Page 49 of Miss Typed

“No. She’s just someone I’m helping out.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue.

His smirk was one I could only tolerate from a childhood friend. “A shame. Pretty thing.”

“She’s off-limits.”

He laughed at my warning. “Don’t worry, I’ve always been able to tell when you’re lying, Aiden. Let’s go pay a visit to the loan shark of your off-limits, non-girlfriend’s brother.”

Two hours later, my visit with Donald turned out uneventful. Which was a pity. I would’ve loved to have sunk my fist into his punk-ass face. But he was a dog who was obedient to those who gave the commands, so it had been easy for me to make my point to him.

On the drive back, I glanced over at Chance in the passenger seat. “I owe you.” Although it had been my money paying off the loan, my money for the auction, and mine for entry into the strip club, I owed Chance for all his time and connections.

“You can return the favor by reminding Reid I have his best interests at heart. Always.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means you’re his best friend, and there is no one else he trusts as much as you. Remind him I do nothing without a greater purpose.”

Leave it to Chance to sound cryptic. “All right. I will.” Reid wasn’t returning to Dubai for another few days, but like me, he seldom spent time with his family without some sort of drama. This was especially true given all of the exes, halves, and step-siblings involved in the family, courtesy of their married five—or maybe it was six—times, billionaire father.

We returned to the hotel though I’d yet to figure out how to tell Chloe we’d taken care of things without her. I’d hoped to buy some time, but it wasn’t to be. My eyes found her the instant we stepped out of the vehicle. She was walking in with a McDonald’s bag in hand.

Her gaze ping-ponged from me to Chance and finally landed on me. “Did you guys just get back from somewhere?”

Crap. I could only hope she’d see reason. She ought to be relieved everything had been taken care of, right?

Chance flashed me an amused grin. “I’ve gotta head to New Hampshire for a family thing. Good luck.” With a brief look toward Chloe, he was off.

I was on my own.

“Why don’t we go inside to talk.” I hoped to get her into her room in case she got upset.

“Not before you answer me. Where did you two come from? Did you meet with Donald?”

I didn’t bother denying it. “Yes. Your debt is now paid in full.”

Her face went red. “But you promised you wouldn’t meet him without me. If I’d known you’d do this, I never would’ve given you his address. I would’ve figured out how to take care of it myself.”

“At the rate you were going, you wouldn’t ever have paid it off. They would’ve kept charging you interest, and kept the deed to your mother’s house. Is that what you wanted?”

“Of course not.”

Shit. Guilt instantly hit me over my harsh words. But after little sleep, even less food, and a throbbing leg with its own heartbeat, I was at the end of my tether.

“It wasn’t safe for you to be there. Donald may be a small-time street thug, but I’d still have worried about you.” Frankly, if he’d uttered one inappropriate word to her, I would’ve lost my shit.

She switched tactics and questioned me. “Answer me this: for a guy who told me he wants no personal ties, for someone who insisted the other morning was a lapse in judgment, why are you involving yourself in my business like this?”

I raked my hand over my face, feeling the weariness of the last few days finally catching up with me. “You’re free to see your family anytime now. Take the rest of the week off.”

“Stop avoiding the question. Why did you go to all this trouble? To come here. To have your friend involved from New York. Why, Aiden? Give me a reason.”

“I don’t know. Okay. I just don’t know.”

“You don’t know why you’ve completely embedded yourself in my personal life, rescued me from the auction, and flew all the way to my hometown to deal with my debt? You don’t have one reason?”

The dam broke, and words flew out of my mouth before I could think about them. “Maybe the reason is because for the first time since my accident I’m finally thinking of someone else. Maybe it’s because it feels good to be doing something with impact rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Maybe it’s because, instead of feeling like a victim, I needed to feel like the hero for a change.” My mouth clamped shut abruptly. I’d just revealed something I hadn’t even admitted to myself before now.

Her eyes went wide, her lips parting, as she contemplated the vulnerability I’d left out there for her to stomp on if she wanted to.