Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
SLOANE
The rest of the week passed in a numb blur.
The days meshed into each other and felt like the same day over and over.
I hadn’t left the estate in almost two weeks.
A security guard drove to the house to collect me for work and drove me back.
Callie came home, I cooked for her and Aria, and left Aria’s in the oven for her to reheat when she eventually got home.
Callie did her homework while I baked. Walker collected my baking orders when he collected Callie, and he delivered them for me.
We didn’t even talk beyond the delivery instructions now.
Callie noticed and asked if we were okay. I lied.
Then we repeated the day over.
The only moments I felt truly awake were when the detective inspectors called to let me know they had found no prints in the cottage.
The case had hit a dead end, but I was to call if any more incidents occurred.
They’d let my landlord, Mac, know that the cottage was no longer a crime scene.
Not that we were getting back in it soon.
The Howards’ home, however, was nothing to complain about.
It was surprisingly cozy for its size, with the large kitchen and island in the center of the living space that looked out over the North Sea.
There were two large picture windows overlooking the water at either end of the space, and in the middle were French doors that led out onto the wraparound porch.
One window had a cute breakfast nook built into it, while the other was in the living area.
You could sit on the massive, deep-seated corner sofa with the wood-burning fire on, watching the sea. It was peaceful.
If we had to be trapped anywhere, I guess it was the best place for it.
I’d talked to Brodan that morning about letting Callie stay with Lewis.
He was now my go-to guy since the harsh exchange with Walker.
I’d explained that Callie needed some normality, and remembering how worried Lewis had been, I think he needed it too.
So Brodan arranged for Walker to drive Callie and Lewis home after school, Callie with her overnight bag.
Thane had a top-of-the-line security system in the house, and he promised to stay close if they ventured out for anything.
I didn’t know how Walker felt about it, but it wasn’t up to him, and my daughter shouldn’t feel how I felt.
Flora, the sweetheart, had asked me to continue baking treats for her Saturday morning customers, so that night, alone in the house, I got to work on her order.
When Aria walked through the door, I was in the kitchen, my apron covered in flour, my cheeks and hair, too, because I’d dropped an entire bag of flour on the floor and had to clean it up. Thankfully, I had plenty more because it wasn’t exactly easy to do a supply run.
Aria gave me a bemused smile as she dropped her purse on the dining table. “Accident?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, the house smells amazing. Have I told you how much I love coming home to it smelling like cake?”
I smiled. “I’m glad because I’m worried we’re cramping your style.”
Aria raised an eyebrow. “What style? If you hadn’t noticed, I kinda work a lot.”
“I did notice. Is that your doing or Mr. Adair’s?”
“Uh, definitely mine. Lachlan has asked me many times to stop working over my hours. But …” She shrugged and headed toward her wine fridge. “I enjoy working. Red?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. Give me a minute. I’m gonna change into my sweats and then you are going to let me swipe one of those cupcakes, yeah?”
I turned to see her pointing to the cupcakes I’d decorated for fall. They had rust, red, and orange buttercream piping, and I’d accented them with edible, gold-dusted leaves. “Of course.”
True to her word, Aria came back downstairs a few minutes later. I marveled at her ability to make comfy clothes look chic. She was one of those women who always looked immaculate.
She poured us both a giant glass of wine and then grabbed a cupcake.
“I have dinner in the oven for you,” I told her.
“Thank you. I’ll have it after my cupcake.”
I chuckled and nodded before clinking my glass against the one she held up to me. “What are we drinking to?”
“You. For handling all of this so amazingly.”
“Then we’re drinking to you, too, for giving Callie and me a place to live while this is going on.”
“You never have to thank me for that.” Aria sat back on the island and gave me a soft smile. “It’s been nice, actually. Coming home to a warm house, seeing Callie’s homework on the dining table, and all your baked treats stacked and tormenting me in the kitchen.”
I snorted. “Yeah, Callie and I are so used to all the treats, it doesn’t bother us now.”
She rested her chin in her hand and watched me as I grabbed the puff pastry I’d made the night before for cinnamon swirls. “I have noticed a difference in you, though.”
“A difference?”
“You seem … sad. And I also noticed a little friction between you and Walker. You can tell me if it’s none of my business.”
Aria was technically my boss. Her title was hospitality manager, but she was doing Lachlan’s job.
So I knew I should probably watch what I said.
However, I hadn’t had a chance since my encounter with Walker to talk to Monroe.
And I was worried about my reaction to him.
How much the disappointment and rejection affected me. How cruel it had made me.
So I told Aria everything as we sipped our wine and she watched me bake.
“It wasn’t me,” I groaned, halting what I was doing. I’d just told her about what I’d said to Walker in the hall at work. When I looked at her, tears burned my eyes. “I don’t treat people like that.”
Aria considered this. “We all say things we don’t mean when we’re hurt.
It’s called being human. We’re not perfect.
And you said you were sorry two seconds after it.
Walker will get over it.” She frowned. “He really takes his job seriously if he’s willing to put aside what you guys have to protect you. ”
“Well, we didn’t have much but great sex.” Longing gutted me. “Awesome, amazing, life-affirming sex.”
Aria raised an eyebrow. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” Renewed annoyance flooded me. “And okay, I shouldn’t have said what I said and I feel bad about it, but it’s kind of crappy that I thought the sex was incredible while he would prefer to treat me like a job.”
“Men suck.” Aria threw back the wine and then poured more into each of our glasses. “They really suck.”
My nosiness got the best of me. “Did I sense a little friction between you and North Hunter?”
Aria rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That asshole wishes. He’s just … he reminds me of someone I don’t like very much. It tends to make me act a little unprofessional around North.” She grimaced. “Thankfully, he hasn’t complained about me. I think the sick bastard gets off on it.”
I smothered a laugh because I’d gotten that impression too. “Does he remind you of an ex?”
She tilted her head in thought. “Maybe a few exes. I don’t have a great track record in that department. The last betrayal was a doozy, and I decided to take a break from dating. A long break. In the Scottish Highlands.” She raised her glass in the air. “To long breaks in the Scottish Highlands.”
“You came here to get away from a guy? Huh. We have more in common than I thought.”
“Well, partly.” Aria heaved a sigh. “I told you before that LA is not a place that makes me happy.”
“Then this isn’t really a break, right? You’re living here.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I live here now.”
I lifted my glass toward her. “Then to starting over in the Highlands.”
Aria clinked her glass against mine. “And to not letting men control our choices.”
I repeated those words to myself, hoping I could make them stick.