Page 39 of Aiden & Lily

Lily sensed him first. She had a knack for feeling his presence, just like he did with her. He could tell when she was looking at him. When she was upset. He might even go so far as to know her thoughts when he was in the right mindset.

Curiosity shifted into surprise, then elation when she recognized him. Her sole attention shifted from Parker to him in an instant.

Aiden already knew Parker wasn’t used to not being the center of attention. He probably wasn’t even bothered by it. But it was enough to have him turning his focus toward Aiden as well.

Then Parker spoke.

And that was when Aiden had a front-row seat to his own demise.

Lily’s brows furrowed.

Her mouth formed a tight line.

Even her flushed skin paled. In fact, she looked a little green. So many questions flickered in her gaze that he had to brace himself for what she might say when he finally reached them.

His own heart stuttered.

Heck, it didn’t even feel like it was beating anymore. He couldn’t breathe. A strange sense of dizziness came over him, and all he wanted to do was abandon the cart so he could run to Lily and shield her from the truth she was about to find out.

No. Not shield her. He wanted to shield himself from what the truth would cost him.

All he could offer her was an apologetic smile.

He didn’t have to look at his brother to know Parker was confused by Lily’s reaction. The way he shifted in Aiden’s peripheral made that perfectly clear.

When he reached the two of them, Lily finally spoke.

“Aiden?” she asked, her voice a barely-there rasp.

He flinched.

“You said your name was Christopher.”

Actually, no. He hadn’t.

She’d known him by that name from his time in the rodeo. But he knew better than to point that out. He hadn’t corrected her, and that made the accusation true enough.

“And this is…” She cut a glance at his brother. “Parker said he was your brother.”

Aiden wanted to tear his gaze away from Lily. He desperately wanted to push pause on this conversation so they didn’t have to have it on the street out front of the hardware store where anyone might overhear.

But he couldn’t move.

He was utterly frozen.

Parker muttered a quiet “Oh, boy,” which had Aiden flicking his eyes to his brother. At least he looked apologetic. He was smart. Of course he’d connected the dots. And as much as Aiden wanted to be furious with him, he couldn’t quite manage it.

This wasn’t Parker’s fault. It was his own fault. He had no one to blame but himself.

The coloring had returned to Lily’s cheeks. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides, and she shook her head like she needed to clear it.

But then her sharp blue eyes turned the shade of ice.

“You lied to me.”

Her words sliced into him.

She was right.