I say.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like I’m a puzzle you’re trying to solve.”

He sets down his fork. “Maybe you are.”

“And have you solved me yet?”

“Not even close.” He leans back. “Every time I think I understand you, you surprise me. Today on the plane. the way you looked at the soufflé like it was the best thing you’d ever experienced. It reminded me that you’re just starting to discover what you’ve been denied.”

“Chocolate soufflé?”

“Joy. Pleasure. The freedom to want things without guilt.” His eyes hold mine. “You’re learning to take up space. It’s beautiful to watch.”

My chest tightens. “Aidan…”

“We should review the meeting notes,” he says abruptly. Standing. Creating distance. “Before it gets too late.”

Right. Work. That’s why I’m here.

He grabs his tablet from the desk. Returns to the table but sits in the chair beside me instead of across. Closer. His shoulder touching mine.

“The Lee family is complex,” he begins, with the touch of his fingers on the tablet screen. He proceeds to pull up the family tree chart on his tablet computer. “There are three brothers, each running their own division of the company. We will primarily be dealing with the eldest brother, William Lee. He is very conservative and traditional and holds respect as one of the most important values in his life.”

He is speaking; I am listening; however, I am also aware of how close he is to me, and how hot he currently is. While he speaks, there is something about the sound of his voice when he says something while he is deeply focused on what he is doing and how fast he moves his fingers on the screen of the tablet. “Lila,” he says, “are you listening?”

“Yes; traditional; William Lee; respect.” I realize that I am not listening anymore. I do not even remember what he just said about the contract and I have no idea what was said to me. “I distracted myself,” I say.

“What had your attention,” he responds.

You; how you smell; and that we are in your suite together at midnight, and that I’m attempting not to think about the bedroom that is approximately twenty feet away from me.

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Chapter 43

“Jet lag,” I lie. “Could you repeat what you just said?”

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He peers at me for a brief moment, and then closes the tablet computer he was using. “You are tired; this is a bad idea; you need to go to sleep.”

“I am fine…”

“Come on. I’m walking you back to your room.”

“I’m two floors down. I can walk myself—”

“Humor me.”

I take his hand. He pulls me up. We’re close now. Too close. I can see the shadow of stubble on his jaw. The way his pulse beats at his throat.

“Thank you for dinner,” I said to him quietly.

“Thank you for coming out with me for dinner,” he said, as he continued to hold my hand. “I did not want to have dinner alone.”

“I did not want to either,” I reply, as we continue to stare at each other, as we both felt the intense chemistry between us, the electricity generated by our bodies being this close apart.

He reaches out to touch my face with his other hand and uses his thumb to trace around my cheekbone.

“Lila,” he says in a rough and very raw voice.

“Yes?”

“This is…we shouldn’t…”

“I know.”

“If we…”

“I know.”

But neither of us moves. Neither of us steps back.

His thumb traces my bottom lip. My breath catches.

“You are making this very difficult,” he said.

“Making what difficult?”

“Staying professionally distanced from each other,” he said.

“Then, perhaps we shouldn’t be distanced from each other.”

He looked heavily towards me and said, “Lila…”

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Then, a knock at the door interrupted our moment of intimacy. We instantly jumped apart from each other as if being shocked by electricity.

“Room Service!” someone yelled from outside the door. “I am here to pick up the dishes.”

Aidan coughed, and he said, “One Moment!” as he walked over to open the door and dealt with the staff.

While he was opening and dealing with the staff, I stood there with my heart racing as I tried to process what just occurred.

Did he almost kiss me? Did I almost let him kiss me? Did I want him to kiss me?

Yes! Yes! Yes! After the door closes once more, he looks over at me. “I should take you to your room and say goodnight.”

“Okay.”

We both take the elevator down together, but neither of us says anything.

He accompanies me to my door.

“Make sure you sleep tonight,” he instructs me. “Tomorrow’s going to be a lot. I’m going to count on you to be focused.”

“I’ll be focused.”

“Okay.” He takes a second then continues to stand there looking at me as if he’s trying to memorize everything about me. “Lila?”

“Yes, Aidan?”

“What you said earlier. About not maintaining professional distance.” He pauses. “We need to. You know that, right?”

“I am aware.”

“Because you work for me and if we stop maintaining that distance it would be bad for both of us. This is something that could make or break everything we both have worked hard to build.”

“I understand, Aidan.” I put my key card into the slot to gain access to my room. “I assure you I will be professional tomorrow. Whatever is occurring between us will not affect the outcome of the meeting.”

“That’s not my main concern.”

“Then what are you most concerned with?”

He takes a moment to think before responding. “What concerns me is I may start to lose my professional distance and I don’t know what to expect from you when, or if, that happens.”

I feel a lump in my throat form. “Aidan,”

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“Goodnight, Lila.”

He walks away without looking back at me.

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As I walk into my suite, I lean up against the door and take a few deep breathes to help calm myself.

He feels what is building between the two of us and it frightens him just as much as it frightens me.

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I walk towards my bedroom and to the very large bed along with the large windows looking down on the city of Singapore.

I should be going to bed so I can rest before the meetings tomorrow.

However, I cannot get one thing off of my mind -, candlelight, almost-kisses, and how Aidan looked at me with such longing there was something in his eyes that told me I was what he wanted, but that he couldn’t have me.

I really wish he didn’t walk away from me.

My phone buzzes. Text from Aidan:

Sleep well.

I stare at it. Type: You too.

Delete it. Type: I’m not sure I can.

Delete it. Type the truth:

L: What time tomorrow for breakfast? I’m not ready to navigate Singapore dining alone,

His response is immediate:

A: 9 AM. My suite. I’ll order everything on the menu so you can try it all.

I smile.

L: Goodnight, Aidan.

A: Goodnight, Lila. Sweet dreams.

I set my phone down. Close my eyes. Try to sleep.

And dream of candlelight and almost-kisses and a man who’s two floors away but feels impossibly close.

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