“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Guys.” Liv grinned at us. “This is Elizabeth’s time. You guys will have your chance later.”
“Sorry.” I grinned back at her.
“So do you have a job now?” Liv asked Elizabeth and she shook her head.
“Not yet.” She sighed. “I’m still looking.”
“Maybe I can help,” Scott interjected. “I’m looking for some help.”
“Oh, really?” Elizabeth looked at him, her expression unsure.
“Yeah, we’ll talk later.” He nodded.
“Okay,” she said, and Liv looked at me with a huge grin. The game continued on for a few rounds and almost all of us chose dares instead of truth. It was crazy when Xander dared Henry to kiss Elizabeth. I wasn’t sure what he was playing at, but if looks could kill, Scott would have killed both Xander and Henry.
“Okay, you’re up, Aiden,” Liv said. “Truth or dare.”
“Truth,” he said simply, and Liv looked thoughtful for a while before speaking.
“When did you realize you had a thing for Alice?” she asked softly, and my heart thudded as I stared at him. This was something I’d been wondering as well and I loved her for knowing to ask him.
“Aww.” He grinned and looked at me. “I should have known this was coming.”
“Answer, please.” I grinned back at him.
“I first knew I was falling for Alice many summers ago,” he said and held my hands to his heart. “It was the summer after I’d graduated from college. I was in the kitchen with Mom, and you came sailing through the doors like sunshine and rainbows and you gave me a huge smile and my breath was just taken away. I remember standing there and staring at you and thinking that you’d blossomed into a beautiful, beautiful girl.”
“Wow,” I said as I gazed into his blue eyes. I could remember that exact moment and it struck me that the emotions and feelings I’d been feeling that summer weren’t just a part of my imagination, but very real.
“That was when I knew that Alice was the one.” He chuckled and looked embarrassed. “That sounds corny, doesn’t it?”
“No.” I shook my head and then I thought about something. “So you knew before I crept into your bed?”
“Crept into his bed?” Henry looked amused. “What?”
“Not now, Henry,” Xander said and shook his head at his brother.
“Yes,” Aiden said with a smile. “I knew I was falling for you before that night.”
“I didn’t know.” I stared at him in amazement. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”
“Why do you think I went ahead with it when you slipped into my bed?” He laughed. “I don’t just sleep with anyone.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I laughed and snuggled into him. “I was so scared to fall for you. I was so scared that I was going to ruin everything. You’re my best friend’s brother, and I thought that I jeopardized everything that night, especially because you never spoke about it to me again.”
“You were too young, Alice. I wanted you to date, go through college and see how you felt after you’d had a few more life experiences. I didn’t want to start something with you and then have you regret it and change your mind. I don’t know if I could have coped with that.”
“I understand.” I nodded and kissed him. “Thank you.”
“Aww, who knew my big brother was such a softie?” Liv smiled happily. “Now we’re one big family.”
“Not quite.” Xander laughed. “Don’t go jumping the gun, Liv.”
“I think it’s fair to say not yet.” Aiden squeezed my hand and then stroked my hair. “We’ll all be one big official family one day.”
“I’m going to be Mrs. Pleasure one day?” I asked happily.
“I think so.” He laughed and kissed me softly. “As long as you pass all of the tests.”
“Tests?” I pouted.
“You know.” He grinned at me. “Our special tests.”
“I’m ready to take an exam right now.” I stroked his thigh and he groaned.
“I’m ready to test you,” he replied, and Liv groaned.
“Enough, guys!” She held her hands up. “This game night is rated PG.” She giggled. “You guys have to go somewhere else for the rated X nights.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, little sis,” Aiden said and winked at me. “I’ve already got our first X-rated night out planned.”
“You do?” I asked him, my heart racing. “Where?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He grinned. “The waiting is part of the fun.”
Epilogue
You Know When You Know
I’d always wondered how I would know that I’d met the one. I’d always wondered what true love was. I can tell you now that once you have it, you’ll stop wondering. Once you have true love, you’ll know it from the bottom of your being. You’ll know because there is nothing that will ever replace or top that feeling. Nothing will ever live up to the feeling of simply seeing your loved one’s face. Once you have true love, you don’t wonder if it’s real. No, once you have true love, you just want to bottle it up so that you never lose or forget that feeling. Once you’ve found the one, you’ll know what it really means to be complete.