Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2)

She blinked rapidly as if surprised to see me. “Oh. I’m … what? Is everything okay?”

“You tell me.” I settled my arse on her desk. Today she wore a short-sleeve silk blouse that accentuated her curves. Her hair was down, something I noted she’d been doing more often lately. It fell in straight, silky strands around her perfect face. My attention snagged on her full mouth and I fought the urge to steal a kiss. Or ten.

Her eyes glinted with amusement as if she knew my thoughts. “I’m fine. What brings you to my office?”

I wanted to push, but I also had to run the conversation I’d had with my agent this morning by her. “Forster wants me back in training ASAP.”

Aria’s expression turned annoyingly blank. “So you’re leaving?”

Frustrated that she was still hiding herself from me, I buried it because I didn’t want to push too hard. “I hoped it would be all right with the club if my trainer comes to Ardnoch.”

Still no reaction. Just efficient estate manager mode. “You know your membership includes a plus one. We can accommodate your personal trainer. May I ask for how long?”

“About a month, and then I’ll have to leave to go train with the stunt team.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re doing your own stunts?”

Was she worried about me? I smiled at the thought. “Not all of them. But some. I want to be as believable as possible. Matt Damon was Jason Bourne. Daniel Craig was James Bond. Those are the kinds of performances I want to live up to.”

She nodded, lowering her eyes. “Well, be careful.”

“That’s why I’m training.” I leaned in and nudged her leg with my foot. “So, why were you biting your nails when I walked in?” Was it because I was leaving in a month? Was she going to use it as an excuse to break things off between us? Because I wasn’t giving up that easily.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, shifted uncomfortably, and then let out a long, exasperated sigh. I tried to wait patiently through it.

Then she grabbed her phone off the desk and waved it in agitation at me. “I’m worried about Allegra.”

Not what I’d been expecting, but I also wasn’t surprised. Aria had already told me things were strained between them but had gone into little detail. “What’s going on?”

“It’s stupid. I’m being stupid.” Her eyes brightened with tears. “It’s just hormones.”

Aria’s period had arrived last night, so we’d hung out, made out, but not a lot else. Which was more than fine with me. She hadn’t quite realized we were acting like a couple in a relationship, and I didn’t intend to enlighten her until she was already too deep in.

I lowered to my haunches to force her to look at me. “You can tell me anything, princess.”

She flicked a manicured hand near her eye and chuckled unhappily. “I’m acting like a baby.”

“That’s for me to decide,” I joked, smoothing my hands over her thighs in reassurance. “Come on, tell me what’s upsetting you.”

Fiddling with her phone, she took a minute before meeting my gaze. And at that moment, I felt myself falling into her. Falling for her. Because there was nothing more important to me than taking away the sadness I saw buried in her eyes. My hands tightened on her and my words were thick as I pushed, “Talk to me.”

“Maybe it is stupid … but … Allegra always used to tell me she loved me in her texts.” Her voice broke a little as she dropped her phone onto the desk with a thump. “She hasn’t said it since I refused to help her with dropping out of college. I thought things were weird, but not so weird that she wasn’t talking to me. Does that make sense?”

I nodded, pressing closer.

“She hugged me when she left. I thought we were okay.” Without thinking, she sought my comfort, sliding her hands over mine. I turned my palms up and tangled my fingers through hers. “But she’s so distant. She just posted a picture from the South of France. She’s there for spring break and never mentioned to me she was going to an entirely different country. Oh, God …” She tugged on her hands, but I wouldn’t let her go. “I sound about ten years old.”

“You sound hurt,” I disagreed.

“I am.” Fresh tears brightened her eyes. “What? I’m only worthy of my family’s love as long as I do exactly what they want me to do for them? That’s how Mamma has made me feel my whole life, how the guys I’ve dated made me feel … I never thought Allegra would treat me like that.”

An ache scored through me. I hated that Aria was hurting. And I wanted to promise her I would never make her feel that way, but I knew it was not the right time to broach the subject of our relationship. Yet I wanted to fix this for her. “I’m going to give you the same advice you gave me. Speak up.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Sometimes people are so caught in their own shit, they don’t know how deeply their actions can cut others … until it’s pointed out to them.” I brushed my thumbs over the tops of her hands, trying to soothe her. “The girl I met hero-worships her big sister. Loves her. And no one is doing Allegra any good by treating her with kid gloves because she went off the deep end once.” Aria had confided in me that Allegra had gone off the rails a while back and ended up in rehab and therapy after a dodgy hookup with a drug dealer who turned out to be Sloane’s ex. “You all have to accept that she learned a big lesson from that night with Sloane and start treating her normally. Which includes calling her on her bullshit and telling her when she’s hurt you. Call her.”

Aria considered me, the frown between her brows intensifying. “What if I did hurt her?”

“Maybe you did. But you guys need to talk about it because this is eating you up. Nothing is more important than family, princess.”

New emotion sharpened her expression, and her grip tightened in mine. I knew that was for me. Empathy, not pity. And if I wasn’t mistaken, admiration. My chest suddenly felt too tight, and I had to swallow the urge to tell her how I felt. “Call her.” I moved to stand to give her privacy, but Aria refused to let go of me.

She licked her lips nervously. “Will you … will you stay with me while I call her?”

Hope—big, terrifying, brilliant fucking hope—filled me at her request. “Of course,” I answered gruffly.

And so I settled back on the edge of her desk while she dialed her sister’s number. Aria absentmindedly traced a pattern on my knee with her free hand as she waited for the call to connect. Then her gaze moved to mine and she mouthed in disappointment, “Voicemail again.”