“Who told you I pushed Aidan to go for it?”
“Aidan told Lily, who told Penny, who told me.” Gray grinned. “Sensing a pattern? We’re all gunning for you to trip over your two left feet for a woman. It’s your turn.”
“Jesus,” Hud muttered.
“What?”
“I just can’t believe that you have yourself a hot wife and yet the two of you waste your time talking about this shit instead of—”
“Instead of nothing,” Gray said. “Haven’t you heard of pillow talk? Someday you’ll have someone sharing your pillow, so after you get yourself some, you’ll lie there with them and tell them all your funny shit.”
Hud shook his head.
“No? You’re really going to sit there and tell me that you’re too busy to get laid every night?” Gray asked. “Too busy to roll over in the morning and find a woman waiting for you with a smile on her face?”
“Listen to you,” Hud said. “You fell in love and got all stupid and mushy.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Gray called out as Hud walked away from his brother’s smug face.
He did know what he was missing. And that was part of the problem.
Halfway through the week Bailey had gotten an email from Cedar Ridge Resort and her tummy quivered. So did some other unmentionables because just the sight of the email brought her back to the weekend before.
She’d kissed Hudson Kincaid.
She had no idea what she’d been thinking. Nope, scratch that. She knew exactly what she’d been thinking—that she’d been so happy and excited and hopeful, and on top of that she’d been standing right there in front of a good-looking guy who’d been smiling at her like she was hot as hell.
He hadn’t seen her as a cancer patient.
He hadn’t seen her as someone to feel sorry for.
He hadn’t seen her lying on the bathroom floor, sick as a dog, unable to lift even her head. He hadn’t seen her throw up. He hadn’t seen her stripped of her dignity, stuck on hospital death row in a gown with needles protruding from her everywhere.
He’d seen her as a woman, a sexy one given the light in his eyes. And it’d been the most empowering, wondrous feeling. She couldn’t have contained herself if she’d tried.
So she hadn’t tried.
She’d kissed him instead.
God, she’d really kissed him…
The email stated that her draft was family approved and she could start whenever she was ready.
So she’d rushed through the rest of the week and the following Saturday morning she hit the road before dawn. She was just pulling into the Cedar Ridge Resort parking lot when Aaron called.
“You’re not home,” he said. “I’m standing at your door with two McDonald’s breakfasts and you’re not home.”
“Nope.” She paused and bit her tongue so the automatic I’m sorry didn’t pop out. She wasn’t sorry. She was happy. She had an entire weekend of working on her mural in front of her. “I didn’t know you were coming by. I told you what I’d be doing with my next two months of weekends.”
“You’re at Cedar Ridge,” he said, none too happily.
“Yes.”
“You had a long week at work,” he said. “Scott said you were run ragged.”
This was the problem with her biggest client being her ex’s brother. She’d known that going in and she’d known that going out. The ties hadn’t been fully severed and never would be. “I’m fine, Aaron,” she said as gently as she could. And actually, she was so much more than fine. Excitement was thrumming through her and she couldn’t wait to get to work.
“I’m tempted to come up and see that for myself,” he said.
“No,” she said. Not gently. Bailey forced herself to speak calmly for fear she’d set off his protective nature and he’d come up here no matter what she said. “I’m working. We’re not together anymore, Aaron. You know this.”
“What I know is that it was a mistake to let you go.”
“My choice,” she said quietly. Firmly.
“And my fault,” he said just as quietly.
Unbidden came an image of Aaron locked in the arms of another woman, pressing her against the wall, his face a mask of savage pleasure—a side he’d never shown her, not once.
She’d wanted that kind of smokin’ chemistry. She needed it and craved it like air.
But it was too late for that.
Another image came to her, a far better one. Hud pulling her in hard and kissing her like she’d always dreamed of being kissed, hard and hot and deep… “You’re going to let me do this,” she said.
No response.
“I’m going to repeat that,” she said. “You’re going to let me do this.”
“As long as we stay friends,” Aaron said. “You promised that, Bailey. And friends check on each other.”
“Agreed,” she said. “And I’ll let you know when I need checking on.” With that, she disconnected. She slid on her jacket and got out of her car, stretching her legs. The air was crisp and felt good. She felt good. Maybe she’d only been in Cedar Ridge twice before in her life, but somehow the place already felt like home.
Chapter 8