“All the sites said you landed on time. I was beginning to get worried.”
“Sorry about that,” he said, leaning his head back on the seat. “It was a crazy flight—loud. There was a crying baby that never seemed to stop. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Luckily they got off the plane in New York. The second flight was better, but it was a small plane and filled to capacity. I was getting seriously claustrophobic.”
“That’s not a good thing,” she said. “I hate flying for those exact reasons. I’m just not good at it. I like my space; I like my peace and quiet. And when I don’t get them, I get very cranky.”
“Yeah, well, it was definitely getting to that point.”
Vivienne eased into traffic to exit the airport as Aaron talked about his successful trip. Between work and the visit with their parents, he was very pleased. “They were asking when you’re coming to visit.”
“Your clients?” she teased.
“Ha-ha, very funny. Seriously, Viv. I think you’ll notice a big change in Mom and Dad when you see them. They’ve…mellowed.”
“Right.”
“It’s true!” he protested. “And their friends were all incredibly nice and friendly. For a little while there, it felt like I was in some strange parallel universe.”
She rolled her eyes. He always did this, made their parents out to be nicer, sweeter, more…parent-ish than they really were. And like an idiot, she’d believe him and go visit them and find them to be the same cool, distant people they always were.
Not falling for that trap again.
But she let him talk. What was the harm? If it made him feel better, she could pretend to consider what he was saying. Merging onto the highway, she felt herself relax. She was back on schedule and barring any unforeseen traffic or accidents, they’d be home on time for dinner—or before dinner was ready, so she could oversee the final minutes of cooking.
“Are we getting takeout on the way home? Maybe it’s strange but…eating in restaurants almost every night gets old. Although I did find some incredible new places on this trip that I’ll want to go back to the next time, but I have been jonesing for Chinese. Plus, the thought of being home and maybe throwing on sweats and a T-shirt and eating in front of the TV sounds like nirvana.”
“Sorry,” she began, “no takeout tonight, but we can do that tomorrow. Tonight we’re having steak, au gratin potatoes, and salad,” she said, sounding very pleased with herself.
“Wow! Okay, I was wrong. That is definitely better than takeout. But I’m still changing into sweats. You’ve been warned,” he teased. “So we’ll be eating late?”
Vivienne shook her head. “Nope. The potatoes are hopefully in the oven right now, the salad is already made, and Matt will be putting the steaks on the grill any minute.”
Aaron’s eyes went wide as he turned his head to look at her. “Matt’s cooking? How did you convince him to do that?”
“There wasn’t much for him to do, and he grills a fabulous steak. And I wanted to make sure you had a home-cooked meal for your first night back.”
“Thank you,” he replied, smiling. “And I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. You’ve both been telling me about him helping you with meals. It still just seems weird how you managed to domesticate the rock star.”
She chuckled. “He wasn’t too far gone, so it wasn’t that hard to do. I think the distraction was good for him, and he’s finally starting to see how the life he was leading wasn’t making him all that happy.”
“Yeah, I’m sure the millions of dollars, world travel, and beautiful women begging their way into his bed were real hardships.”
Hell. The reminder of the women who had come and gone before her hurt more than it should have.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said casually. “Either way, there have been some changes.” She told him about Riley’s visit and some of the things they’d all discussed, particularly the future of returning to the studio with Shaughnessy.
“That’s great news,” Aaron said enthusiastically. “I think that is the best thing for him. Not that I think it’s wrong to want to try something new, but he was at his happiest when the band was together. At least, for a while he was.”
“What does that mean?”
“I know he started to get disillusioned toward the end. The drinking, the partying—it was all too much. It would be nice to see him calm down a bit and maybe…I don’t know…settle down a bit.”
Okay, here was her opening—her brother had segued to it perfectly. “It’s funny you should mention that—”
“Although who the hell am to judge?” he interrupted, seemingly unaware Vivienne had even spoken. “I’m settled down and it doesn’t seem like I’m any closer to having my shit together than Matt does.”
Here was a second hiccup in her well-thought-out schedule. “Why would you even think such a thing? You have a great career, a beautiful home; you travel and have a ton of friends. What’s not together?”
Aaron looked at her and gave her a lopsided grin. “Try not to take this the wrong way…”
“O-kay.”
“But it would be nice if someone other than my sister was waiting for me when I came home.”
“Oh… Well…I, um—”
“It’s okay, Viv. I don’t expect you to have a solution for me and it’s not that I don’t love seeing you and appreciate you taking the time to come and get me. It’s just that…” He stopped and sighed. “I’m ready to move on to the next phase of life—a wife, kids. I’m tired of being alone.”
And there was her opening again. “I know what you mean,” she began. “I’ve been feeling the same way. And I finally realized…”
“I met this amazing woman while I was in Paris!” he blurted out and then sighed. “God. I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but…” He twisted in his seat to look at her. “I never believed in love at first sight. I thought it was ridiculous. Then I was walking along the Rue des Barres, and I saw her. Before I knew it, I had turned around and was following her. I’ve never done anything like that in my life!”
