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“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what? Max is the one who offered,” he says, his voice bitter.
“I know you would have done the same exact thing.”
“I was getting ready to suggest it,” he says, playing with my ponytail.
“I believe you,” I say, kissing him. “Now let’s go get the food on the grill. I’m starving.”
“I’m going to burn Max’s,” he mumbles as we walk out the door. I laugh. These boys.
The afternoon goes by fast. Everyone’s sitting around, enjoying the sun and relaxing. I love it here. Something about being away from the city and the smell of the ocean makes me feel rejuvenated. Relaxed. The only thing that I worry about when I’m here is Jessie. And not knowing what she’s doing is bugging me. This is a small town, so she has to know we are here. Which makes me feel like a sitting duck.
I’m leaning back against Aiden’s chest in the lounger. A few Coronas in my system, and I blurt out, “So what’s Jessie been up to these days?”
Everyone stops talking and stares at me. I feel Aiden tense behind me. I pinch my lips, looking around. “What?” I ask. Don’t they know … keep your enemies close …
A normal person might accept the answer that she left town a few months ago and leave it at that, but I’m not normal. Especially when I read Ryan and Macie’s body language. Ryan squeezes Macie’s hand. His foot starts to shake. Oh, and Aiden’s already-tense body hardens.
“She just left town? Where did she go?” I press because they obviously think their vague answer is acceptable.
“She left around five months ago,” Ryan says, sighing. “We’re not sure where she went. We haven’t heard from her since she left.”
“Ryan, what aren’t you telling us?” Aiden asks as he sits up straighter.
Ryan’s eyes flash to me and then back to Aiden. “Nothing. That’s it.” I was kidnapped five months ago so the timing has me on edge. I remember right before I was taken, Aiden came to the beach house.
I turn and look at him. “Did you see her when you were here last?”
His answer is immediate. “No,” he says. His eyes never leave mine. “The last time I saw her was the last time you saw her.” He pulls me closer. “Sweetheart, don’t worry about her. Nothing she can do can hurt us, so why waste your time thinking about her?”
I blow out a breath. He’s right. She’s the last thing I need to worry about right now. Maybe she found another man to stalk. “Okay, but I’m telling you right now, something is off with her.”
“I think we already knew that about her,” he whispers in my ear. A bitter laugh escapes my lips as I sit back against him.
Ryker changes the conversation to football. Jessie who? I’m not sure if he knows this is the one subject that could easily take my mind off of Jessie or if it was just a lucky guess. Whichever, I’m grateful. We all talk about the upcoming season. It still feels surreal to be talking to the quarterback of the New York Giants. I’ve pretty much dropped the fan-crush mentality, but it’s still awesome.
“Hate to break up the reunion, but we need to get on the road,” Aiden says as he scoots me to the end of the lounger.
An hour later, the house is cleaned, packed up, and locked. We all say our goodbyes and head out. We’re not on the road for ten minutes before Syd and I conk out in the backseat.
After dropping Sydney off at her apartment, we sit in Aiden’s car not going anywhere. I look at Aiden. His hand is on the steering wheel, the other on the gear shift. God, his arms are a work of art. His muscular forearm flexes as he grips the wheel. The huge Tissot watch screams rugged, sexy, confident man. I don’t know why, but his watch is a freaking turn-on. Maybe because it’s attached to him.
A growl grabs my attention away from his thick fingers. What those fingers do to me. I shift in my seat, crossing my legs to slow the building ache. When I look up to his eyes, his head tilts and a brow is arched. “You’re making this really hard,” he murmurs.
“Making what hard, exactly,” I tease. He inhales sharply and moans.
“Addison,” he says in a raspy voice, reaching over and grabbing the back of my head. He guides me over to him then opens his mouth to say something but instead slams his lips onto mine in a possessive kiss. When he pulls back, my senses are spinning together, out of control. I gasp for air, trying to regain composure. This is what he does to me.
He’s leaning back in his seat, looking up. I can tell he’s trying to regain his control, too. I smile, thinking I’m glad it’s not just me.
Aiden looks over and shakes his head. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
I definitely have an idea.
“I really want you to come back to my place …”
“Aiden, I really ne—”
