Her restraint was evident to him, and more than a little impressive. She was so proper at the oddest times. Aidan figured it had a little to do with the fact that she was British, and more to do with the environment she'd grown up in. He could recall how long ago it'd been the same for him. Of course, back then they'd been so uptight that it wasn't fair to compare any modern person to that model.
Seeing her here, away from all the horror and heartache, in a place where she could live a normal life - well... normal might be pushing it, but more normal than the life that she had been living. Evey could breathe here. Be at ease here. It made him happy, his heart soared for her.
The dress she wore was beautiful, not the fanciest thing in the world, and it didn't need to be. Aidan thought that Evey could make anything look good, and appear that it was effortless while doing it. The smile had not dropped away from his face, had in fact, gotten larger. The coffee had been abandoned on her table, and Aidan couldn't pinpoint when he'd put it down. It felt like they'd never been apart and had been apart for years, all at the same time. Perhaps it was because he'd fallen into that fissure, or because the last time he'd gotten to see her he'd only had one day to do so. In the end, it didn't really matter. The sensation wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Maybe Evey could play it cool, but he couldn't. He needed to touch her. To make sure that she was here, to feel her skin on his. Aidan brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and followed through the movement by sliding his hand along the line of her jaw until it gently cupped her face. He pulled Evey forward and moved to meet her, first wrapping his arm around her middle and then gently kissing her. Right now he didn't care about propriety. He only cared about Evey.
Breaking the kiss, but not moving away, Aidan embraced her tightly. "Of course I can stay."