Vivienne was speechless. Aaron wasn’t kidding—he wasn’t the spontaneous type at all, and she found herself gripping the steering wheel a little harder as she anxiously listened to his story. “So what did you do? Did you go and introduce yourself?”
He shook his head. “Not at that point. But I followed her. I had no idea what I was going to do. Then she stopped and walked into L’Ebouillanté—remember that place? It’s a tearoom. Mom’s always talking about it.”
“I’ve gone there a couple of times with her.”
“I sat down at the table next to hers, and I drank more tea than I think I have in my entire life.” He chuckled. “When I ordered my sixth cup, she finally looked up at me and I swear, Viv, it was like getting hit by a lightning bolt.”
She could totally relate to that. Which reminded her… “I know that feeling pretty well myself. Actually—”
“Her eyes were such an unusual shade of blue—almost gray. And her smile—when she finally smiled at me—was so sweet and shy. She blushed. I didn’t think women did that anymore.” He sighed. “She commented on how I must really like tea, and then I admitted that I was only drinking it because I was hoping to introduce myself.”
Clearly she wasn’t going to get to share her news anytime soon, so she simply let him finish. “And did you? Finally?”
He nodded. “I did. Her name is Emilie.” Just saying the name made him smile. “She’s a teacher—elementary school. She was born in Wales but moved to Paris when she was a teenager. Her accent is amazing. We sat in the tearoom all afternoon, and then we left and walked around in no particular direction, and the next thing I knew, it was dark out. I took her to dinner and we sat and talked until the restaurant closed.” He laughed softly. “Then we found someplace else to go, and the sun was coming u
p when I finally walked her home.”
Vivienne briefly took her eyes off the road to stare at her brother in shock. “Are you kidding me?”
Aaron shook his head. “If it weren’t for the fact we were both near delirious, I wouldn’t have even ended it there. I’m telling you, Vivienne, it was amazing.”
“So? How did you leave it? Are you going to see her again? I hope you’re going to at least call her and go back some time soon. Or maybe she can come here? Did you ask her to come here?”
Beside her, Aaron went silent.
“Aaron?” she asked cautiously.
“Do you honestly think this would be a relationship that had a chance of working? We’re on different continents. We had an amazing weekend.” He shrugged. “Okay, it was four days. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget them.”
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”
“There’s nothing you can say. Sometimes things aren’t meant to be.” His voice was so sad and so low, and it made Vivienne want to cry.
“Maybe right now,” she began, “but you know you’re in Paris several times a year. You could always see her on those trips.”
He shook his head. “How fair would that be? To either of us? No. It’s better this way.”
“Better for who? I would think you’d put up a little more of a fight for her if you’re really serious.” She let out a small snort of disgust at him. “You’re being incredibly foolish, Aaron. I can’t believe you.”
Aaron shot her an annoyed glance. “You’re one to talk. When was the last time you fought for a relationship?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped, completely annoyed how somehow this was becoming an attack on her.
“It means I’ve watched you date some really great guys, and then you let them walk away. And it never seems to faze you, Viv. How is that possible? Are you so scared of getting attached to someone? Is this all because of Mom and Dad? When the hell are you going to let it go and quit playing the abandonment card? No one did that. They weren’t the greatest parents, but you were certainly never deprived of anything. Don’t you think it’s time you got over it?”
She didn’t know how it was possible, but they were pulling into the driveway at home. That scared her because she didn’t remember the drive through town. Throwing the car into park, she turned and faced him.
“This isn’t about me and it pisses me off how you’re trying to make it that way. This is about you not taking a risk. You! Not me!” she yelled, stabbing him in the chest with her finger. “You sat there and waxed poetic about this woman and yet you were able to walk away. Seems to me you’re also scared to get attached to someone!”
“No I’m not!” he argued. Loudly. “There’s a big difference between being afraid of getting attached and knowing when something isn’t going to work out! If she lived here in the States or if I lived in Europe, you can be damn certain we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”
“Don’t be obtuse, Aaron!” she yelled back. “Long distance is long distance. According to your logic, if you lived here in North Carolina and she lived in Oregon, you’d be fine with that. Well, I call bullshit.”
“Excuse me?” he roared, unbuckling his seat belt.
“You heard me! It would still be a pain in the ass to trek across the country whenever you wanted to see one another, so don’t try and make it out like you’d be okay with it. You fly on business all the damn time. You have more frequent flyer miles than you’ll ever use. Take a damn chance! If you ask me, you’re more terrified than I’ve ever been.”
“So you admit you do that, that you simply don’t get into relationships that matter because you’re incapable of letting yourself rely on someone. Not everyone leaves, Viv! Not everyone is going to let you down!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed and turned to unclick her seat belt. As she was about to open her door, Aaron reached out and grabbed her arm.
“You’re just like them,” he said, and Vivienne knew that tone—he was trying to be hurtful. It didn’t happen often. Only when they fought. He was bringing out the big guns, and it was working.
“I am nothing like them,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Let go of me.”
