If the physical proof hadn’t been enough, Aaron had told me his dad always ownedwhitecars.
His dad owned car dealerships. Not just one or two, or the little, used car ones on the side of the freeway or took up space on corners of streets in certain neighborhoods. They were huge dealerships. And his dad—granddad, family, whatever—ownedthem.
Hadn’t he told me he didn’t want to join the family business and everyone thought he was dumb? Hadn’t he said his dad would have supported him financially if he’d needed something? Hadn’t he specifically told mehe was fine on money? Always sovague.
Why hadn’t he just… told me? Did he think I was a golddigger?
The answer to that question came to me immediately, making me feel foolish. No, he wouldn’t think that. He had to have his reasons for not being up front with me about his family’s businesses. He had to. Iknewthat.
The greatest question remained: who had he been on the phone with? Did his dad own the beach house? I knew I could find out at least the second question, but going behind his back feltsleazy.
I needed to trust him. I needed to not take his silence personally. Ineeded—
“Sorry about that,” Aaron said, stepping onto the porch with an expression that seemed a little too forced. He cleared his throat as he sat down and gave me a smile I knew he wasn’t feeling. “What do you think about going fishingagain?”
* * *
“Goodnight,”Brittany and Des called out as they made their way toward thestairs.
Everyone else had already gone to bed, or at least headed to theirrooms.
Aaron, who had been seated on the love seat while we’d been watching a DVD ofThe Mummythat he’d “found” in a binder full of other movies, sat up in his seat and looked over in my direction, his expression carefully blank, just like it had been the entire afternoon and evening since we’d gotten back from fishing. He’d been trying his best to act normal, sweet, like usual while we’d been out in the surf, but I could tell something was on his mind. I just didn’t know what exactly. “Youtired?”
We hadn’t talked much while we’d been fishing, with Des coming along. I’d gone to the beach with Mindy and Brittany once we got back when Aaron had claimed he needed a nap and had stayed at the house. By the time we made it back after two hours of lying under the umbrella, we had found all three of the guys passed out throughout the house. Aaron on one recliner, Max on the big couch, and Des had apparently been sleeping in his room from what Brittany had said. I’d helped her make dinner, and by the time we were done, everyone hadwokenup.
It wasn’t too much of a stretch to say that I had tried to give him his space when I could still tell there was something going on with him that he didn’t want to share. I’d spent the last few hours, especially during the movie, reminding myself that he’d invited me to spend time with me. Because he cared about me. Not for me to act like a heartbroken twat who ignored him and got her feelings hurt for noreason.
You would figure I’d know by that point how complicated life could be, but apparently Ididn’t.
So his dad—hisfamily—was rich and he hadn’t said a word about it.Sowhat?
So there was someone calling the house who made him mad enough for his entire demeanor to change and he didn’t want to talk about it.Sowhat?
I shook my head, trying to keep the expression on my face a clear, easygoing one that didn’t haveyou break my heart by keeping things from mewritten all over it. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known that coming here. “I’m not tired,areyou?”
“No,” he answered, rubbing his hands over his khakishorts.
I watched him, that beautiful face, the resigned-looking language printed all over his body, and honestly, it made me ache. What couldIdo?
“Want to take a walk on the beach?” I asked him before I thought itthrough.
To give him credit, he didn’t hesitate. He nodded andstoodup.
It didn’t take us long to go down the stairs and out of the house, Aaron grabbing a flashlight from the mudroom on the first floor though he didn’t bother turning it on during our walk down the moonlit street and through the homes in the neighborhood. I’d already done the walk enough to know exactly how many beach umbrellas we would find and how many chairs would beundereach.
I wasn’t surprised when Aaron headed straight to the same spot we’d gone to watch the sunrise that first morning. He lowered himself to the ground, the sound of him sighing the only noise other than the waves I could hear. It made me want to cry. I didn’t want to see him like this; I didn’t care who or what could have caused it. I just didn’t want him with this… whatever it was, taking away so many of the things I loved about him. Knowing there was a line I needed to straddle, I tried to think of what I could say or do and simply went for the simplestoption.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I took a seat a foot away from him, stretching my legs out. I didn’t have the heart to punish him for being secretive. He was my friend, and most importantly, I caredabouthim.
He nodded, his gaze on the water, but it was this distracted kind of thing that only reiterated he was going through something and not exactlywinning.
I was sure he had his reasons, and if I hadn’t already made it clear enough he could talk to me about anything, well, he was dumb and he should have known better by that point. “Are you having a good time so far?” I went with instead of pressuring him to talk to me about whatever or whoever was onhismind.
Aaron nodded, and I forced myself to quit wondering things that had nothing to do with me. “It’s gone by faster than I thought itwould.”
“I know,” I agreed with him, shifting my gaze toward the dark water. “I’m dreading goingbackhome.”
There was a pause and then a “Youare?”
