Page 24 of The Billionaire's Angel

I couldn't help laughing. “When she notices you closed the door, she may go get a water glass to hold up against it,” Isaid.

Aiden grinned in response, and I couldn't help grinning back. Aiden was so often serious, almost grave. He carried so much on his shoulders and didn't smile as much as he should. When he did, he was almost painfullyhandsome.

Not my type. His beauty was refined, elegant, austere. After Anthony, that style of male good looks would never spark my interest, but I could appreciate the view all the same. Especially knowing that Aiden was no Anthony. He was a good man who loved hisfamily.

“We’d better talk fast before she gets back here with that water glass,” he said. “I just wanted to check in with you that everything is good. Her occasional pranks aside, Amelia'swell?”

I laughed again. “As much as they can be inconvenient, I'd say her occasional pranks are one of the signs that Amelia is doing very well. As you've probably noticed, she's still resistant to her adjusted diet, but she's been sticking to it for the most part, and we've been able to keep her blood sugar under control with diet, which is very important at this stage. We've been doing exercises every day, a combination of yoga and walking and floor exercises to enhance her flexibility. We haven't been able to use the pool now that the weather has changed, but overall I've been pleased with her progress. She has excellent mobility for herage.”

“That's good to hear. I'm very glad you're with us, Sophie. I knew when Amelia moved in that I wouldn't be home as much as I'd like, but work has been even more hectic in the last few months than I'd expected. It’s reassuring to know that she's not only looked after, she has afriend.”

My cheeks heated at his praise. Truthfully, I said, “Amelia is easy tolike.”

A laugh exploded out of Aiden, surprising both of us, I think. After he got his mirth under control, under his breath, he said, “Tell that to Mrs.W.”

I shrugged a shoulder and shook my head. “Mrs. W is a specialcase.”

“I haven’t missed the way you run interference between them, and it's appreciated. They're both very important to us. Amelia, obviously, is family. So is Mrs. W, and I know that all of us were concerned there'd be fireworks with those two in the same house no matter how big this place is. You've done an admirable job keeping thepeace.”

“It helps that Mrs. W has her cottage. If she lived in the house itself I think that would be too much temptation for Amelia,” I admitted. In a low voice, in case Amelia was listening at the door, I asked, “Do you know why they dislike each other so much? Neither of them will tellme.”

Aiden shook his head, more in resignation than denial. In an equally low voice, he said, “It's an old story, and I'm giving you this secondhand so I don't know how accurate it is, but you know Amelia left home years ago and moved to the West Coast to be with Janice, herpartner?”

I did know. It was common knowledge, and Amelia spoke often of Janice, who had died a few years before after a very long battle with cancer. Janice had been the love of her life, and though Amelia played it down, I could only imagine the uproar when, decades ago, one of the premier debutantes in Atlanta society had run off to California with anotherwoman.

Her family hadn't cut her off financially, but the older generation had made it clear she wasn't welcome home. It was obvious that none of their children agreed because the Winters family I knew openly adored their auntAmelia.

“We've talked about it, quite a bit,” I said, in answer to Aiden's question. “Is that why Mrs. W doesn't like her?” I asked carefully. I adored Helen Williamson but I wasn't sure how that adoration would hold up if she disliked Amelia for being gay. Aiden gave a sharp shake to his head, dispelling myworry.

“No. No, she doesn't. We've talked about it, so I know that's not it. But, based on a conversation I overheard between my mother and Mrs. W years ago, I got the impression that Amelia overheard comments Mrs. W made about her and completely misinterpreted them. My mother tried to run interference and explain, and Amelia accused her of sticking up for Mrs.W.

“Which she was, but she was doing it truthfully. Mrs. W would never admit it, but she'll never like Amelia. She likes order, and proper behavior, which makes her perfect to keep all of us in line, but will always set her against Amelia, who lives to causetrouble.”

“Those two are polar opposites,” I agreed. “I think I get along with them both because I appreciate order and proper behavior, but I like a little mischief. Amelia keeps me from being tooserious.”

“Me too,” Aiden agreed, sending me a wink. We smiled at each other, in friendly harmony, when the door swung open. I turned around, expecting Amelia. My smile froze when I saw Gage scowling down at me, his arms crossed over his broadchest.

His eyes flicked from Aiden to me and back again. His scowl deepened, the lines around his mouth hard, his eyebrows dark and drawn together. His skin looked a little pale, and he had circles under his eyes. I knew without asking that he hadn't slept since I'd seen himlast.

I glanced to Aiden and saw that his smile was gone, his face frozen. Expressionless. Raising one eyebrow, he said to Gage, “Can I help you withsomething?”

His tone was so chilly, instinctively I wrapped my arms around my chest. Something was very wrong between Aiden and Gage. It wasn't my business. It couldn't have been anylessmy business. This wasn't my family. But Amelia and Charlie both told stories of Aiden and Gage as children, how close they’d been. Closer than cousins. Closer than most brothers. They weren’t closenow.

Ignoring Aiden, Gage said to me, “Did you tell him? About last night?” My heart froze in terror. Of all my worries about that stolen kiss, it had never occurred to me that Gage would be the one to rat us out. My heart restarted in my chest when he said, “The sound weheard?”

I bit my lip, clawing back my composure, and finally said, “Oh, no, I hadn't mentionedit.”

Gage's eyes studied me for a long moment before he said to Aiden, “If you and Sophie are done, I need to talk toyou.”

“I think we're finished here,” Aiden said. I stood, and before I could flee the room, he said, “Sophie, I'll be out of town for the rest of the week, but if you need anything you have mynumbers.”

Nodding to both of them, I said a quick, “Thanks, have a good trip,” before I made my escape from the cold tension between the twomen.

Chapter Ten

Gage

“You and Sophieshouldn't be alone in here with the door shut,” I said, ignoring the look of surprise on Aiden'sface.