by Diana Nixon
“Ugh, you are disgusting!” she snapped, turning away from me.
We kept walking in silence. Though I was sure that what we were thinking about at that moment was the same. I could tell that what was hidden under the surface of her perfect, icy shell was a very naughty side of her nature.
Our tour ended at the front door, where Owen and his father met us a few minutes later.
“Hey, Sis. Haven’t seen you for what feels like forever!”
“Missed you too,” Megan said, hugging her brother. “Hi, Dad.”
“I almost gave up hope of ever seeing you again,” Mr. Brawley said, smiling.
“It was just a matter of time.”
“Why don’t we go inside and have some tea?” Owen suggested. “And, Megs, I thought you would help us with the guests that are going to stay here.”
She frowned, and I chuckled, watching the waterfalls of emotions crossing her face.
“What?” Owen asked, shifting his gaze from his sister to me.
“Nothing,” she and I said in unison.
“Clever minds think alike,” I added.
Megan’s eyes flashed angrily, and their color became darker, reminding me of a fine whiskey that could send fire through your veins. Uh, what a great start of a new day, I thought, fascinated by the grace that could be seen in Megan’s every move.
They say that men always choose wives like their mothers or sisters. Owen’s fiancée, Mary, was one of those ladies who had plans for everything. I was sure she had already chosen the names for their future kids, the colors of the walls for their future house and God knew what else. Apart from that, she was a well-mannered girl, with pearls in her ears and skirts that never went higher than her knees. She and Owen had been best friends since childhood, until one day they realized that they couldn’t live without each other. Well, at least that was what Owen said. He was crazy about her, and it was the only thing that actually mattered. My friend didn’t give a damn about what others might think about them as a couple. He always said that soul mates didn’t need anyone’s approval. And Mary was his soul mate. A little out-of-date, but still nice and a good-natured one.
Somewhere deep down in my heart I was jealous about what the two of them shared. It was a rare combination of love and understanding that personally I saw only between my parents. And I always asked myself if I was capable of devoting myself to anyone. My mom said that I needed to meet the right person to sacrifice my freedom. Well, maybe she was right after all. None of those women I dated was able to make me stay with her longer than a few days. Some extremely annoying ones never made it to two hours.
Megan’s melodious voice brought me back to reality.
“How many people are going to stay here?” she asked her brother.
“A few friends of mine, and Mary’s parents.”
“I thought they were going to stay at their old house.”
“No, it’s being repaired at the moment. By the way, I want you to meet them and Mary at the airport. I have a surprise for her, but I need more time to get things ready.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll take your car, if you don’t mind.”
“Actually…” I said, pausing to get everyone’s attention, “I could take Megan to the airport.”
“Great idea, Aiden.” My friend nodded, making some notes on a piece of paper.
“Absolutely not!”
Here we go, just exactly what I expected to hear from Megan.
“Why not, Dear?” Mrs. Brawley asked. “You could use Aiden’s help. Besides, the way to the airport won’t seem that long if you have company.”
I almost choked on my tea. “Your mom has a point, Megs,” I said, winking at the girl.
“My name is Megan.” She shot me a murderous look. “And I don’t need company to jazz my ride.”
I was about to give up, when Mr. Brawley came to my rescue. “Oh, dear, I forgot about the cake for tomorrow! And my car has some engine problem, so I will need Owen’s.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Megan stared at her father.
“Sorry, Honey.” He smiled apologetically.
“Great.” She looked at me again and left the room, saying on the way, “I hope you know the difference between the accelerator and a brake pedal.”
Owen and I laughed, sharing a glance. “Try not to scare the hell out of her,” he said. “My sister is not a speed fan.”
“Don’t worry, I promise to bring her back, safe and sound.”
I finished my tea and went outside to wait for Megan. Owen knew that I liked speed, but this time I was going to drive as slow as possible. I couldn’t but admit that the idea of spending some time alone with Megan was thrilling.
She showed up fifteen minutes later, wearing her usual annoyed expression, half-hidden under the broad-brimmed hat and dark glasses. A perfect camouflage.
“What?” she asked, opening the door on the passenger’s side.
I shook my head, getting in. “Nothing.”
“I can’t believe they made me go with you,” Megan muttered, trying to fasten the safety belt.
“Shall I help you?” I asked, watching her struggle with the thing.
“Yes, please.”
I moved closer, and Megan froze, as if she was afraid of me throwing myself at her. Well, not that I didn’t think about that. It wasn’t easy to keep calm being so close to the girl that smelled like honey and strawberries that I was dying to taste from every inch of her skin. I could feel the warmth of her breathing tickling my cheek; all of my instincts were on alert.
“Here you go,” I said, fastening the belt. Our faces were still too close to think about anything, except kissing those inviting lips of hers.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew that even through the glasses they were watching me cautiously.
Breathing suddenly felt painful, as if I had the wind knocked out of me. I cleared my throat and started the engine. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Megan expiring. It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt uncomfortable.
