‘There are some things you can’t help but glean when your fiancé is in a friendship group like that. They talkallthe time. You hear things.’
‘Like what?’
‘Astrid would have my balls in a vice if I told you,’ he laughed gruffly. ‘But I do know they’re always trying to set Sienna up on dates; from which I gather there’s no Mr Mastrangelo in the picture.’
Aiden grunted.
‘Look.’ Blake shrugged. ‘It’s your life. Your choice. But she’s here, so are you. The cocktails are flowing, the sunsets are amazing, and I reckon you’ll kick yourself if you don’t make the most of the time you’ve got.’
Aiden didn’t listen. Or rather, hetriednot to listen. Aiden didn’t want to think about Sienna, and the week ahead, and the thought of watching the sun set over the water with her, nor the prospect of sitting side by side, drinking cocktails and shooting the breeze like they’d done countless times all those years ago. He didn’t want to think about spending time with her and starting to let her get under his skin again, in that way she had, of making him feel things he never had any intention of feeling. Things that made him vulnerable. Things that scared the hell out of him, because he and Blake both knew what the flip side to love was – they’d seen it. Every time their dad had pounded on their mom when he’d had too much to drink, every time he’d pounded on them. Even before he’d met Sienna, Aiden had known he’d never, ever get into a situation that might lead him down that path.
He wasn’t his father.
But he had no intention of putting himself in a situation of needing to prove that to himself.
Then again… it was onlyone week.
She lived in Ashbury Falls. He was just about to sign a new contract, with a shit tonne of pressure to sign for another two after that. After this week, they’d probably go at least another decade without seeing one another. Hell, by then she’d undoubtedly be married with a gaggle of kids. He wasn’t an idiot. The fact that someone like Sienna was single didn’t seem likely to last. The fact she was here… that they’d been thrown together by the strangest set of life circumstances… would he be an idiot to throw this away?
To let her get away?
Sweat beaded his brow.
Notaway,away. He wasn’t thinking about anything dumb, like forever. But just in terms of this week. A week, seven days, with no pressure to look beyond that. No pressure to think of the future. No pressure to think at all – Sienna always did have a gift when it came to making Aiden simply exist for the moment.
Maybe that was different now. Maybe he’d idealised Sienna in his mind, idealised what they’d once had, because of the time in his life when he’d known her. Because she’d been his first in so many ways. Maybe he’d find out, this week, that she was actually nothing special, and he could take her off the pedestal she’d somehow climbed right up onto…
He made a gruff sound, as if he was dismissing Blake’s words, when all he could do was let them roll around and around like waves against the shoreline.
‘Now, listen, Mom arrives Wednesday.’ Blake changed gears. ‘Are you good to meet her off the plane? You know how she feels about boats.’
Aiden looked at Blake as if the question was coming from the moon. ‘Huh?’
‘Mom. You still good to pick her up? I mean, I can send someone else, like Chuck, maybe, but I know she’d prefer?—’
‘I’ll go,’ Aiden said, galvanised into action by the mention of the other man, who’d made it pretty damned obvious that he was also relishing the prospect of having a week to get to know Sienna. ‘Just send me the flight details.’
And with that, he went back into the cocktail party; this time, he didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t looking for her. If they only had a week, he might as well start making the most of it.
5
‘Going somewhere, Mastrangelo?’
His voice ran down her spine like sun-warmed butter. She threw a glance over her shoulder, aiming for flirty, but failing, because her heart did a horrible little twist and squeeze and she felt the bottom fall out of her world, momentarily. She feared she was more wide-eyed doe in the headlights of an oncoming semi than siren-y vixen.
‘Shhh.’ She lifted a finger to her lips, covering the strange blip with determination and moving one hand to the spaghetti strap of her dress. She ran her fingers along the length of it, sure she’d seen some beautiful actress do that in a movie. Only the actress had looked sultry and desirable whereas Sienna suspected she looked as though she were scratching an itch on her ring finger. She dropped her hand. ‘Don’t let Astrid hear.’
‘You’re leaving?’
Sienna nodded. ‘I am.’
‘Can I twist your arm to stay for another coffee?’
She pulled a face.
‘Or a cocktail?’
She gnawed on her lower lip, eyes locked to Aiden without really seeing him. Not as he was now. For a minute, she was slipping back through time; he was a teenager and so was she. The world – their lives – were all before them, and the hope of that sparkled like diamond dust.
