Caroline had told Aidan they couldn’t be seen together in public. She freaked out when her friend with the big mouth saw him at spin class. He hadn’t even wanted to go to the stupid class. He did it to be with her. And now she was using it as an excuse to avoid going places together, at a point when their relationship should be taking off, going public, turning into something long-term.
Sometimes he wondered if she loved him as much as he loved her.
“You shouldn’t hang out with Stacey. I can tell she’s not your true friend,” Aidan had told Caroline afterward, out on the street.
“True friend? What are you, in eighth grade?” she’d said, laughing.
That lilt in her voice when she was amused was so adorable, he didn’t even mind being the object of her laughter.
“I’m just saying, you deserve better.”
“I agree, but what can I do? My circle is full of catty people like Stacey. She saw what she saw, and she’ll talk. She knows everybody I know. It was an unforced error. I can’t afford any more of those.”
She was worried about her divorce case. He got that; he felt the same way. The last thing Aidan wanted was to screw up her divorce. He wanted her free, sooner than later, so they could be together for real. And he wanted her to get the money back, and keep the beach house, so they could live the life he dreamed of. The two of them together in that house on Gramps’s land, for all the world to see.
“These people in your life treat you so bad,” he’d said. “Not only your friend, but your husband. I worry about him. About what he’s mixed up in. I want to protect you.”
“How can you help me? Jason is so volatile, and you’re not around,” she said.
“I can make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
“How? You heard what I said. You can’t be seen with me, without having it damage my case.”
“What if I were to follow him, to see what I can find out? To get some leverage?”
The city passed them by on all sides as Caroline held his gaze. Cars honking their horns, sirens blaring, people rushing. It was nothing to him. All he saw was her. He would do anything for this woman.
“Okay,” she said, finally. “But Jason can’t see you. And it’s better if we don’t communicate for a while.”
She glanced around to make sure nobody was watching. Then she stepped up to kiss him lightly on the lips and walked away. He would miss her terribly if they didn’t communicate, even if it was only temporary. But he had to do this—for their future, for her safety. The conversation he’d overheard in the parking lot before the husband slugged him weighed on Aidan’s mind. Half a million dollars, and the Russian chick. That jerk was up to something, and Aidan feared that Caroline could be in danger. He would find out, one way or the other, and put a stop to it.