Passing His Guard

Shit. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

What he wanted her to say? Hell, he’d spent the last six hours in knots over what she’d said before promptly passing out on him, leaving him trapped against her with nothing but time to meditate on her confession. For the most part, he’d convinced himself she hadn’t meant it. How many women had told him in a lull of drunke

“Until Rya

He’d mulled on that epiphany for the next several hours as she lay passed out in his arms, wondering what in the hell he was going to do about it. Would she even remember what she’d said? And did he want her to? He didn’t need this complication—and this would most assuredly be one big complication. He wasn’t looking to fall in love. He liked his life footloose and fancy free and wanted to keep it that way—didn’t he?

Right now, his course was set. Rya

Bottom line, he liked Rya

He wasn’t excited about doing it, but it was a little easier pill to swallow when he knew he was making the sacrifice for her. He never thought he’d find himself agreeing to do this, but he’d meet with his parents. Rya

Aiden knelt before her, staring into eyes that held a gut-wrenching amount of conflicting emotions, and he found himself holding his breath as he waited for her to respond. Something soul deep inside him flickered to life, burning slow and warming him from the inside out. It took him several moments before he recognized the emotion. God help him, it was hope. He wanted to hear Rya

“Aiden, I—”

Her phone abruptly began buzzing on the nightstand, cutting her off. She tensed, a flicker of apprehension shadowing those jewel-colored eyes. He glanced at his watch, recognizing this was the same time she’d gotten the call yesterday. Before she could reach for the phone, he snatched it off the table and stood. Tension snapped through him like a whip, straining his sore, tired muscles. The ache in his shoulder intensified as he swiped his thumb across her screen to accept the “Unavailable” call and then lifted the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” He growled the greeting with all the friendliness of a pissed-off lion.

“Aiden?”

“Mother?” That was so not the voice he was expecting on the other end of this phone, though he was no more pleased by it.

“So you are alive after all. After fourteen months, I wasn’t so sure.”

When would she realize he didn’t respond well to sarcasm? He never had and he never would. Unfortunately, it was the woman’s main style of communication. Behind him, Rya

His eyes lifted heavenward as if praying for patience. “I can’t do this with you right now, Mom. What do you want?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to Ms. Andrews. Seems she’s just about as good at returning my calls as you are.”

Aiden’s hackles rose. It was one thing to turn that snarky temper on him, he was used to it, but he drew the line where Rya

“You can tell Ms. Andrews I’m not paying her to ignore my calls. And if I wanted to talk to her receptionist, I’d call him.”

“Well, you could try, but he blocked your calls when he left Manhattan over a year ago and he’ll be advising Ms. Andrews to do the same. I will contact you when I reach New York. Rest assured Rya

He regretted the words the minute they left his mouth. He didn’t hear what his mother said next, his attention caught on the offended gasp across the room. Fuck, he shouldn’t have said that. How was it that several states away, this woman could still manage to bring out the worst in him? As she continued to rattle on in his ear, he turned back toward Rya

“Mom, I gotta go.” Without waiting for a response, he ended the call and tossed the cell onto the bed before heading for the bathroom. “Rya

“I’m taking a shower,” she called back. “Why don’t you get ready to go? Your mother’s anxious to get you back, and she isn’t paying me to lounge around here all day.”

He knew from her brittle remark that he’d offended her with his thoughtless comment. Though spoken in haste, it might not have been such a bad thing to say to Madeline. If she so much as suspected there might be something between him and Rya

Reluctantly, he moved away from the door and began packing up his few belongings. Perhaps it was better this way, he tried to convince himself. Better to pretend this thing between them wasn’t happening, because come tomorrow they’d be in New York and this little road trip would be over—along with any reason they would have to see each other again. Best not make this any more complicated than it had to be. Piece of cake, right?

Zipping up his newly purchased duffel, he slung the strap over his shoulder and headed outside to load the car before checking out. Feeling solid about his conviction and ignoring the cramp in his heart that told him he was a bullshit liar, he mumbled to himself, “It’s only one more day. What can possibly happen?”

CHAPTER

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