Page 33 of Aiden & Lily

At least Reese seemed to be on Aiden’s side, if not verbally, then by the way he glanced from Mathew over to Aiden with a sort of pity.

If only he knew.

Reese wouldn’t be so quick to show sympathy if he realized why Aiden was so upset. They both had interest in the same girl.

To his credit, Mathew seemed to realize he’d put himself on the spot and not in a good way. He cleared his throat and offered Aiden a beseeching look. “It doesn’t have anything to do with you specifically. It’s more… it’s that you’re my friend.”

Aiden gestured to Reese. “So is he.”

Now Mathew’s irritation matched his own. “Yeah, well, Reese isn’t the kind of guy to date his way through all of Colorado.” He grimaced almost immediately, like he knew the words had come out sharper than he’d intended. Still, he kept going. “He wants to settle down. I don’t have to worry that he’ll treat the girl he wants like a fling. And when it falls apart, I won’t have to hear about it from my cousin and my best friend day in and day out.”

Aiden opened his mouth to argue, but no words came. Because that was what everyone thought of him. Maybe that was what he’d taught them to think.

Parker placed a hand on the table. “You know what? I think we need a change of topic. This is a guys’ outing. No more gossip and no more talk of women. Heaven knows I don’t need that sort of trouble in my life.”

He chuckled, but he was the only one.

Jason was shooting his brother a hard look, making it clear he thought Mathew had gone too far. Reese seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but at their table.

Mathew, on the other hand, looked tired now. Not unrepentant exactly, but too frustrated to take it back.

Aiden knew Mathew didn’t think there was anything wrong with asking his best friend not to date a member of his family. And even though he hadn’t meant to say it quite like that, it had everything to do with what he thought of Aiden as a person.

Head buzzing, Aiden pushed out from the table and got to his feet. “Thanks for the chat, guys. I’m not hungry. I think I’m just going to head out.”

“Aiden—” Parker started.

Aiden shook his head. “You stay. You wanted to touch base with these guys because you’re going to move here permanently. I’m just going to head home.”

His brother didn’t try to follow him out. Neither did any of the others.

Aiden spent the remainder of his day wallowing in the reality that was his life. The one person he looked up to didn’t think of him as highly as he’d thought. Mathew liked him as a friend, but he didn’t respect him enough to trust him with his cousin.

And maybe that hurt so badly because Aiden knew Mathew had every reason to feel that way. He was sneaking around. Hiding things from Reese. Letting Lily call him Christopher and pretending that everything was okay.

If Mathew knew everything, it would only prove him right.

He found himself pulling up to Lily’s property after dark. He crossed the lawn and pulled out his phone. In a few short minutes, the front door opened and Lily stepped out in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt.

She immediately closed the distance between them, worry marring her features. “What’s wrong?”

Aiden didn’t waste a single second. He pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapped around her tight like she was his only lifeline. She stiffened at first, but then relaxed into his hold.

“Christopher?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. He needed to tell her who he was. He needed her to know that he was keeping something from his best friend because he was selfish. He needed to admit that every time she trusted him, he felt like he was stealing something he hadn’t earned.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Not tonight.

“Just… let me hold you,” he murmured into her hair. “Just for a minute.”

She didn’t answer right away. Then her hand moved carefully over his back. “Okay.”

The kindness in that single word nearly undid him.

“I don’t know how to be the kind of man everyone thinks I should be,” he admitted, the words rough and low. “And I hate that I care so much.”

She jerked up her head so she could look him in the eye. “What do you mean?”