Chapter 5
AIDEN
Was it just a little bit reckless?
Probably.
Well, perhaps definitely.
Aiden knew there was a chance he could run into Reese if he spent time with Lily. He’d have to be extra vigilant, which was why he’d lowered the risk. He’d picked somewhere out of the way. Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere no one had any reason to look for him.
There were several reasons he didn’t want Reese to know he was interested in Lily. The first was that Aiden couldn’t be sure what this was yet.
That sounded bad. He knew it did. But Aiden had never been so caught up in a woman before.
Everything about this felt new, and he didn’t trust himself with new.
He didn’t trust that the pull in his chest would still be there after a date or two.
He didn’t trust that he wouldn’t ruin it by being exactly the kind of man everyone already expected him to be.
And Lily was clearly so far above and out of his league it wasn’t even funny.
He sighed, wondering if he should just cancel the plans he’d made with Lily last night. If he didn’t give her a chance to get attached, then he wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout.
No. That wasn’t fair.
He dragged a hand down his face.
If he was worried about fallout, the decent thing would be to tell her the truth before there was anything to lose.
But then a little voice in his head reminded him that she knew him as his alternate persona. Christopher Stone, rodeo competitor. She didn’t know him as Aiden, the nurse at the local hospital. No one in their social circle had to know if he was careful.
With a sharp nod, Aiden grabbed his keys from the side table and headed for the door. He was just about to reach for the knob when someone knocked.
He startled, his body going stiff. Then the person knocked again. With brows furrowed, he pulled the door open and came face-to-face with his half-brother.
“Parker?”
“Hey, big brother.” Parker clapped him on the shoulders with both hands. “Long time no see.” Then he stooped down and picked up an oversized duffel that Aiden had only just noticed.
Aiden spun around as Parker shouldered past him. “I’m sorry, what do you think you’re doing?”
Parker took after his mother more than their father. With his dark hair and darker eyes, he was what everyone considered tall, dark, and handsome. He was voted prom king and most likely to succeed in high school.
Parker Stone was Mr. Perfect and the bane of Aiden’s existence. Where Aiden could make his parents proud, Parker exceeded all expectations. He was literally beloved.
Parker stopped in the middle of the living room and glanced around. “I don’t think I’ve been here since you moved.”
No compliments. No nice place. Just a critical eye.
Aiden could tell where this was going. Parker would point out all the issues with the infrastructure.
He’d make recommendations, then offer to help fix the place up.
He was a whiz when it came to construction, and he didn’t even care that he came off as a know-it-all because no one bothered to tell him.
No one but Aiden.
Grinding his teeth together, Aiden stared at his brother expectantly, waiting for the inevitable.
Parker placed his duffel on the floor, drawing Aiden’s attention to it once more.
“I’ve got a project in town. Thought I’d stay with you until my rental becomes available.
” He shrugged and flashed his perfect white teeth.
“Or maybe I’ll get some land and build something.
Make moving here a little more… permanent. ”
Aiden sighed. “You know you probably should have called. I don’t have time to do this with you today.”
“Do what?” Parker asked, his voice taunting.
“Hand over your spare key and let me take up that spare bedroom that isn’t getting any use?
This house is what, a three-bedroom? Or is it four, but you use one for an office?
” Parker was right. He’d hit the nail on the head.
He tilted his head, amusement in his voice.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to send me packing. ”
“To do that, you would have had to unpack first,” Aiden shot back, folding his arms across his chest.
“Come on, big brother. You can’t send me away. It’s only going to be temporary. You can let me stay that long, right? Mom and Dad—”
“Tish and Dad moved to Florida years ago to retire. They can’t make me do anything.”
Parker laughed. “Boy, you’re in a mood.”
“Yeah, well, losing my girlfriend to my younger brother would do that to a guy.”
His brother sobered. “Okay, you know that wasn’t my fault, right?”
Aiden sliced a hand through the air. “Look, I have to get going. I’m not going to hash this out with you right now.”
Parker’s eyes cut across Aiden’s form, probably noting the jacket, boots, and hat. He smirked but didn’t point out that neither one of them had been raised on a farm, even if they were familiar enough with the lifestyle thanks to their friends.
“You meeting a girl?”
Closing his eyes, Aiden searched for patience. The last thing he was going to do was allow his brother to come between him and any girl again.
“Lock me out, and I might have to tag along to see what all the fuss is about.”
Aiden’s eyes flew open, and he scowled at his brother. “Fine, you can stay. But don’t expect me to entertain you.”
With that, he turned on his heel and opened the door. Before he closed it behind him, he tossed one more thing at his brother. “Take the room next to the bathroom. The others don’t have beds.”
He ignored his brother’s chuckle as he hurried down the steps of his home in town and headed to his truck. Lily was expecting him, and now he was probably going to be a few minutes late.
He was never late.
Dang it all, if she made one comment about worrying he wasn’t going to show, he’d put Parker in his place the moment he got home.
Aiden arrived at the turnoff for the address Lily had sent him, and just before he hit the signal, a familiar truck pulled out.
He had to do a double take.
It couldn’t be.
That truck was incredibly familiar.
