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“Stalker.” She winked at him. “You, on the other hand, are non-existent on social media.”
He laughed. “True.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I spend so much time working. I don’t really have much downtime for social media.”
“Really?”
“My mom’s care is really expensive, and insurance doesn’t cover everything. I work a lot to cover the difference,” he said, almost like an attempt to wave it off.
Bex narrowed her eyes. Something didn’t seem right about that answer. “That may be true, but I feel like it isn’t the whole story.”
He frowned. “How do you... Are you psychic?”
“No.”
“Mind reader?”
“No. Pretty sure psychics do that, too.”
“Human lie detector?”
“Only when it comes to you.” The corner of her mouth tipped up.
“Huh.”
Instead of smiling, Aiden lowered his chin, his eyes focused on the table.
“You want the truth. I can’t make up anything?”
“Right.” Her heart pounded harder. What was he keeping from her? She could tell whatever he held back weighed heavily on him.
She reached across the table and took his hand.
He stared at their interlocked fingers.
She offered a squeeze of encouragement. Finally, he squeezed back.
He said, “At first, my mom and I worked as a team. The first couple of years weren’t so bad. But then she got worse. And it didn’t stop. I watched her friendships disappear. Watched people she’d counted on forget about her. Her decline was too hard to watch so they... Walked away, I guess.”
She squeezed his hand again. “Aiden...”
He shook his head.
“I don’t have relationships. With anyone. I have acquaintances. Coworkers. One night stands. But I don’t do friendships, relationships, or connections. The last few years, the only connection I’ve had has been me and mom... Lately, since she can’t really respond, it’s mainly me. And it’s been rough. I don’t want to put anyone else through that if I have the gene. I don’t do social media because I keep to myself... Keep my acquaintances at a distance... In case.”
Her heart broke for him. She pulled his hand across the table and kissed his fingers.
“You have me. No matter what,” she said. “You’re stuck with me. I won’t accept the reasoning that we ‘can’t’ be together.”
His eyes raised to meet hers. “I don’t think that’ll be a hardship.”
“I’m happy you don’t think so. But you need to know up front, a relationship with me will be hard. I’ll be gone a lot and the paparazzi are everywhere. Privacy is non-existent.”
“I may have the gene for a horrible disease that will eventually kill me. Paparazzi are low on my concern list.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I want to give this a real try. Us. I want to give us a real try. Adults. Exclusive. Together. Can we do that?”
