Page 30 of Aiden & Lily

Lily placed her hands lightly on his shoulders, her voice softening. “You like to compete in the rodeo. You’re a cowboy by trade. You like your privacy. And you have a brother.”

“You’re missing one thing,” he murmured. Their faces were inches apart and she searched his eyes for a hint of what he might be referring to. Then she felt his hands come around her waist.

Her breath hitched.

Christopher’s eyes didn’t leave hers. His touch was warm, but careful. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.

His thumb brushed along her jawline, barely there. “I really like you.” His lips quirked upward. He leaned a little closer, then stopped.

Lily’s breath caught in her throat. “Why?”

His hands stilled at her waist. “You intrigue me. There’s something about you that… I can’t get out of my head. I know you care about your family. You’re really close to your sister. You like country living.”

She huffed. “Most people can claim those things.”

Christopher’s smile softened. “Maybe. But most people don’t look me straight in the eye and tell me the parts of themselves they’re still working on.”

She blinked.

“You wear your heart on your sleeve,” he said quietly. “You know your flaws, and you’re not ashamed of them, but you don’t allow yourself to be controlled by them. You speak your mind instead of pretending your life is perfect. You don’t know just how… refreshing that is in a person.” His gaze moved over her face, searching. “A lot of people hide who they are. They only show what’s on the surface. But you? You let me see you. The real you. And if I’m being honest, I can’t get enough.”

She gaped at him. This didn’t seem real.

He wasn’t real.

Normal guys didn’t act like this.

They sat like that for endless seconds, with mist rising around them and the glow of the moon overhead. He wanted to know her. The Lily who didn’t have to shy away from her true self.

And it made her want to do the same for him.

“So tell me,” she whispered. “Tell me about the real Christopher.”

His grip on her tensed slightly, and he looked away. “There’s not much to share.”

“So start with the boring stuff. I’m game with that,” she pressed.

He seemed to scrutinize her for a moment. Then he nodded curtly. “Okay. Well, when I was a kid, my mom left us—my dad and me. She just… left.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m so?—”

“I don’t remember her at all. And honestly, my dad found someone better. He married her. She adopted me, then gave me a brother.”

She smiled softly.

“I never felt like I was missing out on anything. But as I got older…” He sighed. “It turned out that my folks unintentionally picked favorites. My baby brother could do no wrong. He got good grades. Never got in trouble. He was the easy kid.”

That had her frowning. “I’m sure they?—”

“Yeah, I know they didn’t mean to.” He shrugged. “To be fair, I wasn’t exactly the kid who fulfilled all their expectations. I nearly didn’t graduate. I didn’t want to go to college, but I did end up getting an associate’s degree. That was nothing compared to when my brother started his construction company. Anything I managed to do, he did better.”

“Christopher—”

He flinched, and his hands dropped from her sides, but he didn’t pull away. “I got used to it. And it’s fine, honestly. It’s easier to fly under the radar when your folks are putting all their eggs in the little brother basket.”

He said it with a little laugh, but she knew better.

This was a sore subject. She got the feeling that no one ever chose him. Not first. Not fully. Christopher felt lost and overlooked. He didn’t have to say that outright for her to know it was true. And she didn’t know what to do with that ache in her chest.