Because it belonged to Mathew.
A quiet thank goodness slipped from his lips as he watched the truck head off in the opposite direction. Thankfully, Mathew wouldn’t recognize him from this distance.
There was only one reason Mathew would be here, right?
River.
And Aiden was all too aware of who River worked for.
Mathew’s cousins.
Aiden slowed as he turned onto the property. There was time to turn back. If Lily was, in fact, Mathew’s cousin, then Aiden’s problems had just multiplied. Dating his friend’s ex was one thing. Dating his other friend’s cousin when he’d been explicitly told not to was a whole different ball game.
He made it to the house and nearly turned the vehicle around when the front door opened and Lily hurried out to his truck. She didn’t even wait for him to come to the door.
Well, shoot.
This was going to happen whether he was ready for the fallout or not.
Temporary.
That’s what he had to keep telling himself.
The passenger door opened and sunshine itself climbed right inside. “Hey,” she said breathlessly. “Ready?”
Her beauty was unmatched. The shine of her hair. The way her jeans and blouse accentuated her soft curves. Everything about her called to him.
And he’d nearly left.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “You?”
Lily nodded. “Yeah.”
There was a reason he’d picked a lookout toward the outskirts of Copper Creek.
Not many people liked to hike up the steep hills to make it to this point, so he had less concern about being caught by someone he knew.
Which made him feel a little like a coward.
They stared out at the sun setting over the horizon, silence stretching between them.
Never in his life had Aiden felt so… awkward. Normally, he could flirt and joke around without a single care in the world. If a girl didn’t like him, he moved on to the next one without any hurt feelings.
That was how he should be viewing the situation right now. But as his eyes drank in the woman at his side, all he could think about was what would happen if he had to walk away.
He hardly knew this woman, and all he wanted was to spend time with her. Bask in the warmth of her bright smile. Be near whatever it was in her that made the rest of the world feel a little less sharp.
What was wrong with him? Next thing he knew, he was going to start spouting off sonnets or something.
Lily shifted and glanced at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “You were late tonight.”
He winced. “Yeah… uh… my brother stopped by unexpectedly.”
He braced himself for what might come next. She might tell him that if she wasn’t worth the effort, they could end things now. That might actually be the best option if he was honest, but the thought of that happening made his skin go clammy.
“I get it,” she said quietly.
“You… do?” he spluttered.
She laughed, and he could feel his embarrassment creeping up the back of his neck. Thankfully, it was too dark for that to give him away.
“Yes, I understand,” she insisted. “I know how important family can be.”
Once more, he fought the urge to flinch.
Family. Her family. Meaning Mathew among others.
He gripped the back of his neck and shifted a little farther from her. “Yeah, we—well, we haven’t been on the best of terms lately. It was unexpected, to say the least.”
She turned to him, frowning. Her elbow rested against the railing that surrounded them at the edge of the lookout. “Oh no. What happened?”
He peered at her. The glow in the sky outlined her silhouette. Once again, she looked like an angel. Ethereal.
“You’re really not upset?”
Lily snorted. “Honestly, under different circumstances, being late without an explanation might have ended the date before it started.”
He nearly choked at her confession. “Why?”
It was her turn to make a face. “I have this… thing. I really don’t like when people don’t respect me or my time. I need to know the people in my life will value what I give them, whether it’s friendship or…” She trailed off, her eyes drifting away as she finished quietly, “something else.”
Goosebumps rose on his arms, but he couldn’t bring himself to rub at them. That would make them even more real.
He didn’t like the way this conversation was headed.
In general, people deserved respect until they showed they didn’t. Lily was no different. But to hear from her own lips that she had a hard time letting something like being late go? He couldn’t help the anxiety that came coursing through him.
Well, shoot.
Her eyes flickered to meet his, then widened. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t talking about you. I mean—” She released a nervous laugh and covered her face with her hands. “What I meant is that, for some reason, I wanted to hear what you had to say about being late. Give you a chance.”
He didn’t like that, either. Because he didn’t deserve it. Not yet anyways.
Swallowing became nearly impossible, and he turned away from her to stare out at the town. “Thank you for giving me a chance. Now, you asked about my brother, it’s a tale as old as time,” he muttered. “Two brothers who don’t get along because they can’t help but compete with each other.”
When he peeked at her, he found her watching with interest.
The honest answer sat right there, waiting. He could tell her about Parker. About feeling like second place in his own family. About the way he’d spent years pretending none of it mattered.
But the more he told her about himself, the more real this would become. And the more real this became, the more it mattered that she didn’t know everything.
“It’s not worth telling,” he said, even though that wasn’t exactly true. “How about you tell me more about yourself? What do you like to do in your spare time?”
She looked ready to argue, but then she sighed and rested her forearms on the railing. “Like hobbies? Or what I like to do with friends?”
“All of it. Whatever you want to tell me.”
Lily smirked. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who won’t answer mine, Christopher.”
He winced, the reminder of everything he was keeping from her hitting him squarely in the chest.
“But fine,” she said. “Let’s see…”
And just like that, his thoughts shifted from his guilt to his infatuation with the woman at his side.