by Claire Adams
“Lying to him is fair? Making him fall in love with you is fair? And just so you know, I wanted to throw you under the bus. I wanted to out this little scam in court and let the judge chew on that, but Aiden said no. He didn’t want to put you through it. You’re a piece of work.” He shook his head and walked away, and I couldn’t even argue with his parting words.
I hung around long enough to catch the verdict. At least I could rest easy that my parents hadn’t gotten what they were asking for. The judge thought it was a gross amount, and the proof of negligence was not as solid as they had hoped because there was no way to know that when the plane went down that it was Mr. Walker in control. The jury did find my parents’ case favorable enough for a settlement, and Mom would have enough to redecorate the beach home and buy a new one if she wanted.
Aiden looked like a shell of himself the entire time and any trace of light that had been in his eyes before the trial was good and gone as he walked past me and hurried out. My parents approached me, to my surprise, and let me know that they wanted to hear me out whenever they let this all sink in. In the end, nobody won — and I was the biggest loser of all.
I walked out to see Aiden and his lawyer standing in the courtyard, the sun shining down on his smooth face and the wind gently blowing his hair. Maybe it was the nurse in me, that need to fix and tend and care, but I wanted to run to him and make it all better. They walked across the yard to the parking lot, and Aiden stopped again beside the Shelby. He shook hands with the other man and then he got into his car and sped away. I watched until I could no longer see her taillights.
I decided to try Bre one more time, and when she didn’t answer, I realized that for the first time in a long time, I was completely alone.
It would take time, but I was going to try and explain myself to Aiden. He deserved that much, and I couldn’t live with him not knowing the truth or thinking something horrible of me. Not that what I’d done wasn’t terrible, but I needed him to know there was no hidden agenda. That my parents hadn’t put me up to it and that my feelings, despite it all, had been sincere.
Chapter Thirty-One
Aiden
After the trial, I went home and changed clothes before heading out to Glen’s with all intentions of getting hammered. It had been a while since I’d been on a good tear, and it was as good a night as any considering I was numb inside. Lexa, a.k.a. Alexandra Patterson, had killed me.
“So, you’re saying she lied about her name?” Glen poured my fifth beer, still trying to catch up.
“Yeah, and no telling what else. The whole time she let me go on and on about losing my family, the hearing, and even calling her family a bunch of assholes. Guess the asshole doesn’t fall far from the asshole tree.” I tossed back the beer and took a hard drink before slamming the glass down on the table.
“You really think her parents knew all along? That they’d pimp out their girl to try and ruin you? That doesn’t sound likely, man. I think you need to talk to her.”
“Oh, I’ll talk to her. I’ve got a good earful for her, but not yet. I’m going to let her stew a bit.” I had my own shit to stew in, and I intended on getting good and shit-faced before dealing with any of it.
“Yeah, let that bitch stew,” said some asshole next to me. I turned and looked him square in the eye. Then I punched him right in the mouth.
Glen jumped across the bar before the man even hit the floor, but it was too late. There was nothing he could do but help the man up. He rubbed his jaw and looked at me like I was crazy. “What the hell, man? I was on your side.”
Maybe he had been, but he’d also called Lexa a bitch and I wasn’t about to stand for it. As pissed off as I was, I’d beat his ass down if he made that mistake again.
“You need to calm down, Aiden.” Glen helped the guy to the other end of the bar and gave him a free beer, which he drank around keeping his pie hole shut. Then he stepped back over to me. “Am I going to have to cut you off already?”
“You know I’m not drunk. That asshole’s been running his mouth all night.” I downed my beer and knocked on the bar, meeting Glen right in the eyes, challenging him to cut me off.
“Promise me, friend, that you’ll settle down. Let’s talk about something else.” He thought steering me away from the conversation would help matters, but after another hour and three more beers, I was back on it.
“You know I even thought about marrying her? Of course, I wanted her to move in first. How fucking dumb could I get, right? Lexa Lively. Sounds like a fucking stripper’s name.” I turned and shouted to the crowd, “A fucking stripper, ladies and gentlemen.”
“That’s enough, buddy. I’m closing you down and calling your friend Scott. I’m sure he’s up to make a buck.”
“Fuck Scott.” I pushed my empty glass off the bar and stood up. “I’ll walk home.” I threw my keys across the bar, and they broke a glass. Glen cursed and then came around to walk me to the door.
“You’re going to end up in jail; let me call you a ride.” I jerked away from him and met his stare.
“I’m fine. I’m going to walk off some of my aggression. Go serve your fucking beers, and I’ll call you when I get home.”
“If I don’t hear from you in a few hours, I’m sending out search parties.” He was concerned, and as mad and drunk as I was, I was also grateful. He deserved a better friend than me.
“Okay. I’ll be good, I promise. Give me my house key.” Glen hesitated then took my key off the little ring and pressed it into my palm.
“Don’t lose that.” He walked away, and I gave him a salute and kept walking across the lot to my truck. I had to take a piss, and I wasn’t going back inside. I walked up to the front of my truck and had my cock out aiming into the bushes when the loudmouth came out from the other side and started running his mouth again.
