Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Aidan’s eyes widened. “No. No, leave it be. Look, Carys and I dealt with this pain a long time ago. We’re going to be fine together. It wouldn’t have worked. Our paths diverged after college, and there was nothing any of us could do.”
Except find a way. Something was off, and TJ had never thought about it before. He’d always thought they needed time to settle in, but what if that wasn’t all there was to the problem?
The way Aidan explained the situation sounded oddly rote. Like he’d memorized the words and spat them out at the appropriate times. He supposed that wasn’t so strange since Aidan probably got asked the question a lot.
“He’s not happy,” TJ said. “I don’t know what he’s telling you, but I’ve been around him a lot in the last year and a half and he’s not the same.”
Aidan picked up his bag. “Well, that’s his choice. We’ve always been here. We didn’t change the plans we’ve been making for years because we want a little glory. He’s the one who walked away. Maybe he found someone else. Maybe he can’t handle what it means to be in the kind of relationship we were in, but he’s gone and won’t be coming back. Not to us.”
“Would you let him?”
Aidan’s shoulders slumped. “No. Not anymore. He broke trust with us, and we’re done. You do know everyone has asked us these questions, right? It gets to be a lot. How about I ask what you’re doing with Lou. She’s a good kid. She doesn’t deserve to be jerked around.”
Yup. That hurt. “First, she’s not a kid. Not anymore, but she was in high school. She might have been super smart, but she was young and naïve. I never meant to jerk her around. I love Lou. I always have. I had no business messing around with Lou back then, and she went to college and our paths diverged.”
“But they came back together when she chucked it all to join the twins’ mad experiment.”
TJ had to tamp down his irritation. “It’s not an experiment.”
“Forgive me if I’m bitter since that team is one of the reasons I lost my partner, but that’s not the point,” Aidan explained. “She’s been on the team for two years and you didn’t approach her. From what I understand you recently rejected her. Again.”
Did everyone know about that? It had happened on a super-classified op. Did anyone know the meaning of the word discretion? “That was a mistake. I’m correcting it now. I’m in love with Lou, and the time is right. I’m going to convince her and marry her, and I hope everyone in the family will support me.”
Aidan gave him a once-over. “Are you sure this isn’t…”
“It’s not fucking trauma.” He was sick of this. “Look—support me. Don’t support me. I’m getting my girl.”
“And when your job takes you away from her when she needs you?” Aidan asked.
“Then I quit my job. She’s more important than any career. I quit and I come home and get on my uncle’s payroll and support her. Hell, I’ll be a great stay-at-home dad. I’ve done what I needed to do. Now it’s time to do what I want, and that’s to be with Lou.”
“All right. I’m glad to hear it,” Aidan replied with a nod.
A slow clap came from the doorway. Kala stood there. She was dressed to go into the office, wearing black slacks and a button-down she managed to make look both badass and feminine. Her bright pink hair was in a neat bun. “Me, too. I guess I need a new nickname for you.”
“Other than Fucking TJ?” He knew what they called him. “Yes. How about Lou’s boyfriend. I’ll take that one.”
Kala chose to ignore that, turning to Aidan. “He okay? He might not mention it but there was a muscle in his left arm that was still twitching on the plane ride back. Should he go in for more tests? I don’t know that he would actually tell us everything that happened to him.”
“I told you,” he argued. “And the twitching seems to have stopped. I feel fine.”
Aidan settled his bag over his shoulder. “I’d still like to do blood work. Otherwise, I’m going to clear him for basic work. I don’t think he should be on a team doing missions for a while.”
“He’s going to be here in Dallas for the forseeable future. I’ll make sure he takes it easy,” Kala assured him. “And Aidan, thank you for coming by. I know it’s hard for you. If it helps at all, Tristan is being an asshole. And he misses you.”
“That doesn’t help. Not at all. But it’s beside the point. Carys and I will always be here when you need us. No matter what dumb shit you’re doing.” Aidan turned and walked away.