“I was unpacking some boxes the other day and found all my old high school DVDs. I had some weird taste in movies back then.” He smiled like he used to when he was a boy—careful and mildly insecure. “And why did I have so many?”
“Because you had three brothers and data limits.”
“True.” They moved over to accommodate another couple coming to dance. “Meghan’s pregnant, by the way. I’m officially going to be an uncle come Thanksgiving.”
“Congratulations.” The sadness was unexpected and left her achy. She’d likely never hold the baby. Probably would never see any of Sean’s family ever again.
“Life moves quickly, doesn’t it? I thought Beck was insane for building a house in his twenties. Now Ty’s getting married. Jeff’s gonna be a daddy.”
Whether he meant it to or not, those words ended her grip on reality and sent her tumbling back to the moment she knew her life was forever changed.
They’d been lying on a blanket in the middle of Sean’s living room because he was way too big for them to share a couch. She’d just finished her last exam and had an entire two weeks before her summer internship started. They weren’t even doing anything special, just watching a random show on Netflix while Sean ranted about how ridiculous it was for a twenty-three year old bachelor to build a four thousand square foot home, and how Beck needed to stop acting like he was a middle-aged man. Sean had stopped talking long enough to ask what she thought of the whole thing and the words had just rolled out… I love you.
The realness of the memory made her entire body freeze.
“Something wrong?”
“Um. No. I’m just done… with this.” She wiggled and strained until Sean’s arms fell away. While she knew they’d only embraced for a few minutes at the most, April eyed the room as if a million people had seen her helplessness. No one seemed to notice, except for Beck. Her cheeks burned under his scrutiny like he could sense her duplicity.
Aiden had put himself on the line just to get her a face to face with her parents. And not even ten days later, here she was dancing with the man who’d put her in that horrible position to begin with, talking about his family and her remembering professions of love. Hadn’t these past eleven months taught her anything? The loneliness, the isolation, the unending, pulsing remorse.
“Don’t do it,” Sean pleaded. “Don’t ruin tonight with a laundry list of reasons why you should leave.” He moved in again, set firm hands on her shoulders. “One night, April. One night to be free again. Tomorrow you can go back to your bleak existence, resenting every inch of me with no repercussions, I promise.”
She drew in a breath through her nose and hoped her voice didn’t sound wobbly when she said, “My life is not bleak.”
“I’m sorry, what word choice would you prefer? Monotonous? Dull? Tedious?”
“Did you study a thesaurus prior to picking me up?”
“Nope. Just passing along my sheer geniusness.”
The slow song ended and the bass of a fast one vibrated against her chest. She took another step back. “That’s not even a word.”
“It is in my universe.” He stole her hand, clumsily spun her around then pulled her back to himself, swaying with the beat. “And darling, you’re in my world tonight. Then again… if being this close to me is too hard for you… maybe you haven’t gotten over me like you’ve claimed?”
He had her cornered, the sly devil. Walk away and she was admitting he got under her skin. Stay, and she felt certain that she’d loathe herself in the morning. Well, at least the latter feeling was familiar.
“Fine. I’ll stay. And when tonight’s over, you stop pushing.”
He gave a breathy laugh. “I’m not a man to argue, Jelly Bean.”
Please. He was the most formidable opponent in the world.
Chapter 19
April caught herself doodling another heart on her post-it and quickly balled up the square paper. She’d been a mass of nervous adrenaline since she’d slipped out of Mulligans, leaving Sean to catch a ride with Journey. She should be annoyed at herself and at him, but the only irritation she could muster was at the watch on her left wrist. A strategy session and then she could finally go home.
She tapped the end of her pen on the desk and then forced it silent. Another flip of her stomach and she tossed it away. This was ridiculous. She hadn’t felt this anxious in years. Truth be told, she hadn’t felt much of anything in months. Now it seemed a flood of repressed emotions had broken free from their dam and pushing them back in was as fruitless as trying to control a rushing river.
The squeak of her opening door nearly had her falling out of her chair. It was rare to be caught off guard when you could see a visitor coming from any angle.
The law office encompassed two floors, each with glass offices encircling a sea of half-walled cubicles in the center. Her first year, she’d shared one with two other associates stacked on top of her. But second year associates—those who made it past the weed out—were given their own space with a door. A monumental reward, even if the wall to the hallway was an unending window.
Cassandra paused when April had to straighten back up in her chair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” She was April’s mentor, an established candidate for partner, and three years her senior at the firm. Cassandra was also one of the few women April respected, not just for her work ethic, which rivaled her own, but also for the way she carried herself. She was tough, yet feminine. Incredibly intelligent and yet had no need to patronize those under her. In many ways, working under Cassandra had made the last two years of servitude bearable.
“You didn’t.” April stood out of respect. “What do you need?”
“Tomorrow’s meeting got pushed up to four o’clock today, which means if all goes well, we might actually get a weekend.” Cassandra dropped a file on April’s cleared desk. She wore a waist cut suit coat over gray slacks and a pink blouse. At five-foot-nine, she could pull off that style. If April tried, she’d look severed in half. “Take another look at these numbers,” she added. “We don’t want any mistakes delaying their signing.”
