Page 91 of Pretender

“Shall we go to the park? Can you walk there on your heels?” Aiden asks.

“It’s right there.” I wave a hand. “I could run a marathon in wedges,” I say, leading the way through the green patch between the roads.

“Alright, I’d pay money to see that.” He chuckles and I answer with a ‘hah’ and we’re distracted by a group of selfie-stick-wielding elders as we pass the fountain.

“So that scene in Jurassic World,” Aiden says, closer to me now, his proximity making me light-headed, “when the woman runs fast as hell in her heeled boots, you could do that?”

“Easy, although I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“That’s okay, I probably have more respect for you for not knowing that.”

We enter St James’s Park. The grass and the hanging birches are bright green against the blue sky. Bright white and purple flowers grow wildly along the pond.

“I’ve seen Jurassic Park, of course,” I add after a quiet moment.

“It’s a classic,” he says, a half-smile on his lips, as if he doesn’t entirely dare lean in to the light small talk. Or maybe I’m projecting. I want to say everything that was on my mind before, but here I am talking about movies.

“I struggle to picture you having time to watch anything.”

He shrugs. “I do wonder what picture you have of me, Linnea. Care to share?”

Uh-oh, careful what you wish for, I guess.

How do I instead continue the small talk? I can’t tell him I saw him as a shallow flirt who laughs at everything. Or that I’ve been convinced he’s a player. But I also hate lying to him…

“I guess, I think—I thought—you don’t take anything seriously. In life, I mean. It’s all just a big party?”

“All?”

“Relationships, work. It’s all about having fun and living large?”

“Are you asking me if it’s true or telling me that’s what you think?”

“Maybe both.”

Aiden stops by the waterside.

“Did you know that the first pelicans in this park were a gift from the Russians almost four hundred years ago?” He points to the other side of the small lake where a pod of pelicans sleep and waddle around by the water bank. “It was for King Charles II, to foster good relations, apparently.”

I hum, but wait for more, not sure if he’s stalling or avoiding.

He sighs and turns around. “I’m not sure what to say.”

Dragging a hand through his thick hair, kicking a pebble on the ground, he’s the cute Aiden again, and I almost want to tell him it doesn’t matter. The urge to soothe his discomfort is so strong.

But I don’t. I owe it to him, to myself, to try to get to know him properly. Not just let it slide because confrontation and difficult conversations make my stomach hurt, or because I’m scared he’ll turn it back on me the way Henry did.

He continues strolling, slowly, and glances back at me. “You’re doing the quiet thing,” he says.

I smile at him.

“It’s working.” He grins back. “Look,” he says, stopping abruptly. “I do take matters seriously.” He turns to me. “But I don’t like lingering on topics that make me … sad, I guess, I’m not sure.” He shrugs. “But I do need to point out that if work was only about having fun, I’d not be a billionaire,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“True, but you make places like The Orion and this new one. They’re like adult playgrounds.”

“Hm.” He starts walking again, looking down at the ground, and I follow.

“I’m sorry if that was hurtful,” I say, brushing my upper arm.