Page 4 of Aiden & Lily

Her red hair was like a wildfire. Her blue dress accentuated her curves all the way down to her knees, and her cowboy boots peeked out beneath it as she headed for the stairs to watch the show. Everyone around faded to nothing as he watched her.

Then she disappeared into the crowd.

Who was that girl?

He placed a hand to his chest, feeling the rapid beat he usually only felt right before climbing into the saddle. Aiden wanted to blame the erratic thumping on the fact that he’d be doing just that in a matter of seconds, but he knew better.

He wanted to find that girl and ask her out.

He wanted to know the color of her eyes. Blue? Green? Did she have freckles? Her skin had glowed just like her hair, and even from this distance, there had been something soft and bright about her that made him want a closer look.

A hand thumped him on the shoulder. “You’re up, Christopher.”

Aiden nodded. “Thanks, man.”

He searched the crowd once more but caught no sign of her.

The angel was gone.

2

LILY

Lily frowned at her phone.

“What’s the matter?” Jasmine glanced over her shoulder. “Who’s Reese?”

Lily cut her twin a guilty smile. “That was the guy I was seeing.”

Jasmine’s brow arched. “Was? What happened? I thought you two were working things out.”

Lily sighed. “That was a couple weeks ago. Honestly, it was never going to work. He’s going to be traveling a lot over the next couple of years, and I just… I’m not built for long distance. I need to find someone local.”

Jasmine blew a strand of hair from her face. “But Reese had been local, right? Then that changed. It could change again.”

“Weren’t you listening? It’s not going to change for a long time.” Lily gestured toward her phone. “Case in point. He’s here this month for his sister’s wedding stuff, and he was going to meet us here, but he had to deal with something work related.”

“He bailed on you?” The judgment was clear in Jasmine’s tone. “It’s not like you to be so forgiving.”

Lily rolled her eyes as she typed out a response. “I’m forgiving,” she insisted, “just not on the big stuff.” She cut her sister a look. “We decided to stay friends. He’s coming and going, and I’m staying put. But we get along, and I really like talking to him.”

Her sister’s look of disbelief was almost comical. “You’re kidding. That sounds like a long-distance relationship without all the perks.”

Maybe Jasmine had a point.

Lily was willing to keep up her friendship with Reese, but only on terms that made sense. She didn’t want either one of them trapped in something that couldn’t grow while he was hardly ever around.

“Besides, out of the two of us, you’re the romantic,” Jasmine said. “Aren’t you the one who always says that love will find a way?”

Lily shrugged, turning her attention to the arena. “Sure. And when he comes back for good, if we’re both single, we’ll give it another try.”

Jasmine groaned. “You’re too much of an optimist. And a realist. How can you be both at the same time?”

A giggle slipped past Lily’s lips. “Who knows? Just lucky, I guess.”

Jasmine groaned. “Hardly.” She shifted in her seat. “I hate the bleachers. Remind me again why we decided to come tonight? I could have been sitting at home with a good book. Or we could have gone dancing at the country club. I’d even take burgers over this chaos.” She motioned with a wave of her hand toward the crowd around them.

“Just relax and try to enjoy yourself,” Lily chided. “You promised you’d come with me if I went dancing with you next week.”