“You got it.” April flipped through the printed spreadsheets. She’d already checked and rechecked them twice, but Cassandra was a stickler for perfection. The merger would save both companies millions, but it also required large layoffs and a branch closure. As a second year associate, April was on the team, but mostly as a due diligence reviewer. Engaging with the clients would come soon and she was hungry for the opportunity.
“Also, I’d keep tonight and Friday completely open. If anything comes up, I want it fixed immediately.” To her surprise, Cassandra fell into one of her guest chairs and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I’m so ready for this merger to be finished. It feels like I haven’t seen Jacob in months.” Jacob was Cassandra’s husband and a gem of a man. April had met him at a firm mixer one weekend and had found him to be kind, a bit of an adorable nerd, and fully devoted to his beautiful wife.
April leaned against the corner of her desk and crossed her feet. “Is it hard, doing this job and being married?” It was a question that had lingered in her mind long before her split with Sean.
Cassandra startled a little at the question. They had a good working relationship, but it had never transitioned to anything personal.
“Sometimes, but Jacob knew what to expect going in. We’re both ambitious people and neither of us need a whole lot of couple time. For us, it works. But that’s not to say it would succeed with different personalities.” She tilted her head. “Why?”
“No reason. I was just curious.”
Cassandra smiled and it was alarmingly close to Journey’s when she felt like April was hiding something. “Does that curiosity have anything to do with the glow in your cheeks?”
“What? No.” April pressed her palms to her cheeks, but it was no use. They were flushed and getting hotter by the second. “I’m not expecting to be married anytime soon.”
“Ms.
Duncan, I do believe you are blushing.”
She was going to shoot Sean, then tie him up and stuff him in a bottomless well.
Her boss rose from the chair, a girlish grin on her face. “Let’s get the rest of these loose ends tied up and then we can both enjoy a decent weekend with our men.”
April opened her mouth to assure her once more that she had no one in mind when she asked that question, but fate was definitely working against her today, especially when she saw a flash of blond hair pass by.
“Knock, knock. Your receptionist said it was okay for me to come back here.” Aiden stood in the doorway, polished and beautiful in a dark suit and royal blue tie. True to form, he didn’t wait for an invitation, but strolled right in. “Sorry for the interruption.”
Cassandra’s eyebrow practically reached the ceiling. “No problem. I was just about to leave.”
Aiden offered his hand and April quickly found her voice. “Cassandra, this is Aiden, an, um, old family friend.”
“Nice to meet you, Aiden.” Her hand fell away, but her smile did not. “We were just talking about you.”
“Were you?” He looked far too pleased with the idea and wrapped his arm around April’s waist, bringing her close to his side. “Then I’m sure you know I’m a little more than a family friend.”
April wanted to crawl under her desk and disappear, but she was not about to embarrass herself in front of her mentor. “I’ll be just a moment.”
“No, it’s fine.” Cassandra grabbed the file folder she’d come in with. “Brad is available and almost as reliable as you. I’ll get him on these.”
“Really, I can still do—”
“I’ll see you in the conference room at four, until then… take your time.” She nodded toward their guest. “Aiden, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
April could barely keep her hands from fisting as Cassandra shut the door behind her with a wink. “You should have called,” she said, moving out of his hold. Aiden touching her felt different in this space. In Galveston, it had felt blurry, like a dream she couldn’t quite wake from. But here… here it felt too real somehow.
“I did call. Several times last night.” The look he gave her was both offended and irritated. “Are we back to this again?”
She moved so the desk was a barrier between them. “Back to what?”
“You pulling away from me.” He followed her path, forcing her to deal with his proximity. “I thought we left things in a good place?”
The temperature in the room seemed to be climbing. Sweat trickled down her abdomen, and she resisted every urge to unbutton the top of her shirt to release the heat.
“We did, but you showing up at my workplace and telling my coworkers you’re my boyfriend is a little presumptuous, don’t you think?”
“No. I don’t think.” His mouth grew tight. “Nothing in our discussions implied things between us would be casual. We’re either together or we’re not. And forgive me, but all signs pointed to us being very much together.”
Aiden was exactly right. She’d known that. Known it when she said yes to the party in Galveston. Known it when she’d kissed him in her hotel room. Known it when he’d held her hand at the dinner table in front of her parents’ approving gaze.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just don’t like to feel cornered.”
He eased back, giving her space. The air slowly cooled and her hands quit trembling. He seemed to pinpoint the moment she’d pulled herself together. “Better now?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” His early scowl morphed into a flirtatious grin. “I thought maybe I could talk you into skipping out early.”
“I have a team meeting in twenty minutes.”
“You can’t get out of it?” And just like that the pretty boy smile disappeared. “I have to drive back tonight.”
“Could you get out of a meeting with my Dad to go on a date?”
“Not if I wanted to keep my job.”
“Exactly.”
“Too bad you were screening my calls last night.” He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I wanted to see you.”
