Beyond Return

Claire was about to go look for her purse when she noticed Aiden's suit jacket. He had managed to brush most of the dirt off, but the fact that she knew she was responsible for the brown shades on it weighed on her mind. She was sure he would say he didn't mind it, but that didn't make her feel any better.

"Wait here for a moment." Saying that, she quietly walked into Colton's room. Not thinking anything of it, Aiden focused on the little flower in his arms.

"What would you like to eat Princess?" He said to Lily while lifting her higher. Having her at his same eye level kept her from having to crane her neck so much.

'Can we have pasta? I really like pasta. It's very yummy.' She signed.

"It is isn't it? Sounds good to me. How about we let Mommy choose dessert then?"

'Okay.' All of a sudden, her happy smile turned to a somewhat guilty expression. 'But what about you? It isn't fair if you're the only one who doesn't get to pick anything.'

Aiden couldn't help but hug her tighter at her response. In his head, she was too adorable to describe in words. "I get to have dinner with my Queen and my Princess today. I'm already too lucky." He could see she was hesitant to agree with him so he offered a compromise. "How about instead of choosing today, you make me a drawing. You see, I'm very jealous of the wall right now." He gestured the wall with all of her art work displayed. "How come it has more of your beautiful drawings than I do? Now that's unfair."

Lily smiled widely as she nodded her head. 'Okay! I will make you lots and lots!'

As Lily and Aiden performed the ritual of pinky sealing their deal, something Aiden was growing fond of, Claire stepped out of Colton's room with some clothes in her hand.

"I know you can't really tell since he was mostly sitting down and in sweats, but you and Colton are pretty much the same size." Claire intentionally left out the part where she knew he had bigger muscles than her brother. It would be like highlighting the fact that she had sized him up. Saying something like that would embarrass her to her core, so she simply hoped that what she brought would properly fit him. "I've mostly seen you in suits, so I picked what most seemed like your style."

Aiden looked at her hand offering him some neatly folded clothes with a surprised expression on his face. Meeting her gaze, he noticed her slight blush. He didn't really care about going out as is, but it was obvious that she would just feel bad no matter what he said.

Smiling, he placed Lily on the ground, much to both their dissatisfaction. They were both liking and getting used to their new found fondness of being close to each other. "I'll be back in a moment Princess." He said as he patted her head to which she smiled.

Standing to his full height, he accepted the clothes. "Thank you."

"I know you said you didn't mind but..." She said as she looked up at him.

"I don't. But there's no way I'd say no after having you do so much." His comment made her give him a gentle smile. She was glad he didn't refuse because the clothes were borrowed or something along those lines.

Signaling the other door next to the kitchen she continued. "You can change in there. We'll wait for you here."

Aiden went into the guest bathroom and looked at what she had chosen for him to wear. After unfolding them, he saw she had given him two different shirts to pair with his own suit slacks. One of the shirts was a long sleeved black turtle neck, while the other was a more casual black long sleeved button down shirt. She had also included a black leather belt with a an equally black buckle which would match whatever he picked.

Aiden smirked. Even without her having to admit it, it was obvious she had scanned him from head to toe more than once. She skillfully picked different options that would pair nicely with his pants and shoes besides having pinpointed his taste in clothes. Meaning she had been very observant of him. Something that Aiden enjoyed knowing.

Choosing the button down, Aiden changed out of his suit jacket and white dress shirt. Since Colton was slimmer in terms of bulk, the shirt was a bit tighter on Aiden. But it wasn't anything too drastic. On him, it simply looked like a regular fitted shirt that hugged his muscles. Folding the sleeves up to his elbows, he was satisfied by how he would now match Claire's casual look a bit more.

Once he swapped his own belt for the one Claire gave him, he folded the rest of the clothes and stepped back into the living room area where the girls were waiting for him.

As soon as Claire laid her eyes on him, she felt her mouth go dry. She could clearly see the outline of his well built muscles, the way they shifted under the shirt's thin material and realized how she would have to lie to Colton about it's disappearance. There was no way she would ever let him wear it again. Not after internally lusting for the man now using it that seemed to put the Greek Gods to shame.

"Thanks." Aiden said while walking towards them. "I match you guys much better like this." He held back a smirk after noticing her gaze. She was eyeing him like candy which made him feel like doubling up on his workout routines. There was no way he would risk having her stop looking at him like she was. Placing the spare clothes on the coffee table to deal with later, he offered each of the beauties sitting on the sofa a hand to take. "Shall we?"

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At Alejandro's Terrace.

Lily couldn't believe how good the pasta Aiden had ordered for her was. She was having such a good time enjoying her food, she didn't even notice the smiles directed her way.

Aiden and Claire held back their chuckles as they watched Lily eat like only a child could. She had a napkin over her lap, yet the corners of her mouth were filled with alfredo sauce. Just like Aiden had constantly thought before, the word adorable couldn't even begin to describe how she looked.

"Baby, there's no need to rush." Claire finally said as she wiped Lily's mouth clean. "I don't want you accidentally choking so take it easy. You can take your time."

"I'm glad you like it Princess." Aiden said as he smiled at her. It was one of the moments she finally looked her age. He was well aware she was being raised in abnormal circumstances that lead her to behave too maturely most of the time. But seeing her stuff her mouth like a chipmunk while enjoying her dish suited her better in his opinion. "I told you it would be delicious didn't I?"

Lily nodded her head in agreement before continuing to savor her food. Aiden and Claire had also ordered pasta dishes that were equally mouth watering.

"I can't believe you manage to keep doing this so quickly." Claire said as she gestures their surroundings.

Aiden had yet again booked an entire restaurant, a five star one at that, just for their private leisure. She knew he didn't lack the money or the connections to do so, but the fact that he was making it a habit for the sake of spending time together while out was too much for her to wrap her head around.

"Well you better start getting used to it Angel." He said as he poured her more century old whine, one of the many perks of being The Aiden Villan.

"You're planning on spoiling us aren't you?" Claire said with a grin on her face. No matter how nice he seemed, he had to have a plan to increment his chances of creating a permanent place in their lives for himself. And spoiling them like only he could, could very well be part of his game plan.

"That easy to read am I?" Aiden's said as his lips slowly shifted into a smirk. "But it's not as simple as that Angel."

"How so?"

Leaning forward a bit over the table, he lowered his husky voice while focusing his eyes on hers. "The plan isn't to simply spoil you, it's to spoil you rotten and beyond return."