“Here we go,” I murmured.
“Mom looks pissed,” Emmett whispered.
I gave him a look when Aiden sighed.
Emmett glanced up at Aiden, voice serious. “I don’t know if you’re ready for this, Mr. Hennessy.”
Aiden’s eyebrows lowered. “For what?”
Paige threw open her door, and in a flurry of red hair and long legs and motherly affection, she filled the entire front yard with her presence.
Her hands ran over my hair, my shoulders, and then tilted my chin to the side. “Oh my gosh, Isabel, we are going straight to the hospital. What is the matter with you?”
I stood, and when I grimaced at a twinge in my leg, she set her hands on her hips and glared at me.
“You told me her head was fine,” she said to Aiden. Paige pointed at the bandage on my head. “You call that fine?”
His eyes were huge, and he glanced at me for help. “I—”
I shrugged because I’d had more than a decade to get used to her.
Logan approached at a normal speed, and with normal people skills, he held his hand out to Aiden. “Logan. Nice to meet you.”
Aiden shook it, still casting wary looks at Paige as she clucked and cooed over my wrist, which was rewrapped in clean bandages after my bath. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Paige,” Logan said evenly.
She didn’t so much as look at him. “Not the time to rein me in, buddy.” Her eyes were pinned to me. “You’re sure this isn’t broken?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Trust me, if the pain or swelling was worse today, I’d let you take me. But I’m fine.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust your opinion on that, Miss I refused to get checked out at the hospital.”
Anya came next to me and tugged on my good hand. “Is this your mom? She’s pretty.”
“Kinda,” I explained. “I was fourteen when she married my brother, so even though she’s my sister-in-law, she’s my mom in all the ways that matter.” Paige sniffled noisily, and I gave her a look. “Do not start crying right now.”
Paige softened her posture, giving Anya a sweet smile. “You must be Anya.”
Anya nodded. “I’m sorry I broke your tree branch.”
“Oh honey, you don’t need to apologize for that. I’m just happy you’re all right.”
Paige straightened, and Logan slid an arm around her waist. He eyed my wrist. “How bad’s the sprain?”
“Grade two,” Aiden interjected. “If I had to guess.”
“I love when athletes make medical diagnoses like they’re doctors,” Paige said to me. “It’s my favorite thing ever.”
Logan ignored her. “I made you an appointment with the team chiropractor for an adjustment. He’s coming to the house tomorrow.” When I opened my mouth, he held up a hand. “You are staying with us for a couple of nights.”
“I love it when the men in my life make decisions for me,” I told Paige. “It’s my favorite thing ever.”
Aiden swiped a hand over his mouth, and Logan gave me a level look. “Isabel, my sister whom I love and respect greatly, would you be so kind as to stay at our house while you recover?”
I gestured for more.
“Please,” he managed.
In answer, I gave him a magnanimous smile. “Of course. Thank you for asking so nicely.”
“Aiden, it was nice to meet you. Thank you again,” my brother said, then he walked back to the car, muttering something about sisters and gray hair.
Paige laughed. “Emmett, grab Iz’s backpack. She’s injured.”
“I can carry it.”
“No way, let him be useful. It’s good for him.”
Emmett slung it over his shoulder and waved goodbye to our hosts. “Thanks for letting us stay over.”
Aiden nodded. Anya ran up to Emmett just before he climbed into the back seat and squeezed him in a tight hug. Emmett’s face went bright red, and Paige grinned. “I love that kid.”
Anya ran back in our direction and flung herself around my legs. I smoothed a hand along her downy soft hair. “I hope you feel better soon,” she told me. “Thanks for catching me.”
Paige waved a hand in front of her face, and her eyes were suspiciously bright. Mine probably were too. Aiden was staring at the ground.
“Anytime,” I told her. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
When Anya disappeared back into the house, Aiden finally, finally made eye contact with me. My stomach flipped featherlight at what I saw.
I blew out a slow breath because we both seemed to have lost the ability to pretend anything after what happened in his bedroom.
Paige glanced between us, her eyebrows popping up. “I’m, uhh, just going to get in the car. Aiden,” she said, waiting until he looked at her to continue, “thank you for taking care of my girl.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“I’ll be right there,” I told Paige.
She squeezed my hand, eyes warm and understanding. Honestly, there was no conceivable way she could understand shit because I’d told her so little. That was always my problem. Hold it just long enough that it pressed the seams of my skin to bursting.
I’d done it with my mom leaving.
I’d done it with Paige showing up.
And now I was doing it with Aiden.
All the big things, the changes that I hadn’t seen coming, the pieces that made me who I was. And now, I knew, he was part of that. Even if he may not be able to say the same.
Neither one of us spoke for a moment after Paige left us alone.
“I’ll probably take a day or two off work,” I said quietly.
His brows lowered.
“I’ll go crazy sitting at home.”
Aiden sighed, briefly moving his gaze to the car where Logan and Paige weren’t even pretending not to watch us. “I’d feel better if you took the whole week. Definitely no teaching.”
“I’ve already got my classes covered.” I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt because I had nothing to do with my hands. “If I take this whole week off, that means I miss most of the next two weeks.”
He tilted his head. “Why?”
“My sister’s wedding. It’s on the calendar.” I sighed. “And the—” My voice cut off because it wasn’t like I owned the self-defense class. But it was important to me. To him, too.
I saw in his face that he wanted to ask, in the way he opened his mouth, in the searching way he watched me. But no words came out, and the searching stopped when he turned his attention to the car again.
Standing in the silence with him no longer felt tolerable, and that realization could so easily turn to frustration, to anger, if I let it.
He wanted me. I knew he did.
“Thank you, Aiden,” I said.
His jaw clenched. And nothing.
Right.
“You’re welcome.”
There was so much I wanted to scream at him in the wake of that. In the wake of those bullshit, politely spoken phrases. I wanted the Aiden who sat in the dark with me. But instead, I chose to protect what was left of my energy after a really draining twenty-four hours, and I walked to the car with my head high.