Page 59 of His Last Will

How long would I have to wait for him to notice me? Would he ever?

Aiden stops just in front of the bench and towers over me. He tugs on my wrist, urging me to stand in front of him. He and Brodie both had a growth spurt over the last year, and now I came up to their chests at best.

Aiden smirks a little before he says, “I don’t know why you cry, Ari. Brodie will be back for fall break.”

Anthony had sent Brodie to boarding school every year since middle school. When Aiden moved in, we thought he might go too, but Isabelle advocated for him to attend my school because she wanted her son close by. She had a heart, unlike Anthony, even if it was slowly rotting away under his care.

I huff and glance away. “You know why, but you don’t understand, Aiden. You would have to have feelings to understand.”

Aiden uses his hand to turn my chin and tucks my loose hair behind my ear. He looks at me for a moment, searching my face, almost coming off soft, before closing himself off again.

“I see you looking at me, Arianna, when you aren’t looking at my brother.” The confession shatters something inside of me. Unsaid words and longing looks hidden under a façade of hatred are finally acknowledged in the small space between us.

No. No. No. This can’t be happening today. Not right now. Not when I haven’t told Brodie how I feel. I can’t shut that door completely, and being with his brother would surely do that.

No matter how much I want Aiden. I think I want my best friend more.

Or really, how much I want them both. Shame fills me because if I know one thing, it’s that having them both would never be possible. They're both too possessive, too dominant, too everything.

I try to shake away from his grip, but he holds me tight, bringing one arm around my waist to prevent me from leaving. “Do you ever think about kissing me?” he asks quietly, his low voice almost sounding sad, like he knows my answer will be a lie before I even say it.

Because it will be. He knows. I know it.

Of course I think about kissing Aiden. But I’ve thought about kissing Brodie longer.

I shake my head. I’m not ready. Today cannot be the day that I give up on my dream of one day being more than friends with Brodie. “Aiden…”

But he presses on, not stopping his confession. “Have you ever had someone kiss you before, brat?” He rests his forehead against mine when he asks, and I study his soft lips and wonder if they would feel as harsh as the words he normally sends my way. But when he whispers, “Let me teach you…” my heart stops.

Tears fill the corners of my eyes, and I try to blink them away, but one falls to my cheek. In the garden, surrounded by the flowers, vines, and sunlight, Aiden kisses the tear away.

“Ari… give me a chance.” It’s as close to begging as I have ever heard from Aiden. A pit opens in my stomach because I can’t. No matter how much I want to.

“Aiden, I can’t.” More tears fall, but he doesn’t kiss them away this time.

“Because of him.” Aiden’s voice is flat. “I know you want this, Ari. I’m always watching you, and I fucking know. When you aren’t watching him, you look at me. Every single time.”

I sniffle and wipe more tears away. “I can’t close the door on something I have always wanted. It started long before you even moved in. He came first.” My voice breaks as I realize I’m possibly destroying a future with Aiden to wait on a man who may never see me.

“Please don’t do this,” Aiden pleads one more time.

A deep and utter longing begins to consume me before he even steps away.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and he lets me go.

As I walk away, I turn back for one last look. Aiden has flowers in his hand that must have come from his back pocket. He is crushing the petals between his fingers and letting them fall to the ground. A mask drops over his face, an emotionless mask that I’m not sure will ever come off again.

So I look up and whisper to the night sky, “Please don’t let this be the end...”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

AIDEN

Anthony’s guards throw me in the coat closet with very little tact. They’d better start counting their days because they will be in my morgue before the month is up. I shake them off as Anthony closes the door and turn to glare at him, my arms crossed in front of me. What the fuck is this ambush? It’s costing me precious time. I don’t want Ari to be alone for an extended period, even if Gage was just going around the corner to pick up the car.

“Do you need something, Anthony?” I ground out, glancing down at my watch to indicate I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to deal with his shit.