Undercover Lovers |Aaron Hotchner|

Chapter Four: Valentine's Day

It felt like Hotch was gone especially long one day and I hated it. It was Friday night, which meant movie night. Since he picked what we watched last week, it was my turn. I decided on 10 Things I Hate About You and just waited for him to walk through the door. As soon as he did, I crashed into his arms.

"Hey, you. Miss me?" He asked.

"I know it's silly, but it seems like you've been gone forever. I guess I just get lonely easily."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Listen, it's just us tonight, and I promise to not let you get lonely while I'm here."

I smiled, but it went away as soon as the phone rang. I picked it up and immediately regretted it.

"Olivia, wonderful, I'm calling to make sure you're coming tonight." Sharon said expectantly.

"Uh, to what?" I asked, looking at Hotch. He shrugged.

"The Valentine's Day party. We talked about it earlier in the week and you said you'd stop by. It starts in an hour."

"Oh, right. Yeah, uh, we'll stop over. See you, Sharon." I mentally cursed myself as I hung up. Hotch sighed as we both went upstairs to get ready. We stood in the closet and just looked at the options for 10 minutes.

"How about that red dress?" He pointed.

"Then you can wear this. I love this shirt on you and it'll match well." I handed him a black ensemble and left the closet to get changed.

I got ready as quickly as I could, brushing my hair, putting on minimal makeup, and some jewelry— my wedding ring that I always wore, small hoop earrings, and a dainty necklace. I'd just gotten my nails done, so I couldn't get it clasped. Hotch took it when he saw me struggling and did it for me. I watched his eyes glaze over as he looked at my body in the mirror. Yeah, this dress did me justice. It was one of the few articles of clothing here that I'd ever consider buying for myself at home.

"How do I look?" I asked, smirking as I turned to him.

"You're beautiful, Valerie."

I knew I was beautiful, but I never expected those words to come from his mouth. He looked away, trying to hide the fact that his pupils nearly tripled in size and his cheeks were tinted pink. It didn't take a profiler to recognize raw attraction.

"Here, let me help." I started unbuttoning his shirt and untucked it from his pants.

"What are you doing?"

"They're not lined up. You missed a hole."

"Oh." He laughed nervously. His chest felt hotter than usual under my touch.

"We'll be the hottest couple there. It won't even be fair to the other people."

"With you on my arm, it never is."

"There." I finished fixing him up. "I don't know if it's safe for you to go."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're too attractive for everyone's good. Your presence will wreak havoc and cause bloodshed because everyone will be fighting for you."

"Hopefully not everyone. There's only one person who doesn't have to, but she's the one who would win any fight."

"You have that much faith in Sharon?"

He laughed. "Yep, that's exactly who I meant. Are you ready to go?"

"Almost. I feel like there's something we should talk about first."

"What's that?"

"It's Valentine's Day, so everyone will be lovey dovey. If we aren't, I think we'll stand out."