“Yet you share that house with Ford and Tanner.”
“That’s different. They’re my brothers—both of them.”
“It’s just one night, Aiden.”
“It’s a night where I only want to hang out with friends, not coworkers.”
“Yet you let me stay.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know Mac didn’t give me a choice.”
She nodded. “Let’s go back to your being a professional.”
I stiffened. If she questioned that when she didn’t even know me, I was going to lose my shit.
“Isn’t part of being a pro in your industry—in any industry, actually—helping the people who are newer?”
“You can’t teach someone to act if they don’t have a knack for it.”
“But what if she does? She’s been in commercials, kids’ movies, indie films. Would that have happened if she couldn’t act?”
Truthfully, yes. It could happen. But I was willing to entertain the idea that it might not be true in this case. Maybe instead of me finding a script with an all-male cast, Sierra needed to find one with an all-female cast. Perhaps then she wouldn’t be so damn jumpy and freeze up all the time.
Ronnie took a step closer. “Couldn’t you please just let her come over? Think of it as a mentoring moment. Or as your good deed of the decade.”
I had to bite back a smile at that. Apparently, she didn’t think I did very many of them. Ronnie smoothed a strand of her dark hair away from her face, and for some reason, I felt the urge to reach out and touch it. “There’ll be real beer?”
“Yes,” she said eagerly.
“And steaks the size of my head?”
She nodded.
“And you won’t glare at me if I leave my damn dishes on the table?”
“For the duration of the shoot.”
That was better than I’d hoped for. Either Ronnie sucked at negotiating or this was really important to her. I sighed. “All right, invite her over.”
I’d probably regret this, but it did sound like one hell of a meal.
16
Ronnie
Everything was in place by the time Sierra was supposed to arrive. Ford had the grill ready to go out back. Tanner was in charge of drinks. I’d made the salad I always made for parties, one that my brother had taught me how to make long ago. And the woman who normally provided dinner had stopped by with an assortment of cupcakes.
For some reason, the men had really gotten on board with this dinner. They all showered and changed when they got home, and Ford had even shaved off the three-to-four-day stubble he usually wore. I had to admit, they cleaned up nicely. I put on an off-the-shoulder peasant blouse, a skirt, and sandals. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d worn a skirt. Tanner gave an exaggerated wolf whistle when he saw me, and I couldn’t help but grin.
But the biggest change of the evening didn’t involve showering, shaving, or clean clothes. No, the biggest change was Aiden’s entire personality.
The doorbell rang when I was in the kitchen. I rushed into the living room, but Aiden opened the door before I could. “Welcome! Come on in, I hope you’re hungry.”
Sierra exchanged a completely confused glance with me before she tentatively stepped inside. “Hi.”
“Just so there’s no confusion, I’m Aiden. Tanner’s wearing a blue shirt tonight so you can tell us apart.” He gestured into the living room, and Sierra stepped past him. When he turned, Aiden had the most charming smile I’d ever seen.
Aiden.
Charming.
It felt really weird to put those two words together in the same sentence.
“What can I get you to drink?”
Sierra still looked stunned. “Do you have white wine?”
“Of course. Would you like to sit in here until the meal is ready? Or it’s a nice night. We can go out on the back deck and see if Ford’s as proficient at the grill as he claims to be.”
Despite the sincerity of his words, I half suspected that he and his brother had switched and that this really was Tanner, because I’d never seen Aiden this way before. Yet something about his confident walk or the way he seemed to take up more space in the room than a man his size should convinced me that this was, indeed, Aiden.
I didn’t realize my jaw was hanging open until I tried to greet Sierra. “Um, hi. I’m glad you could make it.”
Sierra moved to my side, and we attempted to hold an entire conversation by eye contact. I didn’t know her well enough to be certain how well we succeeded, but I’m fairly sure we exchanged the questions: What the hell?, Is that really Aiden?, and Seriously, what the hell?
“Outside sounds nice,” Sierra said.
Aiden directed his charm offensive at me for a moment. “Ronnie, what can I get you to drink?”
“Wine, please.”
“Great. Why don’t you take our guest out back and I’ll meet you lovely ladies there?”
I nodded in a dazed sort of way, and Sierra and I walked through the dining room. “What the hell?” she whispered as I opened the sliding glass door.