13. Aiden
AIDEN
Oh ...fuck.
Aiden’s eyes locked with Callum’s, and his gut dropped.
No, no, no.
But it was too late. Callum’s brows furrowed, and he broke away from Isla, striding across the carpark toward him. “I thought you were going to New York.”
Maybe there was a simple solution to this. Confess now, beg for forgiveness, and deal with the consequences.
But those consequences could also potentially end his friendship with Callum.
He wouldn’t forgive or forget that Isla had ended up in Aiden’s bed.
And Callum definitely wouldn’t easily let go of the fact that they were now, technically, married. For that matter, Isla wouldn’t forgive him for telling Callum without talking to her first.
Aiden cleared his throat and stepped down from the trailer. “I-I am. I just had to stop here first.” How in the hell am I going to explain this?
But before he could make up an excuse, Isla was at Callum’s side.
“It’s my fault. I told him not to tell you—given how angry you were with the whole Kyle news—and I didn’t want you to think I was upsetting the balance of your world too much.
The show needed a corporate sponsor, and I suggested Aiden. ”
Callum looked from Isla to Aiden, frowning. “Why would Camden Enterprises sponsor a travel show?”
Good question.
“Isla isn’t completely to blame. I told her over Christmas that I wanted to diversify our ventures—help the everyday person connect better with our industry. See a different side of us,” Aiden said smoothly, giving Isla a tight smile.
Callum listened with a look of disbelief, and Aiden counted the seconds as they passed. There wasn’t a hint of a breeze, the air still, the tension thick.
Aiden dared a look at Isla, who gave him a worried frown.
“There’s no trip to New York, is there?” Callum’s eyes narrowed at Aiden.
If only Callum knew how much worse it was than he suspected.
But why exacerbate the problem?
Aiden sighed. “No, there is. But I should have told you about this, and I’m sorry. I panicked because I didn’t expect to see you here. Speaking of which, what the hell are you doing here?”
Callum frowned, then glanced back at Tomas, who’d drifted off to stand near Davy. “Trying to solve a problem.” He sighed and then offered Aiden a nod. “Apology accepted. But in the future, you don’t have to lie to me, Aiden. You had a perfectly reasonable excuse for being here.”
The words were soft blows that somehow struck like a hammer to Aiden’s chest.
“Well, you, darling brother, don’t,” Isla cut in, setting her hand on Callum’s elbow and redirecting his attention.
“What the hell possessed you to hop on a plane and fly all the way here from London, Callum? What’s worse is that you’ve dragged Tomas into this mess.
” She crossed her arms. “Does Liddy know you’ve done this?
Because I’d be shocked if she signed off on this sort of interference from you. ”
“Pardon,” a male voice spoke up from behind them.
All three gazes turned toward Starling Boyd, the director, stepping toward them. He held out a hand toward Callum. “Starling Boyd. Mr. Scott, is it? I believe we spoke on the phone yesterday.”
Aiden’s eyes drifted from Callum toward Isla. She seemed genuinely angry about Callum being here. It wasn’t any of his business. He should stay out of it, considering it appeared to be a sibling spat.
But Isla looked so flustered that his throat tightened, and he moved nearer to her. “You all right?”
She didn’t accept the offer of his help, however subtle it was, and instead directed her attention to Boyd. “Mr. Boyd, I’m Isla Scott. I believe there’s been a mistake. I’ve already made all the arrangements with Kyle Winnick to?—”
“There’s no mistake.” Boyd gave her a measured smile, then slipped the tie from his wrist and tied his long gray hair back behind his neck.
“Antony had casting in London work out all the details with Tomas Meyer’s agent yesterday.
It’s a fantastic idea—he’s got a half a million followers on Instagram alone. ”
Isla stiffened, her gaze flicking between Boyd and Callum.
Aiden still wasn’t completely following, but the situation was starting to grow a bit clearer.
Kyle came down from the trailer just then, and Aiden greeted him with a nod before Kyle said, “Excuse me, I’m just trying to clarify.
Are you saying you don’t need me here for the role of Isla’s boyfriend? ”
“No, the production team has decided to place Tomas in that role. But, actually, we’d still like for you to remain—perhaps as Isla’s best friend? It could make for an interesting dynamic,” Boyd said, slipping his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
Beside him, Isla’s hands were in tight fists, her knuckles white. She threw another look back at Davy, then at Callum, then back at Boyd.
Aiden sensed an explosion of anger coming.
He recognized that darkening expression on her face.
“Excuse us for a second.” Grabbing her by the elbow, he pulled her back toward the trailer where Davy stood.
He offered Davy and the man beside her an apologetic look as he shoved her past the door and then shut it behind them.
“Sit,” he said in a firm voice.
To his surprise, Isla did as he’d directed. She settled onto the trailer’s sofa, hands over her face, and Aiden went over to the fridge. He found a case of water bottles and yanked one free, then brought it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, then lifted raw, furious eyes at him. “I’m going to murder my brother.”
