Page 59 of Aiden & Lily

Lily threw a pillow at her sister. “I’m not miserable,” she insisted. “I just…”

How could she say she felt off when she didn’t know why?

Jasmine studied her for a long moment, then sighed. “You know what you need? You need to go out.”

Snorting, Lily picked up the book she’d been reading, though she didn’t know why she bothered. She couldn’t stay focused long enough to follow the story. “Aiden is working. I can’t go out.”

“Oh, come on. You’re not going to be one of those people, are you?”

Lily peeked at her. “One of what people?”

“The kind of person who doesn’t go out unless their boyfriend is with them. Who said you need to go out with him? You can come with me. Granted, you’ll be a third wheel…”

Lily’s eyes flared wide. “You’re going out on a date? With who? Please tell me it’s Parker.”

Jasmine threw back her head with a laugh. “He is so not my type.”

Except that they were.

Lily had seen it from the first moment they met. Aiden had seen it, too. Parker and Jasmine had similar views on relationships and what they wanted from life. The only problem was that neither one seemed interested in risking anything romantic.

Or perhaps that was the point.

They understood each other well enough to recognize the danger.

Lily sighed. “Okay, so who are you seeing?”

“Someone you don’t know. But we’re going to meet up at the country club. You should come. It should be fun.” Jasmine bounced onto the edge of the bed and plucked at Lily’s pajamas. “But you’re definitely going to have to change.”

Lily laughed and nudged her sister with her toe. “Since when do you believe in love again?”

“I don’t.”

She said it with such a flippant tone that Lily gave her a double take.

“Then why are you going on dates again? Isn’t that… against everything you do believe?”

Jasmine dropped with an exaggerated sigh onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I want to believe in love. I really do. I want to find what Mom and Dad had and be able to connect with someone so entirely that I can’t fathom living without them.But…” She rolled her head so she could look Lily in the eye. “I just can’t.”

Her voice had gone quieter.

Less teasing.

“So I’ll keep going out with guys until I find someone I can tolerate, and I’ll live my life vicariously through you.”

Lily frowned. “That’s really sad. Are you sure you don’t think you could connect with Parker?”

Her sister rose onto her elbows, nose wrinkling. “Nah. There’s no way he’d make me as happy as Aiden makes you. I like Parker too much to lock him into a relationship where he’ll never have that.”

The words were practical. They were also strangely tender. Jasmine might not believe in romance for herself, but she cared enough about Parker not to ask him for less than he deserved.

The warmth in Lily’s chest faded and was replaced by a chilling reality. Jasmine had no idea what it was like to hide a relationship from everyone.

Hiding what she had with Aiden was wearing on Lily to the point that she wasn’t sure how long she could keep doing it. Hadn’t she broken up with Reese because she wasn’t happy with the way their relationship was going? She’d felt like she wasn’t being prioritized, even though she couldn’t blame Reese for any of it.

His job was important. She understood that, which was why they’d broken things off amicably.

But this was different. Aiden was here. And still, most of the time, she couldn’t have him where anyone might see. Was it so bad that Lily wanted to enjoy her love out loud?