“Thanks. You, too.”
Still wearing what was probably the goofiest grin ever, Aidan wrote Nicole another text, hoping with every tap of his fingers that she would answer.
What are you doing today?
Field work, she replied.
Where?
A minute passed with no response. Two minutes passed. Five.
Called to set, Aidan stood up with an inward groan. So she didn’t want to tell him where she was. Fine. He had his own good guess on her whereabouts.
Thirty minutes later, the day’s shoot done, Aidan rushed from the hotel’s front doors.
“Aidan!”
He cringed at his father’s voice but turned around. “Hey, Dad.”
Rick met him at the edge of the awning. “Where are you going?”
“Just…out.”
His dad’s brows bunched together like two angry caterpillars getting into a fight. “We have that call with the studio. With—”
“I don’t want to do the show, Dad.” Aidan turned around, heading to his SUV. “I’ll see you back at the house.”
His dad didn’t follow and Aidan exhaled in relief as he climbed into the car. He stomped on the accelerator, checking the time. The sun hung low in the sky, but there were still a few hours left till sunset. Assuming Nicole was where he suspected, he didn’t want to miss her.
Pulling up to the spot where he’d parked his first time at the edge of the marsh, Aidan surveyed the area. A patch of green moved behind a tree, making his heart skip a beat.
Nicole stood up, her back to him. She turned around as he closed the car door, her eyes going wide. “Wow.”
“Yeah, crazy coincidence, right?” Aidan walked over to her, careful not to land in any wet areas as he stepped off the trail.
Nicole’s brows furrowed and she planted her hands on her hips. The flash of green he’d spotted was the oversized shirt she had tied into a knot at her waist. It was way too big for her. An old boyfriend’s? A flash of jealousy went through him at the thought.
“Okay, you got me. It wasn’t a coincidence.” Aidan stopped in front of her. “I was hoping you’d be here.”
“You’re stalking me?” She smirked.
“No, I was worried when you didn’t—” The words stopped coming. Lying would be pointless. “I wanted to see you. Why did you leave yesterday? Was it Mikey? I know that guy is weird, but he’s my best friend. I’m all he has in the world.”
Nicole lowered her face to hide her grin.
“I see that.” Aidan smiled as well. “You thought it was funny.”
“Aidan, don’t do this,” she said, so much sadness in her voice that his chest hurt.
“Nicole,” he murmured. “What is it? Really? Why are you running?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist loosely. “Look. I know you don’t know a lot about me—”
“So let me.” He stared at her, silently willing her to lift her face and gaze back into his eyes. But all he got was the occasional upward flick of her pupils.
“Here’s the thing. My parents are a part of the—industry. My mom was an actress and my dad is an entertainment lawyer. I know the scene. I grew up around it.” Finally, she looked straight at him. “And I don’t want any more of it.”
“What do you mean ‘it’?”
“The glitz and glamour. Fame. Hollywood.”
Aidan guffawed. “You think I’m Hollywood?”
“Isn’t that where you live?”
“I live in Mailbu,” he answered.
Nicole silently looked at him.
“Right,” he said, realizing his blunder. “Hollywood, Malibu…not much of a difference, huh?”
“Not really,” she said with a wry smile.
“And you think I’m what? Superficial? Fame hungry?”
Nicole bit into her bottom lip. “It’s just not the world I want to be a part of.”
“You’re being pretty judgmental. I’m only doing a commercial. I’m not in the entertainment business. Plus, not everyone in it is the same. You can’t generalize people like that.”
Nicole’s cheeks turned pink then red as she lifted her chin defiantly. “Who I spend time with is my choice, but while we’re talking about it, it’s pretty presumptuous of you to think that you’re going to win me over or something. I already told you—”
“What’s that?” he asked, turning his head toward the sound.
Not more than a few yards away, a ball of fur moved behind a bush.
“Huh?” Nicole looked over her shoulder.
“There.” Aidan pointed.
