“True. Hey, Aiden!”
“Hi, Kinlee. Need help with anything?” I stiffened when I felt his arm go around my waist. “Hey, Kace, you look beautiful,” he mumbled into my ear.
“Thanks.” Guilt ate at me, but what else could I tell him? He knew how I felt—he knew my heart belonged to someone else. I felt horrible, and I hated that I couldn’t give Aiden what he wanted. But Brody had my entire soul.
“How’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. I heard about your rescue of that little girl. That’s amazing, Aiden, you saved her.”
Aiden’s cheeks went red, and he looked down at the floor as he shook his head faintly. “Any one of the other guys would’ve done the same thing.”
I doubted that, but that was typical Aiden—he didn’t want to be seen as a hero. The night of the fire, when Kinlee had come over, they’d all been told they couldn’t go back in the first apartment building because the fire had already done too much structural damage, but Aiden pushed his chief away and ran inside and up the stairs. He’d saved a four-year-old girl’s life seconds before that building had collapsed. And he’d gotten written up, but that part didn’t matter to him.
“But they didn’t.”
He was still shaking his head and looking completely embarrassed. “I was just doing my job.”
“Well, I’m proud of you, and I’m glad you’re safe.”
His brown eyes searched my face and he smiled sadly. “I’m here, Kace. Whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Instead of pulling away, he just looked down until his eyes were holding mine. “Don’t be sorry—then it makes me think I’ll never get my chance. I have to stay positive.”
“Aiden—”
“Don’t, KC, you told me how you feel. Doesn’t change the way I do.”
I sighed and stepped away from his nearness. Not knowing how to respond to that, I just smiled softly, touched his arm, and turned to go talk to Kinlee and her mom and mother-in-law. I’d barely gotten over there when there was a commotion and Mrs. Saco went running toward the door.
Turning in that direction, my breath caught in my throat and it felt like I was that much closer to feeling whole again. Just seeing him made the empty feeling subside a bit, but I knew until I could be with him again, I wouldn’t be complete. Brody hugged his mom and his eyes bounced around the living room until they hit me and his face softened.
We said the polite hellos, both of us knowing this night was going to be torture, but worth every second of it. For the entire evening it seemed like someone in his family was constantly questioning Brody, and the majority of our glances happened across the room from each other. Our words were almost all through texts, and I had to make sure Kinlee didn’t notice that I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.
I was putting more food out on the table when he came up behind me and grabbed my hip. I immediately set down the food and reached back to touch him, a sigh leaving my chest when I did.
“How did you get off work?” I asked quietly.
“Practically begged for the night off. I knew you would be here, and any opportunity like this to see you, I’ll take.” He was silent for a minute as he pretended to look at the food. “This is killing me, Kamryn.”
I kept my gaze on everyone else as I whispered back to him, “I know.”
One of Jace and Aiden’s friends started walking by us and toward the kitchen, so I dropped Brody’s hand and he grabbed at some food. “Everyone’s going to know about us tonight if I see Aiden Donnelly touch you again,” he growled under his breath and let his hand run over the curve of my back, past my butt, and down my thigh. “This is mine.”
“He knows there’s someone else, Brody. He’s just hoping to one day get his chance.”
“Brody, honey, come here, there’s someone I want you to see.” We both looked up to see his mom, and I pushed around a few trays. “Do you remember Savannah from high school? She’s here and she’s single, Brody.”
I tensed and noticed Brody do the same. “I’m married, Mom.”
Until that moment, I’d never seen Mrs. Saco look at anyone like she wanted to smash their face into a gravel driveway and dig in with her stiletto heels for good measure. And I’m guessing that look wasn’t directed at her son, but had to do with the woman she refused to call her daughter-in-law. “Again, Brody, it’s to that bitch of a woman who doesn’t deserve you and is manipulating you into staying with her. You don’t owe her anything except a stack of papers to sign to get out of your damn marriage. Why don’t you just come talk to Savannah? Maybe you’ll realize what you’re missing out on, honey.”
“I’m not interested,” he growled, and then groaned, “Fuck.”
I looked up at him seconds before I heard her.
“Ohmigod, Brody! I haven’t seen you since high school, you look amazing!” A tall woman with dark hair and dark eyes threw herself at Brody and clung to him for far too long. Even when he stopped hugging her, she kept her arms around his neck.