Page 19 of Aiden & Lily

He didn’t like the way this conversation was headed.

In general, people deserved respect until they showed they didn’t. Lily was no different. But to hear from her own lips thatshe had a hard time letting something like being late go? He couldn’t help the anxiety that came coursing through him.

Well, shoot.

Her eyes flickered to meet his, then widened. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t talking about you. I mean—” She released a nervous laugh and covered her face with her hands. “What I meant is that, for some reason, I wanted to hear what you had to say about being late. Give you a chance.”

He didn’t like that, either. Because he didn’t deserve it. Not yet anyways.

Swallowing became nearly impossible, and he turned away from her to stare out at the town. “Thank you for giving me a chance. Now, you asked about my brother, it’s a tale as old as time,” he muttered. “Two brothers who don’t get along because they can’t help but compete with each other.”

When he peeked at her, he found her watching with interest.

The honest answer sat right there, waiting. He could tell her about Parker. About feeling like second place in his own family. About the way he’d spent years pretending none of it mattered.

But the more he told her about himself, the more real this would become. And the more real this became, the more it mattered that she didn’t know everything.

“It’s not worth telling,” he said, even though that wasn’t exactly true. “How about you tell me more about yourself? What do you like to do in your spare time?”

She looked ready to argue, but then she sighed and rested her forearms on the railing. “Like hobbies? Or what I like to do with friends?”

“All of it. Whatever you want to tell me.”

Lily smirked. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who won’t answer mine, Christopher.”

He winced, the reminder of everything he was keeping from her hitting him squarely in the chest.

“But fine,” she said. “Let’s see…”

And just like that, his thoughts shifted from his guilt to his infatuation with the woman at his side.

6

LILY

“You can’t actually be serious. Do you know what that man is capable of?”

Lily’s steps faltered as she passed her father’s study. The door was only open a crack. It wasn’t likely that her father even knew of his mistake. The conversation he was having wasn’t meant for her ears.

And yet she couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

“He’s going to ruin us,” her father roared.

Lily winced, then pressed her back against the wall and turned her head so she could hear whoever it was her father was speaking to.

This couldn’t be about Christopher, could it?

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rose said from inside the study. “Why would he show any interest in her if he wasn’t actually infatuated? This could work in our favor.”

“Work in our favor? Do you hear yourself? He’s a Meyer.”

Lily’s eyes widened.

One of her sisters was interested in a Meyer?

That was unheard of. They all knew what would happen if they acted on that kind of interest. She inched closer to the crack in the door, holding her breath so she wouldn’t be caught.

“Penny has a good head on her shoulders,” Rose said, sounding almost too calm. “She wouldn’t just up and go for a guy who was going to bring harm to our family. Besides, it’s not like she’s chasing after the worst one. I’d hardly say Royce Meyers is the kind of man who would date a girl just to infiltrate their family.”