The rabbit came out from behind the bush and Nicole gasped. Dropping down to a crouch, she pulled at Aidan’s hand.
“Get down,” she hissed.
He listened, squatting down next to her. “Won’t it be able to smell us?” he whispered.
Nicole didn’t answer. She was in a trance, her lips parted slightly and her gaze fixed on the rabbit. Aidan stared at her, all his annoyance melting away. It was hard to be mad at someone when they were in such a reverent state.
The rabbit turned its back to them and started digging at the edge of a plant. Nicole’s knee made the slightest move, touching a leaf on the ground. The rabbit lifted its head and ran away, slipping under some foliage.
Slowly, Nicole stood. Aidan straightened up as well.
“I’m sorry,” she said suddenly.
Aidan stared at her. “You are?”
Nicole nodded and brushed hair away from her forehead. “I did judge you too quickly.”
“Did the rabbit make you realize that?”
She laughed but then quickly grew somber. “Kind of. A pause in conversation made me realize that.”
“Oh. Cool.” Aidan pushed his hands into his pockets, unsure of what to say next.
Nicole glanced over at the rented SUV. “Where’s Mikey?”
“He stayed at the house today to write. Where’s your friend?”
“The beach. She didn’t really want to come to the marsh. She said there wouldn’t be any cute guys here.” As the last words tumbled out, Nicole’s cheeks turned pink.
“You blush a lot.”
She covered her face with her hands. “I know.”
“I like it.” Aidan chuckled.
She dropped her hands. “I don’t.”
A long moment slid by, but it felt right. Comfortable.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Aidan asked. Before she could answer, he continued, “I’m not asking you on a date, but how about you come to the beach with me and Mikey? You and Lauren both. It sounds like she’s going to be there anyway.”
Nicole fiddled with the knot in her shirt. “Okay. Sure.”
“Really?”
After the tone of all their previous run-ins, he almost couldn’t believe her answer.
“Yeah.” Nicole shrugged. “I have tomorrow off anyway.”
“And I only have a half-day shoot, so it’s perfect.”
Nicole’s pupils widened. “Great,” she cooed.
Aidan’s blood warmed, and he swallowed against the sudden lump in his throat.
Nicole turned away, heading for the road. “I have to get back to the office.”
He hurried to fall into step beside her. “Okay. Well, you have my number.”
“How about we set a time now? Do you know where Gold Park is? We can meet at that access point.”
“Sounds great. We can be there at one.” Aidan couldn’t help but smile. Who was this new Nicole?
“Okay. See you then.” With a wave, she turned and walked for her truck, which was parked down the road.
“See you,” he called after her, allowing himself one swift fist pump.
CHAPTER 11
NICOLE
Nicole tugged on her swimming bottoms, bouncing side to side on the asphalt as she did so.
“You okay over there?” Lauren asked, pushing her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and peering at Nicole.
“Do you think t
his bathing suit is too skimpy?”
“They’re boy shorts, with a halter top. You’re going to be the most covered person on the beach.”
Nicole bit back a sigh. “I guess I feel weird wearing, you know, a bathing suit in front of Aidan.”
Lauren grinned wide. “You are so adorable I want to squeeze you. But, hey—you already made one major step. You accepted his invitation to hang out. I still can’t believe you did that.”
“Yeah, I can’t either.” Nicole stopped pulling on her bathing suit and moved on to rebraiding her hair instead. She’d already given Lauren the details of what happened the day before—even though she kept parts of it to herself.
It was right there, as she and Aidan crouched to observe the rabbit, that something shifted inside her. Her only intention was to admire and protect the little animal. But the rabbit would never know that she wasn’t dangerous, that she would never hurt it. Overwhelmed by fear, it couldn’t find any other way to react to her presence but to run away. ‘There is life beyond fear, and it is worth savoring,’ she told herself at that moment.
“Is that them?” Lauren asked, pulling Nicole from her thoughts.
