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“We were never not okay,” I say.
He takes my hand again, a small action that I’ve become quite fond of, and we start heading back to the group.
“Aiden.”
This time it’s me who tugs his hand and brings us to a stop. He raises an eyebrow questioningly.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” I say, ignoring the stab of guilt I feel for being such a hypocrite.
“The same goes for you, Amelia. I’m here for you,” he replies.
And I believe it. Aiden is genuinely here for me. His past actions have done nothing but solidify that statement, and I want nothing more than to be able to open up to him. I wish I could just tell someone my full story for the first time and just be able to be me. To have even one person know the truth would take such a heavy burden off my shoulders.
Aiden could be that guy—the perfect guy. I just know, deep down in my heart and bones, that Aiden would be able to help me. I’m so tempted to just blurt out everything that I’ve kept bottled up for so long and cry in Aiden’s open arms.
But I can’t. And I won’t. Because I’m Thea Kennedy. And my reality sucks.
I’m not destined to end up with such an amazing, understanding, and loyal man like Aiden. So instead of pouring out my soul like my heart is screaming at me to do, I just send Aiden a small smile and nod. He looks at me skeptically for a second before letting it slide, and we continue walking back to the group.
“Aiden! Two grand in one race? When you get that money, there better be some labeled Noah’s burger,” Noah exclaims when we get to the group. “Wait, what am I saying—it’s two grand . . . make that two burgers!”
Charlotte and Annalisa notice my hand held comfortably in Aiden’s, and they each try to catch my eye, but I avoid them. They’re going to ask what’s going on with us, and I don’t even know the answer to that. I definitely don’t want to spill and tell them about my crush on Aiden. We don’t need to complicate things further.
“When does the race start?” I ask.
“I’ll go to the starting line in five minutes,” Aiden says, just as we hear the rumble of a loud car driving past us.
Ryan’s red Mustang slowly cruises by, the driver’s-side window rolled down so that he can talk to us from where he is.
“You know, Greg’s due for parole soon. Maybe if he gets out early he can visit with Jason and Jackson. They need a strong father figure with a heavy hand,” Ryan teases, and Aiden’s face contorts with pure rage.
Aiden quickly moves forward, as if he could bare-handedly strip the metal off of Ryan’s Mustang just to get to him, but Mason and Julian jump in front of him and hold him back as Ryan speeds away to the starting line. Aiden keeps his burning gaze on Ryan’s car and roughly shakes off Julian and Mason.
“Change of plans,” Aiden growls. “I want more money from this douche bag.”
Aiden’s furious. His little brothers are his life. No one is going to get away with threatening his family.
“You know the rules. Once you agree on the amount with Jonesy it’s locked in,” Noah sadly reminds him.
Chase nods, a thoughtful look on his face. “Plus, when you beat Ryan, he’ll be so ashamed that he’ll probably just throw a fit and leave.”
“Can’t you just smash his kneecaps in with a tire iron or something and get it over with?” Annalisa suggests.
Aiden meets my eyes for a second, then looks back at Annalisa and shakes his head. “As much as I’d love to, that won’t do anything in the long run.”
Aiden’s smart. He’ll always have the opportunity to beat Ryan’s face in with his own two hands, but right now, he has the opportunity to screw him out of more money than Ryan could even count.
“I agree with Aiden. That piece of shit needs to learn a lesson about not being a complete fuckface. If it takes screwing him out of four grand to do so, then so be it,” Julian declares, everyone else nodding in solidarity.
Did he just say four grand? Like a four, with three zeros after it?
“Great. So what’s the plan?” Mason speaks up.
Aiden looks at us with a serious expression on his face. “You’ll know it when you see it.”
Chase checks his watch. “It’s time.”
Julian opens the tailgate of his pickup truck and hoists Annalisa into the bed of the truck, giving her a better standing view of the track, and jumps up after her. Chase does the same with Charlotte as Mason speaks in hushed tones
