Saint Sloan (Saint Sloan #1)(55)

Her mind raced, not knowing if it was an appropriate time to kiss. They had just been talking about his brother who had feelings for her. And now…

Thank goodness, he backed up. He cleared his throat and ran his hand over his face. “And it’s scary. I’m not scared of your stalker. I’m scared of how I feel about you. And if you feel the same way about me.” Aaron jumped from the bed and started pacing the floor. When he got to talking, he didn’t stop. “I know I’m not my brother. I’m not the good one or the saved one. Ray had his moments, but he really is a good guy, and I know I shouldn’t act this way around a girl he likes. I know I’m a jerk for kissing you when I knew how he felt about you, but…” He faced her. His eyes intense. “I know how I feel about you too. I think I’ve made it fairly obvious.”

“You have.” Her throat was so dry. This had been one of the most stressful days she’d had in a long time. Still, Aaron was there to protect her. She had a nagging feeling though. She couldn’t stop thinking about Ray. “What happened with the girl he sent flowers to?”

“Nothing.

She laughed.

“He stopped wasting his money on her. He moped a while. I saw a note he wrote her once, saying how he wanted to kill himself over her. I did some stealthy big brother bonding, and he got over it. See why I didn’t want to tell you?”

She nodded. A sick feeling knotted her stomach. “The day he was supposed to go see Boyd, did he come home instead?

“I didn’t see him. Didn’t mean he wasn’t there.” He stared at her strangely. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s not Ray. He’s not the one stalking you. Boyd’s the liar, not Ray.”

“I know.” She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind. “I know it’s not Ray. I’m worried about him. That’s all.” Okay, she wished that was all. It seemed a bit more than a coincidence that Ray had bought flowers for a girl he liked and left notes without his name. Then again, thousands of boys did that. Wasn’t it some sort of rite of passage or something?

“I can see the wheels turning in your brain.” Aaron sat back down on the bed. “Come here.” He pulled her to his chest and rubbed her hair. “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out tomorrow. You’re not going to school, are you?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I can handle it. I need a sick day.” It wasn’t a lie. She did feel sick. And the thought of seeing Darcy and Tanner and everyone else tomorrow made her stomach hurt worse. “I think I’ll lay around here tomorrow. Maybe catch up on some reading. Get ready for prom.”

“You and Ray are still going together, right? Don’t tell him I said this because I will deny it straight to his face, but he looks pretty good in his tux. Almost like a grown-up.”

Sloan pictured Ray in his tux and smiled. “I bet he does. And yeah, we agreed to still go to prom together. As friends.”

“Friends. I like the sound of that with you two.” She felt his smile in her hair.

“Is that what we are? Friends?” She couldn’t keep herself from asking.

“With benefits,” he teased.

“If that’s what you are looking for, you have the wrong girl.” She laughed and settled closer to him. It was nice to be held. She wasn’t alone and that felt good, especially after what had happened the last few days.

“I know, Saint Sloan. I know.” He patted her arm. “I don’t like you for your body anyway. It’s your brain that I find sexy.”

She laughed and hit him in the stomach. “As it should be.”

The day started getting to her, and she soon couldn’t fight to keep her eyes open.

“You sleep. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Promise?” she asked drowsily.

“Promise.”

With a smile, she drifted off to sleep, safe in Aaron’s arms.





CHAPTER NINE


One Day Before the Fall…



SLOAN WOKE UP THE SAME WAY she’d fallen asleep: pressed against Aaron’s side. True to his word, his eyes were open and staring off into space. She felt a little bad for that. She’d slept well and he apparently hadn’t slept at all.

“Mornin’.” She sat up at stretched. While it was comforting, it didn’t do her back any favors.

“Mornin’.” He smiled back. “You slept well.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you snored like you did.” He laughed and jumped off the bed when she tried to hit him.

“I don’t snore.”

“I beg to differ. But it’s a cute snore.” Aaron ducked out of the way from the pillow flying his direction.

“Thanks.” She grimaced. Her first nightlong sleepover with a boy, and she’d snored. It could have been worse. She could have drooled.

“Want me to go scope out the bathroom before you head in? Make sure there aren’t any boogeymen or creepy men in there?”

The bathroom. A place she didn’t want to go, but knew she had to. “If you don’t mind. Not that I want you to get hurt, but, you know. You’re a big, strong manly man who can protect himself from roses.”

“And boogeymen. Don’t forget that.”