He said something about a sucker punch, but I turned and pissed on his shoes. He screamed and threw a punch, but I ducked out of the way before his other hand connected. I staged a bit, feeling the sting on my cheek. With my cock still hanging out, I punched him back into my truck door. He staggered forward, and I moved out of the way in time for him to land face down in my piss.
“You’re having a worse fucking night than me.” I spat on him and then turned to walk away as Lexa’s Camaro pulled to a stop and her window went down.
Correction: maybe my night was worse, after all.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I shook my head and went to walk around the car; if she had shown up before I’d been punched in the gut, I might have still been drunk enough to actually get in the car with her.
She drove forward, keeping me from going around. “Aiden, let me take you home. Please. I’m worried about you.” She looked like a mess, and the last thing I wanted to see was her crying eyes pleading with me. I wasn’t about to break weak.
“Not going to happen, sweetheart.” I kept walking the only way I could out to the street, but she didn’t give up.
“We don’t have to talk. You don’t have to give me a chance, but please let me take you home. I need to know you’re safe. Please.” It was a long walk home and looking longer by the minute the more I sobered up.
But I couldn’t do it. “What do you care? You can’t play nurse and fix this, Lexa. My bad, Alexandra. Alexandra Patterson.”
“I’m still Lexa, Aiden. The same person-”
I slammed my hands down on her car door and leaned in the window. “Don’t give me that shit. You lied to me about who you were. I don’t even know you.” Seeing her flinch away from me put me in check. “You need to leave. Before I do or say something I’ll regret.” I stepped back, but she stayed put.
“I’m not leaving unless you let me drive you home. And then I promise, I’ll leave you alone, and you never have to talk to me again.”
I scratched my head and decided she could take me to the liquor store. A ride wouldn’t hurt anything, and maybe part of me wasn’t ready to let her go — a very small part,
that was fading fast.
I growled and grabbed the handle and opened the door. “Take me up the street.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t want her thanks or her approval. I needed her to take me to a gas station so I could grab a case of beer to get me through the night. She pulled in, and I got out before the car came to a complete stop. “I’ll wait here.”
Whatever. I went inside and took my time, but I kept an eye on her, realizing we were still in a shitty part of town. She’d put herself in a car alone in the fucking worst part of town to wait for me. She had to have been outside the whole time, and no telling how long she’d waited for me to come out.
It’s not because she cares. She’s still playing her game. I wouldn’t let myself believe differently.
I went back out and got in the car, and she pulled out without saying a word. It wasn’t until we were halfway to my house that she tried to make conversation.
“I hope we can talk later, maybe when you’ve sobered up?” I could feel her eyes on me, but I wasn’t about to glance in her direction. Peripheral vision was quite enough.
I’d never had anyone hurt me the way she had, but I wasn’t about to waste my breath telling her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t blame you. I knew all along you’d hate me in the end. That’s why I couldn’t tell you. I wanted to, so badly. I knew I should. It just kept getting harder and harder the more I fell for you. I wish I had-”
“But you didn’t.”
She pulled into my road and was quiet all the way until she stopped in my drive. “For what it’s worth, Aiden, I’m sorry. Being with you was everything to me, and I wanted to fix things so many times, but I was too scared. The longer it went on, the harder it was.”
“You didn’t just lie to me once, dammit. You lied over and over, every fucking day.” My voice grew louder and louder. “You had more than enough chances to own up. You deliberately kept your identity from me. Well, your little game is over, and your parents have enough of my money that you should be comfortable for a long time.”
“Aiden.” Her hand touched my arm, and I snatched it away and turned and grabbed her face in my hands. She turned her cheek into my touch, closing her eyes as if I was caressing her, but my hands pressed tight, squeezing with just enough pressure that her eyes widened. I leaned in close so she’d feel my breath on her face and hoped she’d remember that moment.
“Don’t you ever come near me again, do you hear me? Never.” Her lip trembled as a tear trailed down her cheek. “Stop your fucking crying and answer me.”
“I won’t come back.”
“Promise me.” I clenched my hands harder against her.
“I promise.” Her voice broke and then she added. “I’m sorry.”
I leaned closer, a breath away from a kiss and she turned her head as if she wanted to meet my lips. “You’re a fucking liar.” I pushed her away, and her head fell to the steering wheel as she sobbed, but I had grabbed my beer from the floorboard, slammed the car door, and was in my house before she could say anything else to me. I fell back against the door and collapsed to the floor screaming to the top of my lungs. “FUCK!”
All at once the pain came back as the numbness from the alcohol was gone. I ripped open the case and popped another top to drown my sorrows.
It had killed me to look into her eyes, to hold her with such force and scare the living shit out of her, but it was a necessary evil. I had to kill it. I had to destroy it before it bred into an even more fucked up relationship where I loathed her more than I loved her. How could I ever look into her beautiful face and believe a word from her pretty lips? I’d been a fool for her once, and shame on her for using me.
But I’d be damned and broken in the pits of hell before I let her put me through anything else like that ever again.
