Aiden blinked. From his taciturn father, that was sky-high praise. “Do you want an update on any more of the jobs we have going?”
But Rudy just waved him off. “Nah. Perks of retirement. Not having to give a damn about cost overruns.”
Aiden chuckled because yes, cost overruns had become the bane of his existence.
Then Rudy shocked the hell out of him by saying, “So you’re seeing someone.”
He stiffened. He had never, not once, discussed a woman with his father. In fact, his dad had made it clear years ago that he’d given up on his oldest son settling down, which pretty well closed the book on conversations about his personal life. Back then, Aiden had considered it yet more evidence that the whole world saw how fundamentally unsuited he was for anything deeper than sex. But now Rudy was opening the door for a relationship talk—and just when he felt the least prepared to handle it.
“I am,” he said haltingly.
“And you like this girl?”
Yes. She’s wonderful. She’s funny and vibrant and adorable when she’s nervous. She makes me laugh and she kisses like a dream. And I’m a coward who’s been avoiding her for days.
The torrent of words stalled on his tongue. They were all true, and they terrified him. His entire adulthood proved that he wasn’t the guy a woman like Thea could rely on. Yet at the same time, he missed her touch as much as he missed her laughter. But in the end, all he could bring himself to say was “I like her a lot.”
And those five words were enough to conjure a paternal smile that filled the small apartment where his parents were carving out a new life for themselves.
“Good. That’s good. Your mother and I know how happy you could make the right girl.” His father looked at him and asked, “Do you make her happy?”
Aiden didn’t even have to think about it. “I do.” Or he had, anyway, last weekend. And he wanted to keep making her happy for far longer than that. He just wasn’t sure he knew how.
Twenty-One
Hours later, Aiden and Trip hugged their parents goodbye with a promise to call once they’d made it home safely, then boarded the elevator in silence. They didn’t make it more than two floors before Trip sighed.
“We should’ve visited earlier.”
Aiden glanced over at him, surprised that his brother was voluntarily making conversation. “We really should have. Let’s try to come back soon. Maybe bring Ash next time?” He held his breath, unsure if he’d overstepped by bringing up a touchy subject. But Trip just nodded.
“Yeah. She’d probably love Mom’s Phoenix park.” He stared hard at the ground as he said it, as if the idea needed deep internal scrutiny of some sort. They didn’t talk again until they were on the interstate heading south, and Aiden took advantage of the possible cessation of brotherly hostility to broach the subject of their parents’ retirement.
“Did Mom talk to you about her and Dad’s decision?”
Trip sagged back against the seat, his skull hitting the headrest. “She filled me in.” His brother’s voice held the same resignation that Aiden was grappling with. “I guess we all knew it was coming.”
“Sooner than we ever expected though.”
Trip offered him a half smile. “At least it won’t be hard finding a replacement for Mom.” When Aiden looked at him curiously, he said, “Your girlfriend, dude. She kicks ass at it. We should hire her full time.”
Aiden almost swerved onto the shoulder as the idea took hold and expanded in his brain. How had he not seen it? Thea was cheerfully competent at everything he’d seen her do. She fixed fake kitchen displays and talked down pissed-off clients and God only knew what else was in her arsenal of skills and her magic purse. For thirty years, their mother had ruled the company with warmth and a firm hand, and Thea would be an amazing replacement to take them into the next thirty years.
One problem though.
“It’s not that easy,” Aiden said. “For one thing, we’re not…”
Trip raised his brows. “Not really dating?”
Aiden’s hands clenched around the steering wheel. “Fine. You’re right.”
“Shocker,” Trip said flatly, but he didn’t sound pissed this time, just amused.
It gave Aiden the push he needed to have an honest conversation with his brother about his personal life. “It started off as a way to help each other out, but now it’s… complicated.”
Trip gave a surprised grunt. “Complicated? Didn’t think you did complicated.”
“I don’t,” he snapped, rubbing a hand over his forehead. “So yeah, if she was just some woman, I’d say we should hire her in a heartbeat. But she’s… I mean, we’re not…”