“So tell me, how do you like living in a big city?” I asked, trying to ease the tension. Not that it helped me gain control over my body that was on fire. Get a damn grip on yourself, dude!
“London is a perfect place for someone like me. I can be myself there, and no one will care if I leave home in my PJs or forget to do my hair. It’s a paradise of freedom.”
“So that is why you don’t like Axbridge? Everyone knows you here. Everyone pays attention to every single detail of your appearance.”
“Actually … I always liked my hometown.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“I had my reasons.”
I looked at Megan, waiting for an explanation, but none followed. “I see.” I nodded. “Then there should be some guy guilty of your escape.”
“Why don’t you watch the road, Smarty?”
“Whatever you say, Dear.”
Chapter 3
Megan
The day couldn’t have been worse.
My family hadn’t seen me for years, and when I finally showed up at home, no one even cared to meet me! Then I found out about a very interesting guest staying at our house, and according to my beloved brother, I was supposed to entertain him during the next seven days. And now I’m stuck in a car, driven by the very cutie that seems to be really enjoying pissing me off. If he thought I was going to make up his list of chickadees, he was so wrong about me.
I kept a watchful eye on Mr. Perfect: face shaved, light-blue shirt, outlining every muscle of his chest and arms, well-chosen cologne — a mixture of wood, tobacco and spices.
I sighed irritably and turned back to the window. I was a little nervous. Not because of the damn good smell of his cologne enveloping me like a soft, silky sheet, but because of the way Aiden made me feel — insecure….
And I wasn’t used to being insecure. No one had ever made me question my self esteem. I always knew w
hat I wanted, and I always knew how to get it.
But everything was different today. Aiden’s gray-blue eyes seemed to be looking straight through me and into the depths of me that no one had ever seen. I had to choose my words deliberately and think about my every move. It felt like he noticed every breath I took.
Even now I could feel his eyes on me. Though I didn’t dare look at him, knowing that I would see nothing but a mysterious smile on his face. I felt like an insect that he was studying carefully under the microscope of his thoughts.
I almost jumped when he touched my hand. “You okay?”
“What?”
“You look like you are going to be sick.”
“Why would you think that?” I crossed my arms in a defensive gesture. If only that could help me put some distance between us.
He flinched at the coldness of my words. “No, you are still the same Megan.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I took off my glasses waiting for his response. Everything he was saying sounded like a challenge to me, and I was more than willing to meet it.
“If I didn’t know you better, I would have thought that you wanted to freeze me by the cold radiating from you.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised. “So you think you know me?”
Another irritating chuckle followed. “I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Oh, yeah? Don’t you think you give yourself too much credit, Honey?” I said as sweetly as I could.
“I don’t think so, Sugar,” he replied, playing up to my intonation. The last word was accompanied by the wink that I desperately wanted to kill him for. “Do you want to hear what I really think about you?”
“Dying to,” I snapped, my eyes never leaving his self-satisfied face.
“Okay. So let’s start with your attitude to me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. This is the most important thing to discuss.”
“Seriously, Megan, what’s wrong with me flirting with you? I’m a man after all. You are a beautiful woman. The Earth won’t stop spinning if you bless me with a smile.”
I laughed. Like really laughed. For the first time in 24 hours. His sudden seriousness humored me. “Happy now?” I asked, wiping away a few joyful tears.
But he didn’t say a word. Instead, he looked at me as if I had just said that the grass was purple.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He frowned, and switched his attention back to the road.
“You sounded so serious,” I said, still smiling.
“Did I?”
“I never thought you could actually be serious about anything.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Uh, you are the only one here who knows everything about everyone. Yeah, I got it. So go ahead. What else did you want to say about me?”
“There will be a day when you meet a man that will crack your shell. And trust me, Megan, when it happens, you won’t be able to keep pretending. You will feel, and you will lose.”
And that wasn’t actually what I expected to hear in response. “I never lose.”
“Even the most famous winner of different competitions had at least one loss in between the endless rows of their golden medals.”
In the blink of an eye the atmosphere in the car changed. I moved further from Aiden, and got back to studying the landscape outside the window. And he … well, he suddenly became very cold and humorless. An invisible wall rose between us. Huge and thick.
I couldn’t understand what made him so angry. I didn’t do anything! I only laughed at this stupid comment. Or it wasn’t that stupid? Did he have a point? Was it so hard to smile at him for once and not to play my usual bitch part? Good question….
I never let people get too close to me. They could only see what I wanted them to see. Nothing else. Maybe that’s why I didn’t have many friends? I liked going shopping alone, I could easily go to a café not thinking about bringing a date with me; and falling asleep alone was just fine….
Well, not always. Sometimes I really wished there was someone’s warm body to embrace, and not just a cold pillow. But in most cases, it didn’t bother me. I was still sure that I had plenty of time to enjoy the failures of the relationships. Somehow I was sure that I wasn’t able to love and devote myself to anyone.
