Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“Are you sure?” Aiden asked, and I stifled the urge to squirm under that cool, direct gaze.
“I'm positive,” I said. “I understand if you feel like it's inappropriate, but—”
“Sophie is going with me to Charlie's wedding,” Gage cut in, “so you have two weeks to get used to it.”
I looked away from Aiden and turned in my chair to Gage. “I can't go to Charlie's wedding with you,” I protested.
“Why not?” both Gage and Charlie asked.
“Because I'm going with Amelia.”
“Amelia can take care of herself for one night,” Charlie said. “She's not an invalid. And she'd be the first to want you to go to the wedding with Gage.”
“That's not the point,” I said, exasperated.
“She'll head straight for the sweets and make herself sick.
Do you know how often I find contraband in her room?
She knows she has to watch her sugar intake, but she's convinced herself that just once doesn't count.
The problem is that all those little just once treats add up.
I'm trying to help her control her diabetes with diet, rather than needing insulin, and letting her run rampant at your wedding with no supervision is not going to help.”
I turned to Gage. Reaching across the space between our chairs, I took his fisted hand in mine. Rubbing my thumb over his clenched knuckles, I felt his grip ease. “I'd love to go to Charlie's wedding with you, but I can't. I'm sorry.”
Aiden let out an aggrieved sigh. “I’ll take Amelia to the wedding,” he said, sounding defeated and a little amused.
“Don't you already have a date?” Charlie asked. “I thought you were taking what’s her name? With the laugh.”
“I broke it off. She was starting to get ideas. The last thing I need is to take her to your wedding.”
“Thank God, her laugh sounds like a hyena.”
“Charlie, I don't need you interfering in my social life.”
“Really?” Charlie asked with a laugh. She made a swirling motion with her finger, encompassing all of us in the room, and said, “After this little scene you're going to lecture me about not butting into people's personal lives?”
“No, just about not butting into mine.” Aiden stood from behind the desk. “Sophie, consider Charlie's wedding your night off. I can keep Amelia out of trouble. It will be a good distraction from having to watch my baby sister get married to Lucas Jackson.”
He came out from behind the desk and hooked his arm around Charlie's neck, pulling her in for a quick hug and a kiss to the top of her head before stalking out of the room.
“I thought he liked Lucas?” I asked, my chest warm at the sight of the tears in Charlie's eyes. Aiden could be a hardass, but Charlie always brought out his soft side.
“He does,” she said, with a watery laugh. “I think he just imagined me with someone a little… gentler. But I think he also thought I’d spend my life arranging flowers and doing charity work, so he's had to make some adjustments.”
“He's interested in Sophie,” Gage said out of nowhere.
“What?” Charlie and I both said in unison. I might be a little rusty when it came to dating, but I definitely did not get the interested vibe off of Aiden. At all. Aiden saw me as an employee and a female living under his protection. As a romantic interest? Not a chance.
“Gage, no,” Charlie said. “I really don't think—”
“Then why is he so concerned with her personal life?” Gage challenged. “He's been telling me to stay away from her since I got back. Sophie and I had barely met at that point, so why bother warning me off unless he was trying to protect his own interests?”
“Gage, you're reading this wrong,” I said.
“Then how should I read it?” he asked, his temper flaring. His eyes were hot, blue flame, but he sat very still, as if making a concerted effort to contain his roiling emotions.
“I don't know,” Charlie admitted. “I’m not even going to pretend that I understand whatever's going on with you and Aiden.
He's missed you all this time. When we thought you weren’t coming home, he was a mess, and now that you're here he's being a dick. Sometimes I really do not get the way men think.”
Agreeing with Charlie, I said, “Gage, this isn’t about me.”
He stood up, taking my hand and tugging, so I rose along with him. He pulled me into his arms, and I whispered against his chest, “Really, Gage, if he were interested in me, why would he have said he'd take Amelia to the wedding? He had the perfect excuse to keep us apart.”
“I don't know,” Gage admitted, rubbing his chin against the top of my head. “Aiden is tricky. Whatever he's doing on the surface isn't necessarily what it seems to be. He's always got a master plan.”
“Well, that's true,” Charlie said. “What you see isn't necessarily what you get with Aiden, but I still think you're wrong. This isn’t about Sophie. It's about you, Gage.”
Gage kissed my cheek, and we started toward the door, Charlie falling in step with us. “I don't care what he's up to,” he said, “as long as he stays away from my girl.”
I shook my head, not bothering to respond. I was with Charlie. I did not get the way men thought.
Whatever was going on between Gage and Aiden, they'd have to deal with it on their own. Between my job running herd on Amelia, a brand-new relationship with Gage, the break-ins at Winters House, and now a phone call from my dead husband, I had my hands full.