Page 29 of Aidan (The Doherty Mafia)
If I asked her, would she tell me the truth?
By the afternoon, after my mind had been clogged by these thoughts all morning—I started to tell myself there had to be a completely plausible explanation.
Maybe they knew each other. Maybe they were related? Maybe they had been neighbors or childhood friends.
After all, Leah wasn’t connected to the Dohertys anymore. In fact, she became involved with the family or our businesses, so what would the Barons want from her?
Her meeting with that guy had to be completely disconnected from me. This had to be the reason why she didn’t think it was worth mentioning to me. It wasn’t important.
Around five, I decided I was done for the day.
I was itching to see her again. Killian had already left and Colin was on the phone when I made my way to the bike. Before I could ride away, he came running up to me.
“Are you going to see the Michaels chick?” he asked. I thought I detected a hint of concern on his face. It made me a little angry. Leah wasn’t a threat to him. She was completely harmless. The only way she was a threat was by being capable of fucking me over again.
This time, I was armed with a tall wall of defense. I wasn’t going to let her get to me. Or at least that was what I told myself.
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. Either way, I’m the one fucking her, you need to stop thinking about her so much,” I remarked.
Colin smirked.
“Yeah, whatever. I’m just sayin’. See what Reese has turned Killian into?”
That made me laugh. Now I saw what was happening—Colin was freaking out because Killian had a woman and he didn’t want to lose another brother to a chick.
I thumped his shoulder and kicked my bike to life.
“Don’t worry, little brother. Leah doesn’t have that kind of hold on me.”
Another lie.
I felt it like a punch in the gut when I rode away. It had only been a few days since she was back in town and already, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.
I showed up at Leah’s door with two coffees in my hand and a bag of glazed donuts. I remembered she used to love them, especially because her mother wasn’t a fan of allowing sweet treats in their home.
Leah’s eyes glowed with joy when she saw the donuts in my hand.
“I haven’t had one of these in a long time!” she exclaimed, picking one out quickly.
I followed her into the apartment, smiling at how much she enjoyed the donut. The sugar coated her lips. I thought about kissing her, but decided to let her enjoy it first.
“Twice in one day. I must have done something right!”
I sipped the coffee and she sat down on her couch. I sat comfortably close to her, handing her the other coffee.
“You definitely did something right last night.”
That made her giggle girlishly. Fuck. I was going weak for her every passing minute.
She’d changed into a pair of leggings that clung to her, showing off her every curve. Her top was silky and long, just about covering that ass I loved so much.
“How was your mom?”
She shrugged. I noticed how her eyes darkened a little. I wished I didn’t have to bring this up, but I knew it constantly played on her mind.
It was the reason why she was back in town after all.
“They’re doing their best to keep her out of pain. It’s the best we can hope for at this stage.”
“You’re being a good daughter, despite everything that’s happened in your past.”
Leah stared at her feet. The tip of her nose had turned a dark red. She was on the verge of crying and I really hoped she wouldn’t. I hated seeing her like that.
“Anyway, I thought we should plan a getaway. Spend a weekend somewhere away from here. Just the two of us.”
I wasn’t sure what made me say that. She looked surprised too. Just a couple of days ago, we were constantly arguing. I still hadn’t forgiven her for choosing to be obedient to her parents rather than choosing to stay with me. Could I even go? My family had certain expectations from me now that we were at the cusp of a full blown war with the Barons. I still didn’t know if I could trust Leah—but now the idea was out there.
Maybe we could spend a weekend together somewhere and just forget about everything else that was messy in our lives.
Leah seemed to swallow a lump in her throat. She hesitated. Maybe we weren’t on the same page like I thought we were.
Then she inched closer to me on the couch and gently rested her head on my shoulder.
Her hair fell over my arm like a curtain. I didn’t want to move because I didn’t want anything to fuck up this moment.
