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28
AARON
Aaron waited as Brynn hugged Dani goodbye. Dani wasn’t ready to leave the carnival and her favorite comic book author yet, so Mason had offered to drop her home later. Aaron should have stayed until the event was over, but Brynn had withdrawn and seemed stiff and uneasy. The last thing he wanted to do was put her in an uncomfortable situation. Maybe the crowd was too much?
Either way, his wife came before even his business. Besides, Leslie was capable of filling in for him when needed.
Aaron pressed his hand to Brynn’s lower back to guide her to the car, but she flinched away. He frowned and dropped his hand to his side, fisting it. Maybe I pushed her too far tonight.
When they got to the car, she opened the door before he could, and rushed in, shutting herself inside. He leaned back on his heels, then rounded to the driver’s side, climbing in. Aaron started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, waiting a few minutes in silence to see if she would talk to him of her own accord, but Brynn sat stiffly by the door, as if she was trying to get as far away from him as she could.
“What’s wrong?” There was no use dancing around the issue; that had never been his style.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
She flinched, turning her face a fraction towards him before she gazed back out the window.
“Was the party too much? The crowd?”
“No.”
“Did you feel unsafe?”
She shook her head.
He sighed, his grip tightening on the steering wheel as he turned off the main road, heading towards his house. A light, wet snow had started falling from the grey skies. He turned his windshield wipers on, the only noise in the otherwise silent car except the heat blowing through the vents. He kept it a little warmer than he liked for Brynn’s sake.
“If you don’t talk to me, I can’t fix it.”
Brynn’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath before she shook her head.
Aaron’s patience was thinning. This woman drove him mad. He wanted her with every fiber in his body, and it was a daily test of strength not to act on one of the millions of fantasies he’d played through his mind since he’d gotten to know her.
He pulled onto the gravel shoulder of the road, then slipped the car in park before he faced her. She spun around, her gaze alert and unsure. He hated that she still doubted him after everything.
“You’re going to tell me what’s bothering you so I can make it better.” He kept his voice even and controlled.
Brynn’s eyes darkened before hurt flashed. She looked down at her hands. “I just . . . I know you’re a man and you have needs. I don’t know if I can . . .” She sighed. “I know we agreed you would remain celibate, but I understand if it’s too much. But—”
Aaron unbuckled his seat belt and left the car, slamming the door a little harder than he meant to as he stepped into the icy cold. He walked to the back of the Rover, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. She thinks I want to cheat on her? Why would she think that? He raced through the afternoon in his mind, going over everything that happened. Leslie. It had to be her that Brynn was worried about. But I introduced her as my wife to Leslie. Did she really think he was that kind of guy?
She’s projecting her past onto me. Anger and frustration swelled as he tipped his head to the sky, chunky wet snow falling on his head and sliding down his skin, cooling him. A car whizzed by, splashing some of the slush near his feet.
Aaron took one more calming breath before climbing back into the car. Brynn sat straight as a board, her shoulders hunched, as if she was trying to be as small as she could, as if she wanted to disappear.
He turned to her, gentling his voice. “Don’t hide from me, sunshine.”
Brynn peeked over at him.
“Can I hold your hand?”
Her palms fisted in her lap as she hesitated, then she tentatively placed her hand in his open palm. The small act of trust brought a frisson of comfort to him.
“Brynn, can you look at me?”
She shook her head.