“You bitch and moan and cry about how cold and distant they are and yet you’re not doing a damn thing to make sure you don’t repeat their mistakes. What are you afraid of, Viv? Afraid it wasn’t them? That it was you?”
She felt like he had slapped her. Gasping, she pulled free of his grip and turned for the door. She was stumbling out when she realized Matt was standing there, catching her.
“Vivienne? Are you all right?” He wrapped her in his arms, and she knew she was trembling, knew there was no way to explain.
“Take your hands off my sister,” Aaron called out as he climbed from the car. He stalked over and made to separate them.
As soon as Aaron touched her, Matt shoved him off. “What the hell, Aaron? What’s the matter with you?” He kept his arms wrapped possessively around her, his hard gaze never wavering.
“Son of a bitch,” Aaron murmured. “Are you freaking kidding me?” His voice grew louder. “Are you sleeping with my sister?”
“Aaron,” Vivienne said as she tried to turn in Matt’s arms.
“Yeah,” Matt said over her, louder. “Vivienne and I are involved.” His tone was defiant and firm, and all Vivienne could do was close her eyes and wait for the fallout.
“I trusted you,” Aaron said with a deadly calm that was in complete opposition to his earlier tone. “I opened my home to you, gave you a place to stay when you had nothing, and this is how you thank me?”
“This had nothing to do with you,” Matt said, his voice deep and thunderous. “And it still has nothing to do with you. I’m in love with your sister. Do you understand that? I love her.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word,” Aaron hissed. “You’re just using her. You’re killing time. Don’t insult us both by pretending otherwise.”
In the blink of an eye, Vivienne felt herself being spun away as Matt lunged at her brother. She cried out, but she wasn’t sure who she was trying to protect. Fists were flying, and she couldn’t get close enough without risking getting caught in the crossfire.
“You son of a bitch,” Matt snarled as he knocked Aaron to the ground.
“What are you gonna do now, rock star? Who’s going to take you in now? Because I want you to get your shit and get out!”
“That’s enough!” Vivienne cried, but no one was listening. They were too busy rolling around on the ground, hurling insults at one another. “That’s enough!” she screeched and was surprised when they stopped moving.
Matt shoved Aaron away and came to his feet, brushing the dirt off his clothes. He looked at her, and she could see he was doing his best to push his anger aside and not take it out on her. The smile was apologetic, and her heart simply melted. Unable to help herself, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him.
“I meant what I said, Vivienne,” he said against the top of her head, placing a kiss there. “I love you. I should have said it sooner. I was trying to give you time. But it’s how I feel. I’m sorry I said it like this—with an audience,” he snarled over his shoulder. “But it doesn’t change anything.” He tucked a finger under her chin until she looked at him. “I love you.”
Oh hell, she thought. It wasn’t even remotely romantic—something she swore she always wanted—and yet it was perfect. Perfect for them. She smiled up at him. “I love you too.”
The sound of Aaron cursing was the last thing she noted before Matt’s lips claimed hers.
Chapter 9
“I promise this will look better tomorrow.”
“I’m not even going to think about it.”
“Kind of hard not to. I mean…it’s a l
ot.”
“Matt?”
“Hmm?”
“Stop talking.” To guarantee that he did, Vivienne leaned over and kissed him. They were lying in her bed, it was well after midnight, and she was mentally exhausted.
After she had told Matt she loved him, she’d helped her brother up off of the ground. They’d had dinner together, but it was strained and awkward. They’d decided that Matt would move in to Vivienne’s place, which didn’t seem to do anything but enrage Aaron more. He’d been very blunt in his declaration of wanting Matt gone.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
He was staying.
With her.
“I can feel you smiling,” he said when she lifted her head.
“I can’t help it,” she replied and then snuggled down beside him. “I’m happy. Very happy.”
“Even with my stuff strewn all over the house? I know you hate that kind of thing. I told you I would have hung everything up and put the suitcases away.”
“It wasn’t necessary. Not tonight. Tonight I just wanted us to come up here and relax and make love.”
He kissed the top of her head. “And I believe we did all of those things. Some twice.”
She chuckled. “Best part of the night.”
Sighing, Matt pulled her close. “I’m so sorry, Viv.”
“For what?”
“That it all happened this way. I expected Aaron to be upset, but I never thought he’d react quite like that. I knew I should have gone with you to the airport. The ride home must have seemed like forever.”
Realizing that in all the chaos and awkwardness, she hadn’t had time to tell him what had happened on the drive home, she told him about Aaron’s trip and how it led to the fight.
“So you never even got to tell him about us?”
She shook her head. “Nope. He had no idea until I got out of the car and you were holding me.”
“Shit. So really, this is my fault.”
“Absolutely not,” she said, lifting her head to look at him. The room was dark, but bathed in moonlight, she could still see his handsome features. “The only one at fault is Aaron. I think no matter how we broke the news to him—whether I did it in the car or if we told him together over dinner—he was going to freak out.” When she relaxed back against him, she sighed.
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