That’s why Aiden’s words scared me. I wasn’t ready to open myself to anyone. Was I paranoid about being left with a broken heart? Maybe. Misery was not on the list of my Christmas wishes.
“The weather’s getting worse,” Aiden said.
I didn’t pay any attention to the rain outside, until now.
“My goodness … if it keeps raining like this, we won’t make it to the airport on time.”
“The traffic’s slowing down. Do you know any side roads?
“Yes. We can turn to Peterson’s farm, over there. It won’t take us long to travel around the jam.”
If only I knew it would take us forever….
The roads of the farm were sandy and definitely not for the sports cars. We drove for about five miles, until Aiden’s sleek, black car got stuck in a mudhole.
He cursed quietly, and then he turned to me, saying, “You are wearing heels, right?”
“Um … yes?” I looked cautiously at my new dark-red shoes. “What do you have in mind?” I had a very bad feeling about the upcoming response.
“Perfect! This baby needs a push,” Aiden said, smiling.
“Excuse me?”
“I mean the car needs a push.”
I looked out of the window: it was raining cats and dogs.
“You are kidding, right?”
“Nope. We need to get us out of here. And you are going to help me with that.”
“No way!”
“Of course, you can stay inside and wait for the gas to run out. When it gets really cold, you will die even without knowing what that mind-blowing thing you’ve mentioned previously means.” He grinned from ear to ear.
“Fine!” I took off my shoes and opened the door. “And by the way, who said I don’t know what the thing means?” And then I jumped straight into a huge puddle. My jeans got wet to the knees; dark-brown muddy drops splashed all over my white shirt. But the most unbelievable thing was the sound behind me.
“I didn’t mean it to be like this, Megs,” Aiden said through his laughter. He was still sitting in the car. “So when are you going to give me a master class of your seduction art?”
“If you don’t drag your ass outside, I will tell Owen it was your idea to take me here, to do … never mind. I will come up with the ending later.”
Another small laugh followed. “You are one absolutely adorable creature, you know that?”
“Shut up, Aiden, and come here! Now!”
When he was done with the hysterics, he joined me in the puddle, not even thinking about his jeans and boots that got wet in seconds. His hands on his hips, his lips still twisted in a damn sexy half-smile.
My eyes widened in surprise, as the realization hit me. “You were not serious about pushing the car, were you?”
“I would gladly watch you doing this, Megs, but I doubt we can make the thing move.”
“Now, it's official Aiden Murphy: I hate you more than anything in the world!” I shouted, punching him in the chest as hard as I could, still trying not to lose my balance. “AND. HOW. MANY. TIMES. DO. I. HAVE. TO. REPEAT. THAT. MY. NAME. IS. MEGAN?!” My every word accompanied by another punch.
“Wow, okay, okay! I got it!” He didn’t even try to block my attacks.
Sick idiot, I thought to myself.
When I was soaked to the skin and could no longer punch him, he moved closer. Closer than I had ever let men come to me. It made me self-conscious, but I was unable to look away once our eyes met. “Done?” he asked softly, his words barely audible in the rain. I flinched when Aiden caught my wrists and put my hands behind my back. “Now, that you got your anger out of your system, can we think of somewhere to hide and wait
out the storm?”
I was breathing heavily. The water drops mixed with the tears running down my face. I didn’t know why I was crying. Maybe I was simply angry at him for laughing at me? Or maybe I was angry at myself for letting him ruin my inner peace? Whatever it was, it hurt like hell.
I didn’t move when Aiden’s palm cupped my cheek, and his lips leaned dangerously close to mine. I swallowed hard. I was aware of every single part of our bodies touching. And even through the fabric of our soaking shirts, I could feel the heat coming from his skin.
“See?” he asked, looking into my eyes. “You are already melting. And here I thought you were such an all-in-hand type.”
My blood boiled. I pulled my hands out of his grip and pushed him away from me. “Don’t you ever dare to touch me again,” I said, as I tried to step aside.
In the blink of an eye Aiden’s arms locked around my waist, pressing my back to his chest. “If you keep running away, Megan, your life will always be lonely and miserable,” he said into my ear. “Why don’t you give yourself a break and try to be happy?”
I turned around abruptly. “Men like you and happiness don’t go well together.”
Ouch. Even for my own ears it sounded harsh.
He let me go, his eyes suddenly turned into two thunder clouds. Then he turned towards the car, slammed the passenger door shut, and headed for the forest.
“Where do you think you are going?” I shouted after him.
“I don’t want to die of pneumonia! I saw a house not far away from here.”
“No one lives there!” It was an old Peterson’s house that was built only God knew when. It had been empty for as long as I could remember myself. But still, Aiden had a point. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of getting sick or dying.
“My God … Owen’s gonna kill us for screwing this up,” I muttered, following my impossible companion.
When I reached the house that was no bigger than my mom’s closet, Aiden was already there, trying to make a fire in what looked like a very old fireplace.
