I take a breath and a swig of the sweet wine. “Your sister, sort of.”
“How so?”
Heat rushes up my cheeks. It sounds lame to every guy I have ever told, and I don’t feel like being judged right now. But I’m also not willing to lie to those piercing blue eyes. “When wewere kids, I hated being home. I love my family now, but back then, things were… rough. It felt like I didn’t have a real home. But Carlie always welcomed me. Even though she’s a little older than me, she never made that an issue, and always included me with her same-age friends. Everybody should have that in their life… a place or a person that feels like home.” I shrug. “So, I like making people feel welcome. Hospitality felt like a natural fit.” And now, I brace for the mockery.
He smiles. “I’m glad she could do that for you. Everyone deserves a home.”
I blink a few times, because I don’t know if I heard him right. “Seriously?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Every other guy I’ve told that to teased me about it.”
“You know some shitty guys, then.”
I snort a laugh at that. “You’re not wrong.”
“Carlie says you’re about to graduate. You excited to be done?”
“Terrified,” I admit. “Is that normal?”
He smiles, softer this time. “Yeah. Means you care.”
Our knees brush. Neither of us moves away. In fact, I’m fighting the urge to move closer to him. I blame the chill in the air, but I’m lying to myself, and I know it. “What do you know about caring about a job?”
“I’m a firefighter. Caring is a good fifty percent of the job.” He takes my glass to refill it.
“You’re not what I expected,” I say quietly.
“Careful, Sunshine,” he murmurs as he pours. “That usually isn’t a compliment.”
I meet his gaze, pulse racing. “I meant it as one.”
His fingers linger when he hands me my glass. The air between us hums under my skin. I should say something about my boyfriend.
But we’re on a break. I don’t feel like explaining all of that to Aiden, when I’m not even sure I understand it. David was adamant. He said, “I just need some time away from you to figure things out.”
Maybe I do, too.
But Aiden is Carlie’s brother. Older. Brooding. Too damn off-limits in a dozen ways I shouldn’t even be cataloging.
I tell myself I’m imagining the pull. That I’m tired of David’s bullshit. That long study sessions and school stress have muddled my head. But when his dark blue eyes meet mine, something tightens in my chest. A quick fantasy springs to mind—him holding me as we watch the sunrise.
Stop that.
But he’s nothing like the men I’ve been around lately. My classmates are mostly jocks and guys who think a hospitality degree is something you use to meet women. Aiden looks at me like he’s listening, not just waiting until it’s his turn to speak. He’s not some gate-keeping, pompous film studies major, or in David’s case, a math prodigy with too many suits.
It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me want to lean in. So I don’t.
“So, why did you stay when everyone else left?” I ask.
“You shouldn’t be left behind in a cabin in the woods all by yourself, cleaning other people’s messes because you’re too good not to. They took advantage of your kindness, and that’s shitty of them. The least I could do is try to help.”
Is that the only reason?
I don’t ask it out loud. But I want to. I want to know whether the heat I feel is one-sided.
Now, it’s just the two of us by the fire, the bottle of wine between us dwindling, much like the space between us. I could pretend not to notice, but he smells too good for that.
