Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(29)

While the argument between the brothers had terrified her, what had come from it had been wonderful. There had been anger but no violence. And Aidan had been totally there for her. He’d seen her terror and he’d reacted in a caring, gentle way.

She’d thought a lot about what had happened and had come to realize it wasn’t so much that he’d understood she was afraid, it was that even though he’d been angry, he’d been reachable. He hadn’t gone to such a place of darkness that he couldn’t be brought back.

Her therapist had talked about that. How most people who weren’t her father could get angry, but even flooded with that emotion, they could be reasoned with. That her job was to find men like that, men who could be trusted no matter how enraged they might be. She hadn’t thought such a man existed—except for her brother—but she’d been happily wrong.

She smoothed the icing on the cake she was making for Aidan. It was one of her favorites, with three different fillings, including one flavored with Kahlúa. She had a feeling he was going to like it. She hoped so.

“That looks beautiful,” Amber said as she walked into the back of the bakery. “I know a boyfriend cake when I see one.”

Shelby laughed. “No boyfriend, I promise. This is for a friend who happens to be a guy.”

“Yeah, I’m not a big believer in that. Twenty-one years ago I took one look at Tom and thought that I had to get me some of that.” She smiled. “I still feel that way. The man moves me.” She nodded at the cake. “That’s an I-got-to-get-me-some-of-that cake, Shelby. You can pretend all you want, but the message is in that icing there.”

Shelby just smiled at her partner. She’d already explained about her experiment with Aidan. Some people got it and some didn’t. Regardless, she knew they were creating something great together and it wasn’t the least bit romantic.

Not that she couldn’t appreciate the allure. He was a big, strong, handsome guy. Equally necessary for her, he was someone she could trust. Gentle, smart, funny and, okay, sexy. Sometimes she thought about what it would be like if they were more than friends. She would bet he kissed like a dream. If nothing else, he had lots of experience.

That made her smile, which caused Amber to raise her eyebrows. “See. There’s something going on.”

“I can look without touching.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Amber wrinkled her nose and placed her hand on her stomach. “I have an appointment with Dr. Galloway.”

“Still not feeling right?”

“No.” Her business partner sighed. “I’m probably going through early menopause. A horrifying thought.”

“You’re too young for that.”

“I think so, but tell that to my girl parts.” Amber smiled. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“You’ll tell me if it isn’t?” Shelby asked.

“Of course.”

Shelby wanted to believe her, but wasn’t sure. She and Amber worked well together, but their partnership was still very new and establishing meaningful trust took time. If Amber was sick, then Shelby would do whatever she could to help. She could keep the business going for as long as necessary. All things she would say if and when the time came.

*

“YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?” Shelby asked.

Aidan stared at the low, one-story building and the handful of cars in the parking lot. Sure he had doubts, but he wanted to go forward anyway. “It’s the next logical step,” he said firmly.

“You could start with a plant.”

He glanced at her. “Very funny. I can keep a dog alive. I’ll be a good pet owner.”

“I believe the phrase you’re looking for is pet dad.” She smiled. “If you get into trouble, I’m close by.”

“Because you know about dogs?”

“I read things on the internet.”

“Well then. No worries.”

They were in the front seat of his truck, with her leaning toward him. Early February was just as cold as January had been, so there was plenty of snow. Shelby was bundled up in a thick sweater and a jacket over that. She had a ridiculous purple knit cap pulled down to her eyebrows. Despite it all, she was still sexy as hell.

Aidan breathed through the now familiar waves of need that rippled through him. June would get here eventually and then he could finally get some. He had made the right decision—not only to try being friends with Shelby, but to walk away from the short-term hookups that had dominated his life.

Despite the fact that this was the longest he’d ever gone without sex—at least since high school, when he didn’t know any better—he was pleased with how things were going. He knew he was changing. He liked hanging out with Shelby. He enjoyed her company. The fact that they were never going to be lovers was okay with him. That didn’t mean he didn’t think about ways to please them both pretty much every time they were together, but he figured the pain and frustration would build character.

What was really strange was how he wasn’t tempted by any of the tourists passing through town. Several attractive women had been in the office to arrange tours. He’d taken a group of single women on an overnight cross-country-skiing weekend and none of them had tantalized him in the least. A couple had flirted, but he’d been immune.