Her stomach started tap dancing. Despite what Aidan had said about the day only being about casually hanging out, knowing that he was interested in her had her heart and mind running laps.
As pointless as it was, she couldn’t stop imagining different scenarios involving the two of them. She saw them having a candlelit dinner. Saw them walking on the beach holding hands. Saw their first kiss…She shook her head, trying to cast out the daydreams.
Aidan and Mikey walked her way, both dressed in bathing suits and shirts, Aidan carrying a football and Mikey carting a cooler.
“You guys are ready for a real beach day,” Lauren greeted.
“We’re celebrating wrapping the shoot,” Aidan answered, his gaze sliding over to Nicole. As he caught sight of her face, his eyes softened and a smile broke across his lips.
“Congratulations,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice even.
“Thanks,” Mikey answered.
Aidan elbowed his friend. “Yeah, Mikey,” he teased. “Good job on it.”
“Hey, moral support is the most important job out there.”
Aidan chuckled, his attention back on Nicole, as she turned and led the way to the beach.
“Perfect day,” Mikey commented once they’d picked a spot.
“It’s always perfect here.” Nicole sighed. She stared at the waves breaking against the shore. A few families and a group of teenagers were on the beach, but other than that, it was clear.
Lauren shook out the beach blanket and spread it across the sand. “Then how come you never get down here?”
Nicole turned to her. “The marsh is perfect, too.”
“Ah.” Lauren grinned. “Of course. You’re talking about the animals. Anywhere where they are is perfect.”
“You don’t agree?” Mikey asked her.
Nicole laughed. “She’s just being rude. This girl grew up on a big cat sanctuary.”
“That’s true,” Lauren said. “I’m as much of an animal lover as Nic.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Nicole saw Aidan quietly watching her. She swallowed, too nervous to look straight at him.
“Football?” Mikey asked, taking the ball from Aidan and tossing it in the air.
“Yes!” Nicole yelped. Anything to distract her from the turmoil of emotions swirling inside her.
Without any real discussion, they spread out, taking up four corners of the beach.
“It’s kind of hard with only four people,” Mikey called.
Lauren cupped her hands around her mouth so her voice would project. “I’m not complaining! Toss it!”
Mikey threw the ball. One moment, it was in the air. The next, it was right in Nicole’s face. She’d tried to grab it, but it knocked her on the bridge of the nose and she fell down, her lower back slamming into the sand.
“Nicole!” Lauren called.
A burning flooded Nicole’s face and she put her hand to her nose. She closed her eyes tight, stars spinning around in the darkness.
“Are you okay?” It was Aidan’s voice, filling her ears as strong hands touched her wrists.
“Let me see,” he said.
She allowed him to pull her hands away. Blinking against the light, she looked up at him crouched over her. “I’m okay.”
Aidan still held her wrists. “Yeah, I think you look fine.” He turned to call out to the other two. “She’s good!”
“I’m not exactly sporty.”
“I’ll sit out with you if you want.”
She looked over his shoulder, at where Mikey and Lauren were already moving further down the beach, tossing the football back and forth as they jogged.
“Yeah,” Nicole agreed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to compete with that.”
“Here.” Aidan let go of her wrist to offer his hand afresh. Accepting his palm, she let him help her to her feet. Together, they walked over to the blanket.
“This is more like it.” Nicole settled in, cross-legged.
Aidan stretched his legs out and popped the cooler. “Here.”
Taking the bottle of cold water, Nicole pressed it to her sore nose.
“That bad, huh?” he asked.
“No. I’m a wimp.”
Aidan laughed. “No, you’re not. I haven’t even known you a week and you’ve already chewed me up and spit me out at least three times.”
Nicole dropped the water bottle and grimaced. “Sorry—about all of that.”
Aidan nodded, looking thoughtful. “Do I really scream ‘Hollywood’ to you?”
She looked him over—at his bed head hair, his plain T-shirt, his open face. He looked gorgeous, but natural and unpretentious.