“I wasn’t screening your calls.” Though she had consciously chosen to ignore them. The whole concept of them being an item was still too strange. Her dating life had only consisted of a few bad dinners and the whirlwind with Sean. She had no idea how to navigate a mature, adult relationship. “I was out celebrating Ty and Journey’s engagement. They’re getting married next February.”
“I’ll mark my calendar.”
The picture of Aiden being her plus one at Journey’s wedding sent a shiver through her. “What are you doing in town anyway?”
He seemed determined to touch her, his thumb caressing her fingers as he spoke. “Your grandfather’s foundation is part of my responsibilities now.”
Her heart stilled. The foundation. The only part of her family’s holdings that had remained in Austin after Uncle Bradley went to rehab. Her father had severed the rest of the foundation from the scandal, abandoning the convict housing project, and enveloping the other charities under the Duncan empire. Even the name was changed, a final sponge to the legacy that was supposed to be Bradley’s. “Right. I guess I didn’t make the connection.” Aiden was Vice President of Special Projects. Of course that would include the non-profit piece.
“After what happened, your dad likes me to pop in unannounced and go over the finances. It’s just a precaution.”
“Makes sense.” She turned around, leaned her backside on her desk and crossed her arms. “But while we’re on the subject, can I ask you something about Uncle Bradley’s plea bargain?”
Aiden stiffened and a strange shadow clouded his expression. “Yeah.”
“Did Sean cut a deal with the DA? His help for alternative sentencing?” It shouldn’t matter, but it did. It changed the equation, knowing he’d fought to get her uncle in a place that could help him get clean.
“Is that what he told you?”
“He alluded to it, yes.”
Aiden’s hand came down hard on the desk, rattling the pens she’d lined in a row. “This is exactly why I can’t stand that guy,” he said, sharp enough that she moved away. “Twisting facts to make him seem like a martyr. Your dad’s lawyers would have destroyed this case in trial. That deal did nothing but surround your family in scandal.”
“It also got Uncle Bradley into rehab.”
Aiden’s expression went dark. “Bradley’s fate was taken completely out of our hands and because of that, the entire foundation almost crumbled.” The accusation and contempt in his voice was a shock to her. Even her father had been more amicable when addressing Sean. Aiden’s body practically trembled with hatred. “Why are you defending him?”
“I’m not. I just want Bradley to get healthy. I hate that he was suffering and I didn’t know.”
Her admission seemed to calm him. Aiden gently pressed his palms to her cheeks, eyes steady on hers while he moved close enough their noses nearly touched. “Bradley is going to be fine. He has an entire support system waiting for him at home. And now you’re a part of that.”
“If he’ll ever forgive me.” Her voice cracked and the pain she’d tried to bury broke through every word.
“He will. If…” he added softer this time. “If he sees that your loyalty truly does lie with your family this time.”
“You know it does.”
He kept his gaze steady, a perusal that would have had her squirming if the motion wouldn’t immediately count her as a liar. She certainly hadn’t been loyal last night.
“In that case, you’ll be especially pleased with the reason for my unexpected visit.” His lips turned up slightly—the look of a man with an agenda. “How much do you like your job here?”
Interesting segue. “Why?”
“Call me curious.”
She shrugged. “No one likes being a junior associate. It’ll get better when I get to be more than slave labor.”
“Will it?”
“I sure hope so.” While she thrived in this fast-paced, cutthroat environment, she didn’t enjoy the rush as much as Cassandra seemed to.
Aiden filled the space next to her, half sitting on her desk since he was so much taller. “Remember that summer after your second year in law school when you interned with the Duncan legal department?”
“Of course I do.” It was the happiest she’d ever been. She and Sean were a solid couple and she loved the environment at Duncan Enterprises. In-house lawyers didn’t have to worry about billable hours or fight for a seat at the table. They got to deal with clients directly, participated in the corporate culture—the same culture she’d been raised in her entire life—and they were usually able to maintain a family. “I really thought that was my future.”
“What if I told you the door has recently cracked back open.”
Her heart stilled. In one sentence, Aiden had offered to rewind time. To give her back the dream she’d had since childhood. “How?”
“As much as your dad seems impenetrable, I know he’s been unhappy this year. He lost Andrew to the firehouse and you to a bad relationship.”
“It ended badly, but it wasn’t a bad relationship.” Okay, yeah, that did sound a little like she was defending him.
Aiden’s eyes narrowed and she immediately regretted her choice of words. “You lost everything because of that man. Don’t forget that.”
“I haven’t.”
“Good, because I can tell you that your name has been mentioned more than once in important circles.” He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her between his spread legs. “April, everything I promised you would happen… is happening. And this time, the guy by your side isn’t going to sabotage it.” He went to kiss her and she pointed to the wall-sized window.
“Aiden, we’re in a fish bowl here.”
He glanced over his shoulder and sighed. “You sure you can’t get out of that meeting?”
“Not a chance.” And even if she could find a reason, she didn’t want to go with him. To her dismay, none of the chemistry she’d felt in Galveston had followed her home. And even more frustrating was that every touch now felt like a betrayal since she’d yet to tell Sean about Aiden.
The Truth Between Us (Bentwood Book 2) Page 14