***
Aiden was waiting for us when we landed. Taylor ran to him, rolling her luggage behind her. She was moving so fast it tipped over and threw her off balance. She just laughed and picked it up, righting it as Aiden closed the distance between them. He pulled her into a bear hug and her feet came off the ground. He released her and eased her back onto her feet as I stepped up beside him, careful not to get too close to Taylor lest I seem overly familiar with her.
“Man, you guys have nice tans,” he complimented. “Did you do anything other than lay on the beach the whole time?”
I nearly choked, swallowing hard past the guilt clogging my throat. I didn’t think it would be this hard to face him after giving in to the temptation that was his little sister, but the remorse was starting to creep in. Taylor glanced at me, but I wouldn’t meet her gaze. I wasn’t ready to confess, and I wouldn’t allow him to glean any information on my betrayal from my expression.
“There was a lot to do at the resort,” I offered with an easy smile, hoping he couldn’t tell I wasn’t being completely forthcoming. “We went scuba diving and paddle boarding, went to a dolphin encounter, and rode in a boat with a glass bottom.” I let my voice trail off and my eyes drifted to Taylor, silently encouraging her to add to the conversation. I planned to tell Aiden about us eventually, but not here in the middle of the airport in front of all these people.
“The water trike was my favorite,” she gushed, picking up on the direction I was steering the conversation. “And oh, my goodness, the food!” she exalted. “It was delicious.”
Aiden watched her, taking in her excitement before letting his gaze flit back to me. He studied me for a long second before returning his focus to her.
“What else?” he asked.
He’s probing. Why? Does he suspect something? Did he think there was a chance something would blossom between us when he suggested I take her?
“Oh, there was a sunset cruise,” Taylor added. “It was amazing.” I couldn’t agree with her more. It had been fun to tease her, to slip my hand up her thigh and beneath her dress just to hear her breath hitch. But I couldn’t tell him that. “And we got massages on the beach.”
Shit. Those last two items sounded like something a couple would do. We hadn’t even hooked up yet when we had the massage, but mentioning that along with the cruise sounded like we were lovers returning from our honeymoon. The irony was not lost on me that I was supposed to be doing just that, but not with the woman standing beside me.
“Sounds like you guys had a great time,” Aiden offered, taking Taylor’s suitcase from her. “I figured you two would be tired and hungry, so I thought we’d have dinner and then I’ll take you home.” The last part was aimed at Taylor.
I had wondered why he was here. I didn’t expect him to be waiting on us, but he’d known when our flight was supposed to land.
“That sounds great! I’m starving,” Taylor moaned.
After agreeing to meet at our favorite Italian restaurant, Taylor left with Aiden and I headed to my car. Once we arrived and were seated at a small round table, we ordered three different pasta dishes, each of us sampling all of them like we used to do when we were kids. I tried not to look at Taylor too much, but I didn’t want to seem like I was avoiding her and raise suspicion. Aiden was watching us closely, looking for any sign that our relationship had changed while we were gone. Or maybe that was my guilty conscience talking.
I didn’t think it would be this hard to face him again, but my mind kept returning to that day by the pool when we were younger. He was so adamant that I stay away from Taylor. If he’d changed his mind about that, he would have said something, right? Or maybe since I’d been with Gianna the last three years, he just let it go, figuring nothing would ever happen between us because I was committed to someone else.
I found myself sweating and tugging at the collar of my shirt nervously. Would I be able to stand up to my best friend and tell him I hooked up with his baby sister and wanted to see where our relationship would go? Would I lose his friendship for disrespecting him and not honoring his wishes? I was dangerously close to hyperventilating and was afraid I would pass out if I didn’t get some air.
“Excuse me,” I said as calmly as I could and stood from the table. I hurried to the restroom, bursting through the door and bracing my hands against the sink. Turning on the faucet, I splashed cold water on my face. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror for fear I wouldn’t like what I saw. Had I irrevocably destroyed my friendship with Aiden? Would he forgive me for what I’d done?
Once I collected myself, I returned to the table and found the Wesley siblings joking and laughing. The tension eased from my shoulders and jaw as I took my seat between them.
“You should have seen him!” Taylor guffawed, her gaze settling on me. “His arms went flailing in the air and he hit that water hard.” She drew out the last word, exaggerating it for emphasis. She proceeded to regale Aiden with a dramatic retelling of our paddle boarding adventure, making my lack of balanced gracefulness the butt of her joke.
“I wasn’t the only one,” I reminded her with a grin, and she giggled at the memory. She’d had her fair share of dunks in the pale blue water.
“That’s true,” she admitted easily.
After dinner, we headed to our respective homes. I fought the urge to pull Taylor in for a kiss, knowing her brother would see and we’d have to explain ourselves. She opened the passenger-side door to Aiden’s silver Beemer and looked my way. She hesitated, glancing longingly for a moment before settling into the seat next to her brother. I watched their tail lights as they drove away, wondering when I’d get to see her again.
It would be a while.
I spent most of Sunday unpacking my suitcase and catching up on laundry. My day didn’t start until after noon since I was so exhausted, I slept through three different alarms on my phone. When I finally rolled out of bed, I discovered a text from Taylor.
Taylor: I have a job interview Wednesday. Wish me luck.
Me: That was fast. How did you land an interview in the sixteen hours we’ve been home?
Taylor: Aiden knows the manager. He got me the interview last week while we were gone.
Aiden was doing everything he could to help his sister succeed. He was so protective of her. He would lose his shit if he knew what happened with her professor and the university. I was half tempted to tell him, then we could go down there and give them a piece of our minds; but Taylor confided in me, trusting me to keep her secret. She didn’t want her family to know what happened, what she’d done. If her parents and brother found out, she would forever feel as though a red letter “A” was burned onto her chest.
Me: That’s great! You’re going to nail it.
Taylor: Thanks!
Silence stretched between us and I wondered what she was thinking. If she was in front of me right now, I wouldn’t have to guess. She’d tell me, either with her words or by her expression. She was an open book, and quickly becoming my favorite read.
I set my phone down, thinking our conversation was over, but it chimed with an incoming text a minute later.