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I reread the text message again, trying to dissect every word. Josh had left this morning, and to say things had been awkward, was an understatement.
On the one hand, he’d hugged me tight, his hand buried in my hair as he whispered how much he loved me, how he was already counting the days until he saw me again. But on the other, he’d planted this giant seed of doubt between us.
He wanted us to have some space—what did that even mean?
We were in a long-distance relationship, for Pete’s sake. You didn’t get much more space than that. But I’d been too confused—too dejected—to push for an answer over breakfast this morning. So, I’d watched him climb into his car and disappear down the road, leaving an empty, hollow feeling spreading through me.
Bug?” Carson’s voice filled the house, and I let out a heavy sigh, dropping my cell on the coffee table.
“In here,” I called.
He appeared a second later. But he wasn’t alone.
My gaze landed on his friend, and he cut me with an icy glare. I quickly averted my eyes, surprised by the animosity in his dark gaze.
“Hey, I just wanted to drop by and introduce you to Aiden. He arrived this morning.”
Tension rippled between the two of them. I’d caught the odd photo of Aiden Dumfries in the Daily Puck, my favorite hockey blog, but none of them did justice to his cold demeanor.
He was tall, taller than I imagined, at least six foot two, and his biceps were huge, corded with muscle, and covered in ink.
“Hi,” I said, dragging my gaze away from him. “Welcome to Dupont Beach.”
“Hey,” he replied flatly.
No hint of a smile, fake or otherwise.
Well, okay then.
My eyes flashed to Carson, and he rubbed his jaw, hiding a grimace. “Aiden here wasn’t too happy about being shipped off to stay with me. But I told him Dupont Beach isn’t so bad. Dayna actually just moved home from Boston too. So you two have that in common.”
Aiden barely reacted, a wall of hostility radiating around him. He was as cold as ice, nothing like Carson or Josh. But there was something about the way he watched me—that cold, unforgiving stare biting into my skin.
Burning.
“Anyway,” Carson’s voice jolted me from the strange pull I felt toward Aiden. “We’re on our way to The Spot for some lunch before I give him the grand tour.”
I wanted to say, ‘good luck with that.’ Instead, I smiled and said, “Have fun.”
Aiden made a small derisive noise in the back of his throat. He was gorgeous, no denying that. But he was clearly an ass.
“Here,” Carson threw his keys at his new housemate. “Go wait in the truck. I’ll be right there.”
Relief etched into Aiden’s expression, and he walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye.
The back door slammed shut, and I flinched. “He seems… friendly.”
Carson let out a heavy sigh, his gaze on the door. “Coach Tucker must really fucking hate me to send him here for the summer.”
“Or he knows you can handle it,” I shot back.
“Yeah, maybe.” His eyes flicked to the door and back to me. “Josh get off okay?”
“Yeah, fine,” I said, a little too hastily.
Carson noticed, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