She uncapped the bottle and sipped it, her shoulders heavy with a strangled breath.
“Care to tell me what happened?”
“You. This is your fault.” Isla glared at him.
"You couldn’t just help me on this. It was a tidy little job .
..host a few episodes in a few—apparently ridiculously boring—Parises, then move on with my life.
But, no. You had to suggest a couple would be more interesting to follow as a host. And Antony and Davy loved the idea.
Except now my idiot brother has apparently decided to interfere with whom I chose to play my boyfriend?—”
“Kyle?” Aiden asked.
She nodded. “Yes. Which was fine. I already told Davy—no public displays of affection. But that wasn’t good enough for Callum. He dug into my past and pulled out an old ex of mine, dragged him into it.”
Ah. That must be who the mysterious Tomas was.
“The fellow who looks like a rugby player?”
“Yes, if rugby players had perfect teeth, six-pack abs, and walked the catwalk for Versace in their downtime.” Isla shook her head.
Right.
That would be the type of man Isla Scott dated. Look at her. She was fun and flirtatious. She had pink streaks on the underside of her hair and a golden tan that spoke to her days on the sun-drenched beaches of Costa Rica. And Aiden had seen her in those bikinis she wore.
What the hell am I doing?
He blinked, cutting the thought off, then cleared his throat. “Did things end on a bad note with Tomas?”
“No, no, that’s not it.” Isla combed her fingers through her hair, a defeated look on her face.
“It just ended. I was moving to Costa Rica. He was staying in London. There wasn’t enough there to keep us together, really.
” She took another sip of water. “But that’s not the point. Callum had no right to interfere.”
“Why did he?”
She avoided his gaze. “I don’t know. Because he was apparently that deeply uncomfortable with the thought of me pretending to date Kyle on a show.” Their gazes held for an awkward moment.
Not surprising.
And also further evidence of how protective Callum was of Isla—and his neatly ordered relationships.
Isla tore her eyes from his. “And because he’s an arsehole.”
“Well, maybe not an arsehole. You know how Callum is. For years, you were the center of his universe. The only person he really gave two shites about.”
“Besides the Camden brothers,” Isla said with a scoff. “Well, and that wanker Luca Harris. Fucking prick completed the process of giving Cal trust issues when he caught Luca fucking his ex-fiancée in their flat. And we’ve all paid the price since.”
Aiden winced. That’s true. Callum definitely had valid reasons for being wary of his friendships and mistrusting others.
He hadn’t even told Quinn or Aiden about catching Luca with Sophia until a couple of years earlier.
The admission had been enlightening—and given Aiden a much deeper understanding of Callum’s personality.
But it was also another reminder that Callum had experienced deep betrayal before from a man he’d considered a close friend. If anything, it made Callum more sensitive to even the perception of betrayal.
Aiden cleared his throat. “Right. Well, it’s true. Callum lets few people in. If anything, Liddy has softened him considerably—taken the pressure off you. And now that he’s finally talking to your mum again, I’m sure it helps, too.”
“I know,” Isla said with a roll of her eyes.
“And believe me, I thank Liddy for it regularly. But that doesn’t mean he had the right to step into not only my personal business, but a business relationship, and then walk all over my arrangements.
The sheer audacity of it, Aiden.” Her eyes grew red-rimmed, and she swiped her lashes with the back of a knuckle.
Gently, he crouched in front of her, then brushed a tear from her cheek away with his thumb. “I’m sorry.”
Isla lifted her eyes to his, and unexpectedly, his heart stumbled.
He hated seeing her so miserable, especially knowing he’d caused some of this.
But that was normal , right?
He’d known her all his life. Cared about her.
She sucked in a breath, and the moment held for just a smidge longer.
God, it would be so easy to close the distance, brush his mouth over hers, taste the salt of those tear-drenched lips. Comfort her.
She dropped back onto the sofa. “Ugh. I’ll figure it out. What are you doing here anyway?”
He gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted to do was lie yet another time—this entire situation with her was filled with so many lies that it drove him insane—but telling her about being married right now?
The timing couldn’t be worse.
He inhaled sharply. “I just came to check on my investment.” He settled back onto his heels.
God, I’m such a fucking liar.
“Listen,” he continued, not wanting to dwell on it any longer than necessary, “I don’t think Callum has handled this appropriately, but the fact that he flew all the way here from London and went to the lengths that he did is good evidence of how strongly he feels about this.
I’m not saying he’s in the right, but you probably do need to talk to him. Without all the listening ears.”
“I know, but I’m not ready.” Isla stood and glanced back at Aiden. “To be honest, I’m glad you’re here. You probably kept me from having a meltdown in front of everyone. Thank you.”
“Of course.” He stood, the unease churning harder now. “Ready to go back out there?”
She nodded, then sighed. “After you.”