“No,” she admitted.
“Right.”
Nicole waited for another question, but instead Aidan pulled a second water bottle from the cooler, unscrewed it, and took a drink. Shielding her eyes, she looked down the beach. Mikey and Lauren were still going at it.
“You don’t wear sunglasses everywhere,” Aidan said. “Like the other tourists.”
“You don’t either,” she answered. “And I’m not a tourist. I’m working here.”
“I guess the Cali sun got me used to this—but you’re from up north.”
Nicole shrugged. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
“You’re really poetic.”
A sputtering laugh burst from her lips. “I don’t know anything about poetics.”
“I don’t think you need to. It’s inherent in your heart or something.”
“Or something?” she repeated, chuckling. She reached over and poked him in the side, then immediately wondered if that had been too bold of a move.
Aidan, for his part, seemed too busy studying her again. “Can I ask you something?”
“What’s it going to be?”
“It’s about your beef with Hollywood.”
Nicole’s stomach twisted. “My parents are in that industry. I think I told you that.”
“Yeah, but what happened, exactly? Were they traveling all the time? Did they ignore you?” He held his palm up. “Stop me if I’m getting too personal.”
Nicole swallowed and looked down at the blanket. What if she told him it all? It wouldn’t hurt. The damage had been done years ago. Maybe sharing the story with him would help lessen its weight.
“My mom was an actress—”
“Mm-hmm.” Aidan nodded encouragingly and something about his laser focus touched her. People hardly ever paid her—or anyone—the kind of attention he did.
“She acted before I was born. TV, mostly. Soap operas. She was on a couple big ones, with supporting, long-run roles. Anyway, she stopped when she married my dad, but then, when I was ten, she did this reality show—”
Nicole paused. The difficult part was up next. Could she do it?
She hesitantly loo
ked up, finding Aidan, his face calm, his ears listening…and—somehow, she knew—his heart open. All of a sudden, she felt like she could share anything with him.
“It was one of those housewife reality shows. You know, where they follow around rich wives who have nothing to do but go to brunch and complain to each other?”
“Oh, yeah, I know,” Aidan answered. “Not that I’ve ever watched those,” he added hurriedly.
Despite the gnawing sensation in her gut, Nicole smiled. “The show itself wasn’t so bad. I didn’t want to be on it and my mom was fine with that, so they just filmed when I wasn’t around. But, um, my dad, he was in it some.”
“He’s a lawyer, right? An entertainment one?”
“Right.”
Aidan nodded. “Okay.”
Nicole’s exhale shook her whole chest. “While they were doing the show, right in the middle of the first season, my dad was caught cheating on my mom. And I don’t mean a one-time thing. Like, he was having an affair. Had been—for about six months.”
“Oh, wow,” Aidan breathed, looking stunned. “And they aired that on the show?”
“Oh, yeah. They couldn’t get any of my parents’ fights because my dad wouldn’t allow it, but my mom talked about it on the show, the tabloids talked about it, everyone we knew talked about it.”
Aidan ran his palm over his mouth. “What happened after that?”
“They separated. Got divorced not long after that. I stayed with my mom. It took me a while before I wanted to go visit my dad.” She picked at the label on her water bottle.
“We don’t see each other much now. Honestly, things were never the same after that.”
“And you were ten then?”
“Yep.”
He shook his head, silence descending on them.
“So those are my skeletons in the closet,” she said. “What about yours?”
“I’ll tell you mine,” Aidan answered, not skipping a single beat.
Nicole felt her eyebrows shoot up. “I was kidding. Sorry. You don’t have to—”
“Mom died when I was two. Cancer. I have two brothers, both older than me, who, kind of like you, want nothing whatsoever to do with entertainment and anything that has the slightest chance of making it into the news. I started playing tennis when I was six. My dad is my manager. Last year, I injured my knee in a match and that was it. Career over. Now…now here I am.”
Winning Her Heart Page 6
