“Be ready by noon.”
I’m shutting down. Pushing her away. But failure plays on a loop inside my head. It was only a matter of time before our little getaway ended and reality came calling.
I don’t look at her as I walk into my bedroom and close the door behind me.
Chapter Fourteen
Seraphina
New York City
AIDEN’S BODY SLICESthrough the water, his movements smooth and relentless. I watch from the marble countertop of the kitchen island, a glass of wine clutched in one hand and a book in the other.
Neither can distract me from the fury rippling in every movement of Aiden’s arms, every fierce stab of his body as he traverses the pool. Back and forth, back and forth. An endless battle to combat his anger and disappointment.
I take a deep sip of my wine. Rosé, some rare vintage Aiden kept for special occasions. I barely taste it as I watch him swim.
I look away from my fake fiancé and stare out over the city. We flew back sitting on opposite sides of the plane as we traversed the Atlantic. The distance made it easy to slip behind my old walls. To wrap apathy around me like armor. Except as the hours tick by, the armor feels so tight. It doesn’t feel like protection anymore. It feels like a prison, one that keeps me safe but also keeps me from a man I care about.
The L-word hovers at the edge of my mind, but I’m not ready to fully embrace that yet. I can, however, admit that my feelings for Aiden have gone far beyond my safe crush and ventured into a territory I’ve never explored before. One that terrifies me.
But not quite as terrifying as not giving it a shot.
Aiden plants his hands on the edge of the pool and hauls himself out. Water runs in rivulets down his muscled back. He grabs a towel off one of the lounge chairs and wraps it around his lean hips. His head snaps up and we make eye contact. Hope surges.
Then evaporates as he looks away and stalks to the door, anger still vibrating off him. He tugs the sliding glass door open and steps inside. His hair’s slicked back from his face, his mouth set in a thin line.
“You didn’t have to stay up.”
I steel myself against the coldness in his voice. I’m not letting him push me away this time.
“I wanted to.”
He stalks to the liquor pantry and disappears inside, reappearing a moment later with a decanter halfway filled with what I’m guessing is brandy. The amber liquid sparkles as he pours a generous amount into a crystal glass. I wait until he’s taken his first sip before I speak.
“There are other ways, Aiden.” I clear my throat. “Have you thought about telling Randolph about David?”
He grabs the glass and stalks back over to the window. “We’re not talking about this.”
Hurt grabs me in a tight grip. But instead of disappearing up to my room, I set my glass and the book down and slide off the stepstool. Dominic’s words echo through my mind as I approach him slowly, the way one might a wounded animal.
“He feels far more deeply than most realize. He just doesn’t like to admit it.”
I stop a couple feet behind him. His head is bowed, his face shrouded in shadow. One hand is braced on the window, the other wrapped around his glass. The muscles in his back are tense, each line so taut it looks like he could have been carved out of stone.
I curl my own hands into fists. He’s made it clear he’s not ready for physical comfort.
“Not talking about this now? Or ever?”
“Drop it, Seraphina.”
Anger swells inside me. “If you need time, Aiden, fine. But I know how important this deal was to you. It was important to me, too.”
He whips around, eyes sparkling with fury. “It’s not just a business deal. It’s so much more than that.”
“I know!” I run a hand through my hair as I try to sort through my words, try to make sure I don’t stick my foot in my mouth and push him even further away. “I’m not saying I can even begin to comprehend your disappointment and anger. I just wanted to say it was important to me, too, and if Randolph said no, then we just need to—”
“There is no ‘we.’”
