Playing It Safe(56)

My heart hammers in my chest, and my stomach does a flip-flop while my adrenaline skyrockets. All because he’s on the other side of that door.

It’s only Alex. You’ve known him for years. You’ve seen him naked now, so calm down and stop being such a spaz.

I snap out of my awkward stance and approach the door. As he starts lightly knocking again, I fling it open, and my mouth drops open in shock.

Because it’s not Alex. Nope, it’s * extraordinaire, Aiden.

Before I can say anything because my head is flying in all sorts of different directions, one of which is that Alex will be here any minute, Aiden steps forward and goes to kiss me hello on the cheek.


When he gets within an inch of me, I take a step back. “What are you doing?”

“I was trying to say hello,” he says.

“I get that. I don’t necessarily understand it, but I get that’s what you were just trying to do.” My hands clench into fists at my sides, trying to control the raw anger raging inside of me at the sight of him. “What I meant was what are you doing here at my house?”

Instead of answering me, he takes a second to look me over from head to toe. His head tilts to the side before he licks his lips when he’s done with his perusal of me. “You look amazing, Julia. Better than ever.”

“Answer me, Aiden.”

He takes a step forward so that he’s now officially standing inside my house. I’m almost surprised the jerk doesn’t burst into flames and collapse into a pile of ashes when he crosses the threshold, given the amount of hexes I’ve put on him over the years. What makes it so much worse is that he looks sinfully good wearing distressed blue jeans that hang low on his hips and a snug white T-shirt that showcases his muscular arms, allowing me a sneak peek at the tribal tattoo around his right bicep.

“You didn’t return my phone call,” he says, taking yet another step forward.

I answer by taking a step backward.

“So I figured I’d come by to see you instead.”

He gives me a cocky look like I should be grateful that he decided to grace me with his presence.

“See and that’s where you figured wrong. When someone doesn’t return your phone call, it’s the polite way of saying they don’t want to talk to you. But you’re too f*cking stupid to realize when I’m trying to be polite, so I’ll say it in a way that you can understand.” I put my hands on my hips and lean forward until I’m as close as I can afford to be around him without wanting to do bodily harm. “Stay the hell away from me. Don’t call me, don’t write me, and don’t ever show your face here again. If you do, I’ll pick up the phone and call your fiancée faster than you can say, ‘I’m an *.’”

Aiden chuckles and rubs his jaw with his hand. “Now that’s the Julia I’ve missed so much. I knew she was in there somewhere.”

“Aiden, just stop it already. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s not true. I’ve missed you.” He pauses and tries his best to look sincere. On him it looks more like the devil trying to pass as an angel. Yes, it’s sexy as hell, but I’m not falling for it.

“Seeing you the other day has made me think about things,” he says.

“Wait a second. Maybe I have wax buildup in my ears or I’m losing my f*cking mind, but did you just say you’ve missed me?” I ask incredulously.

He tries to reach for my hand, but I take a couple more steps away from him. “You know what? Don’t even answer that because I don’t give a shit. You left me, and now you’re engaged. End of story. So I’d like for you to leave right now because no one here is buying the bullshit you’re selling today.”

“I’m not leaving until you give me a chance to explain,” he says.

Through clenched teeth, I say, “Please. Leave. Now.”

He doesn’t budge. In fact, he crosses his arms and leans against the wall in the foyer as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

And this is when the shit officially hits the fan.

“By my count, the lady has already asked you to leave twice.” Alex’s assured and scary calm voice comes from the direction of the door. Aiden and I both look in that direction to find him with his hands in his jeans pockets, leaning against the frame. “That’s one more than necessary, don’t you think?”

Aiden looks back at me with his lips fighting a grin, and then he looks back at Alex. “Don’t I know you?”

Alex casually starts walking toward me, completely ignoring Aiden. My heart is in my throat when he comes to stand beside me and wraps his arm possessively around my waist, pulling me into his side, blatantly letting Aiden know that he’s here for me. He couldn’t have made it more obvious if he would have pissed at my feet like a dog marking its territory. I’m usually not one for displays of ownership by a man where testosterone starts flying everywhere, but for some crazy reason, what Alex just did makes me so incredibly happy that I find myself moving farther into his warmth.

“Doesn’t matter if I know you or not,” Alex says tersely. “Julia asked you to leave. Not once, but twice. But you’re still standing here. My suggestion is you turn around right now and go home.”

Aiden’s eyes roam over us in our semi-embrace, and he chuckles as he turns around and starts walking toward the door. Just before he walks outside, he cranes his neck over his shoulder and says, “Julia, I’ll be in touch.”