AIDEN
I move to chase after Sarah, but Diego steps in my way. “You’re an asshole.” I brace myself for his fist, which looks ready to fly at my face.
“Diego, I don’t have time for this shit. I need to stop her from leaving.” I go to step around him, but he grabs my arm in a tight hold.
“You’ll let her go and stop hurting her.”
His words penetrate my brain and I pause to look at him. “I haven’t done anything?”
Diego narrows his eyes and looks over my shoulder. “Not only has Sarah seen you on the Internet with her, but you had to bring her home with you.” He shakes his head. “Why’d you tell Sarah that you loved her? When it’s obvious to her and me that you don’t. You’re my brother but right now I want to hit you.” He glares and everything starts to sink into my thick skull.
“That’s Rae,” I whisper, feeling defeated.
“Rae? As in your best friend, Rae?” Diego stares behind me.
“Yes.”
“Fuck me!” He scowls. “Then why the fuck did you let Sarah believe otherwise?”
“I didn’t…dammit. I never said anything.” I run my hands through my short hair. “I’m not even sure that I’ve ever mentioned Rae to her and it didn’t occur to me that she’d see pictures of me with her in Europe.”
“I’ve got better shit than this to do.” Diego steps around me, and jumping down the steps, he glares at Rae. He turns with his hands in his pockets. “You’ve got major explaining to do to Sarah if you ever want to be with her again. She’s upset and not just a little bit. She’s lost weight, bro, and that’s all down to you.”
“I noticed.” My heart sinks when I hear it out loud because she isn’t the only one to have lost weight.
I’ve been worried about Sarah and her lack of communication this past week that I walked out on the end of my European contract and brought Rae back to Montana with me.
She doesn?
?t have a permanent home and as we’re shooting a commercial together soon, I figured coming here with me was for the best. Plus she can visit her daughter, Andie, who isn’t too far away in school.
“I told you this was a bad idea without talking to Sarah first,” Rae offers.
“I would have spoken to her first if she’d have been talking to me,” I growl, feeling so damn helpless.
“Come inside.” Lucia, my stepmother steps out on the back deck. “Let Sarah calm down and talk to her when she comes out here tomorrow morning. But, Aiden, you better make sure you know what you’re going to say to her because that girl is hurting.” She stares at me pointedly before continuing in a hushed tone meant for my ears only, “It’s about time you both stop living a lie, especially that husband of hers.”
I watch dumbfounded as she goes back inside. Her reaction really shouldn’t surprise me. Lucia adores Sarah and considers her family. And truthfully neither Sarah nor I have been that great at concealing our feelings for each other. But to know my stepmother accepts me being with Sarah takes a weight that I hadn’t known was there from my shoulders. Her last words though make me think that perhaps she knows the truth about Greg. But how?
Putting some of Lucia’s words to the back of my mind for now, I hold my hand out and pull Rae inside and to the guest bedroom. “I’ll go and grab your things.”
I quickly leave the room before she can say a word and avoiding the kitchen, I step outside and breathe.
What the hell was I thinking bringing Rae back with me before I’d explained about her to Sarah?
My brain needs to start working because I’m suddenly seeing how my relationship with Rae looks. I just thought Sarah would trust me.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Mateo drawls and pulls me into a hug.
I offer him a wry smile and watch as he leans against the porch.
“How’s my niece and her gorgeous mom?” I ask, itching to visit them so that I can cuddle with tiny Francesca. At least she’s one female who wouldn’t be unhappy with me.
“They’re good, but you look like shit.”
Laughing, I drop my ass into a chair. “I tell you. When I screw up, I screw up big time.”
“So I heard,” he comments.