Page 98 of Aiden & Lily

That was why she found herself sitting in the dark in front of Aiden’s place. She’d been there for an hour and had nearly given up waiting when she saw headlights approaching.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Aiden.

Parker stopped short when he saw her. His brows furrowed. “You okay?”

She nodded, not sure how much Aiden might have told his brother. Lily might love hearing all the gossip going on in town, but she certainly didn’t like it when her dirty laundry was aired for anyone to hear. Perhaps that was something she needed to work on.

Parker settled beside her, and she gaped at him. He was dressed nicely—like he’d just been on a date. She’d never seen him wearing a suit before. The tie around his neck was pulled loose, and he tugged at it to loosen it further. He eyed her for a long moment, then sighed. “What did he do this time?”

She barked out a laugh. “What makes you think he’s the one who did something? What if I’m the one to blame?”

He arched a brow at her. “Are you?”

She didn’t answer, merely placed her hands between her knees and stared out at the road.

“That’s what I thought.”

They were quiet again. It was nice—something she hadn’t expected. He didn’t push her. He didn’t demand to know why she was waiting or if she’d tried calling Aiden. He just sat.

Lily turned to face him. “Do you like my sister?”

His whole body tightened. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his skin paled considerably. “I…what…huh?”

She laughed, turning her focus to the dark road again. “Just curious.”

“And?”

“And I’d say that’s a yes.”

Parker snorted out a laugh of disbelief. “I like your sister as much as I like you. How about that?”

Scrunching up her nose, Lily thought about it for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Nope. I don’t buy it.”

He chuckled again. “How about we move this party inside and wait for him there? I assume you tried calling?”

She nodded. “Yes, but I think his phone is dead.”

“Hmm.”

Cutting him a quick look, she frowned. “Hmm? What’s that? What’s hmm?”

He smiled, but not at her directly. “So, are you going to come inside?”

“Pass.”

Parker sighed.

Once again, they were left to their quiet thoughts. She didn’t mind his company. Not when she didn’t feel like he was trying to figure her out. Perhaps that was what he liked as well.

“You know,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “He loves you.”

A knowing smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, I believe he does.”

“You make him really happy. I don’t think I’ve seen him behave like this with anyone. Ever.”

This time she snickered. “You mean keeping secrets from people purely out of self-preservation?”

Parker winced. “Yeah, I suppose so.” He blew out a breath and faced her fully. “It’s not an excuse. I want to preface what I’m going to say next with that. I want you to know I never condoned him keeping anything from you, but perhaps I can help you understand.”