By the time I drank my way through the night, I had vowed that I’d wake up with better focus in the days to come. I’d chalk this nightmare up as a lesson learned and move on with my life. I’d practice law on my own, away from Layne and any semblance of what my father wanted for me.
I was going to do things my way, with no one to hold me back, especially not Lexa Fucking Patterson.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Lexa
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d held my face, the way he’d spoken to me.
He hated me. There was no going back from this. I had hoped that if I drove out to find him, he’d listen to me and let me explain my side of things. I hadn’t expected it to fix anything, but I also hadn’t expected to make it worse.
“You should have let him cool down, Lex. What the hell did you expect?” Bre was pacing her room and fighting mad. I even had to hold her back from going over to his house and kicking his ass. “Are you sure he didn’t get rougher than you told me?”
She was afraid that he’d hit me, but I assured her that my swollen eyes were from crying that past day away and not from anything he’d done to me. I took a deep breath and tried to relax, but the sobs still ran through me. “He didn’t hurt me. He wouldn’t do that.” Although, from the feral look in his eyes, I hadn’t been too sure as he held my face in his strong hands.
“Are you going to get in trouble for calling in?” I’d told Bre before how difficult it is to call in, being a nurse. It never looks good, but at least I had Kathy to cover my shift and she appreciated the extra money. I owed her one.
“I don’t know if I’m going back tomorrow, either. I can’t focus, and Rob’s been on my ass enough lately as it is. He’s already had to send me home once. I’m afraid that the next time, he’ll suspend me or let me go.”
She joined me on the sofa and took my hand. “You can’t let this affect your work. It’s not worth it. Aiden is going to move on with his life. Eventually, you both will, but you have to look out for you.” I knew she had a point, but the pain was so bad I could barely think about anything else.
“This isn’t like you. You’re not the type of person who gets down over a man.” She shook her head like she didn’t know what to do with me.
“I’ve never done something so stupid to make someone hate me before. And I’ve never loved anyone like I love him.”
She had a point. I had to pull it together. I was a strong, independent woman and I’d get through this. I wiped my raw eyes one last time and took a deep breath. I had to stop the waterworks and buck up.
There was no way Aiden was laying around miserable. Sure, he’d pulled a drunk and brought home enough beer to pull another, but he was going to pay my parents their money and move on. He’d start his own office like he said and then he’d be all set. He’d probably meet some gorgeous paralegal and move her into Olde House. They’d raise a big family, grow old, and sip tea on his back porch, staring off into the oaks until they died happily ever after.
“Have you talked to your parents at all?” She cringed before I even answered, and I had a feeling she was picturing that discussion.
“I’m going over later. I’d ask you to come hold my hand, but since you bit Mother’s off once already, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” We shared a half-hearted laugh.
“Yeah, that might be for the best. But if you really need me, I’ll come anyway. Let me know. I’ll throw on a muzzle and come running.”
“I have to do this myself.” I took another deep, cleansing breath and stood. “I think I’ll head on over and get it done with. Maybe if I’m lucky they’ll disinherit me and I won’t have to die with the guilt of living off Walker money.”
“It will be okay.” She stood and gave me a hug and walked me to my car.
After a short goodbye, and before I started boohooing again, I headed off to my parents’ house. I needed to explain things before they thought the worst of Aiden and me. Too late.
“Come in, Lexa.” Dad held the door open, and for the first time in my life, I felt like a stranger in my home. My mom stood in the doorway to the kitchen and didn’t come in to greet me until we
had sat down.
She lowered herself beside me on the opposite end of the sofa. “Alexandra.” She had never like shortening my name. She said it cheapened it, which was hard to hear at age ten when everyone else, including my father, had been doing it for years. “I think it’s best we get to the heart of the matter. It’s obvious you know Aiden Walker, but I’d like to know the exact nature of your friendship.”
So that was it — right to the point. No how are you doing or I’m sorry you’re upset.
“I met Aiden at the hospital. He’d been in an accident, and I found out who he was. I felt bad for him because I knew what you were doing and it seemed like he was down on his luck. So, I gave him a ride home. I never told him who I was. I gave him a fake name, and since we hit it off, I’ve been seeing him ever since.”
My mother’s shoulders dropped like I had just taken the wind from her sails. “So, you’re saying this had nothing to do with the lawsuit?” She glanced at my father, who gave me a sidelong look.
“You’ve been dating him?” My father looked away as he leaned back in his chair across from me.
“I know it’s crazy. It’s the stupidest and most selfish thing I’ve ever done, I know that, but he’s a great guy. He’s treated me with nothing but respect and friendship, and he’s been there for me when no one else has, in a way that no one else has.” I looked to them both but only got blank stares in return as if the words were still sinking in.
“I’ve felt so alone since Shawn died. You two have had each other, you’ve leaned on each other. With Aiden, I finally had someone who understood what I was going through, even though I never told him about Shawn. I saw his grief firsthand, and as I saw the lawsuit was ripping open old wounds, I was healing them. He told me so. And, he was my bandage, as well.”
“So, he never put you up to trying to get us to withdraw the suit; that was all you?” I wanted to ask Dad if he’d been paying attention.
