Page 52 of Forsaken Trail (Runaway 4)

An impulse. When it came to Aria, I seemed to have them constantly, like that kiss at the greenhouse. I’d never in my life kissed a woman so blindly. It hadn’t been sexual or foreplay. She’d made me so happy that I’d just . . . kissed her.

Maybe I’d kiss her again. The idea should have scared the hell out of me, enough to have me racing into the house and telling Ron he had book box duty. Instead, I inched closer.

Aria’s chin lifted so she could keep my gaze.

And the stray lock of hair was mine. One sweep around the shell of her ear and Aria’s breath hitched.

“Aunt Aria! I’m ready for another plant!”

She jerked.

I stepped away as August rounded the corner of the truck, his arms outstretched.

“Great. Good job.” She smiled at him and kept her gaze anywhere other than me. Then she found the smallest pot she could within reach and loaded it into her nephew’s grip.

I ran a hand over my beard and willed my body to cool. Get it together, Brody. What was wrong with me today?

Aria was off-limits. A hard no. Why couldn’t I seem to grasp that concept? Maybe because I didn’t like the word no, even when I issued it myself.

I put my head down and went to work unloading the truck. The sooner I got away from Aria, the better. She’d be busy unpacking today, and I could get some space. Yes, she was beautiful. Yes, she smelled like a dream.

But she was carrying my child.

That was where this relationship had to end.

It only took an hour to empty the moving truck. While Aria, Clara and August went to return it to the local drop-off, I locked myself in my office, where I spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

This was the only way it would work. Aria had her half of the house. I had mine. Not wanting to risk an encounter, I had Ron deliver dinner to my desk. Not that it mattered. He informed me that Aria had gone to Clara’s.

When night fell and darkness came, I finally ventured out of my office at close to midnight for some fresh air. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, then slipped outside. The light from Aria’s bedroom was off. The blue glow from the pool lit up the patio.

I padded, barefoot, to one of the chairs, hoping to spend a quiet moment looking at the stars. But that plan went to hell with a splash of water.

“Do you always work so late on a Saturday?” Aria was seated at the edge of the pool. She’d rolled up her own jeans to her knees. Her feet and calves dangled in the warm water.

“I didn’t see you.”

“Obviously.” She laughed. “Are you done avoiding me?”

“I wasn’t—” Shit. “Yes.”

She patted the concrete space at her side. “I won’t bite.”

I opened my mouth to correct her, because she most definitely did bite. I’d had the mark to prove it for two days after the wedding. But I caught myself and blocked out all memories of that night.

“Brody. Sit down.”

I unglued my feet and crossed to the pool, bending to cuff my own jeans before putting my feet in the water beside hers.

Aria kicked her legs and wiggled her toes, then leaned back, using her arms as a brace, as she looked up at the sky.

Diamonds studded the endless night. The white haze of the Milky Way threaded through the stars’ glowing beams.

“I used to climb on top of the delivery van at the junkyard and look up at the stars. It’s better than TV, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I do.” I leaned back too, taking my first deep breath. “What kind of delivery van?”

“It wasn’t entirely different than the one I drove down here, though the one at the junkyard hadn’t worked in years. It had gotten into an accident. The front end was all smashed and crumpled. But the box had a fairly solid floor. There were a few jagged tears and holes from the accident, but we found some plastic to cover them up. It let the sunshine in and kept the rain out. And the rodents.”