Page 17 of Game Maker


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“No, she hasn’t,” Elise said. “She just wants you to think that. She’s hurt and she’s scared, Aiden, but you can’t give up just because she’s trying to protect herself.”

“What do you mean? How do you know that?” He pulled off the highway and turned into a gas station parking lot so he could pay attention to Elise.

“A girl like Lily doesn’t just ‘have fun’ with a guy. She’s not like that, even if she promised you that’s what she was doing in the beginning. And, a girl like Lily doesn’t just get over a guy like you and move on in a little over a week. That’s just not going to happen.”

“Definitely not,” came another female voice in the background, clearly raised, and yelling into the phone, trying to be heard in the background.

“Who’s that?” Aiden asked.

“It’s Ashlyn. She thinks you’re an idiot, too.”

“Great. So what do I do?”

“Come over here. We’ll brainstorm.”

Aiden shook his head, even though they couldn’t see him. No way was he going over there now. “I can’t come over there with all the guys while you try to figure out how to fix my relationship with Lily. The guys’ll have a field day with that.”

“Hang on.”

He heard muffled talking and then Elise was back on the line.

“Meet me and Ashlyn at your place. We’ll be there in thirty minutes.” And, then she hung up.

Aiden shook his head again. He truly was clueless when it came to women. And, apparently, that wasn’t limited to the ones he was dating. It seemed to encompass his friends’ wives and girlfriends as well.

Chapter Sixteen

Lily used the code at Kane and Elise Tyler's place on the garage door keypad and waited while the door lifted automatically. She switched her cooler bag to the other shoulder, and slipped under the door when it was two thirds of the way up. Kane had called this afternoon and asked her to deliver extra meals for the rest of the week, which was odd, since she’d given him a few extra at the start of the week. Kane always had people at his house and they seemed to be going through his extra meals faster than Lily could keep up with them.

She waited until the garage door shut behind her, and then opened the door to the interior of the house. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she knew she wasn’t alone, despite the fact that Kane and Elise were supposed to be out. Turning slowly, she watched quietly as Aiden entered from the dining room. She’d like to say her heart wasn’t frozen in place in her chest, but that would be a lie. Sending him away the other day had been the hardest thing she’d ever done, and she’d been questioning whether she’d done the right thing ever since then.

Because, as it turned out, life was a whole lot emptier without Aiden in it.

He didn’t say a word. Just put one hand out, palm up, toward her as if asking her to follow him. Lily put down her bag and placed her hand in his, unable to take her eyes off of the smoldering heat in his gaze.

Heat, and ... something else. Desire, but not the desire she was used to seeing there. This was desire for something else, something deeper. As though he hoped for more from her than the previous sexual connection that they’d shared.

Lily gasped when they got to the dining room, where a candlelight dinner for two waited.

“Join me for dinner?” he asked, his voice so uncharacteristically quiet. He seemed almost subdued, as though he were afraid she’d walk out the door at any moment. And, she was tempted to, because this was scaring the daylights out of her. Part of her wanted to throw herself at him, to let herself believe in him and what he had said to her the other day. To believe he really wanted something with her, a relationship that was more than just casual sex. A very strong piece of her wanted that wholeheartedly.

But the other piece of her held back, wanting to run far and fast, wanting to get out before her heart was ripped to shreds.

“Please?” he asked, bringing her hand to his and placing one soft kiss on her palm. “Just dinner.”

Lily took a seat in the chair he pulled out for her and tried to ignore the shuddering response her body had to the brush of his hands on her arms as he pushed her chair in for her. Her body wasn’t on board with her run-before-it’s-too-late-and-you-care-about-him plan. Heck, who was she kidding? It was already too late. She already cared about him a lot more than she should.

“Ta da!” he said with a flourish as he pulled the top off the casserole dish on the table. Lily laughed when she saw that the dish was filled with what appeared to be your standard, from-a-box macaroni and cheese mixture.

Aiden scowled at her laughter. “If you’re not careful, I won’t let you have any of my masterpiece. Or any of the salad I made with my bare hands.”

Lily leaned forward and looked in the salad bowl. It appeared to be one of those salads in a bag with a mixture of lettuce and julienne carrots. To his credit, he’d placed sliced tomatoes on top.

“Did you slice the tomatoes yourself?” she asked and laughed when his slight squirm of discomfort made it clear he hadn’t.

“The tomatoes were Elise’s contribution, but I did make the macaroni and cheese myself,” he said with a grin and heaped a spoonful of the bright orange concoction onto her plate. This was followed by some salad and a piece of French bread, making her smile despite herself. His effort at cooking a meal for her was so sweet. Adorable, even.

Lily laughed again when he poured her a glass of red wine to go with her “pasta,” earning her another scowl from Aiden. And, that was when she knew.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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