Page 32 of Settling the Score

‘I just…’ His voice trailed off as she lifted the bottle to her lips once more, took another slow, refreshing sip then held the bottle towards him. ‘Did you want some? I presume you don’t mind sharing,’ she purred.

Aiden was frozen to the spot for a couple of seconds before he reached out and took the bottle, but this time, whether by choice or chance, his hand caught hers around the glass, holding it there a moment, and his other hand – with the flag – lifted to his glasses and unhooked them, so his eyes could finally meet hers.

Her temperature spiked. They were so blue, like glaciers. Her whole body reacted to the intimacy of that look, accompanied as it was by the big bear paw being wrapped around her hand.

‘Thanks.’ The word seemed to reach right inside of her and twist her stomach in a vice.

He repositioned his hand, moving it to the neck of the bottle, then lifted the drink and had some. Sienna dragged her attention to the tropical wilderness in front of them, staring at it, at the trunks of trees, rather than the way Aiden’s throat moved as he swallowed, the way his mouth covered the top of the bottle she’d just been drinking from.

She surreptitiously swiped a hand over her brow, wiping at the sweat that had started to pool there.

‘So, beer huh?’ He came around to his side of the cart and stepped in. This time, he was a little more relaxed, and his legs spread wider than a goddamn rink now, so his knee brushed hers. Her pulse throbbed.

‘What about it?’

‘I just don’t see it.’

‘There’s a lot about me you probably don’t see.’

‘Like what?’ he asked, the question relaxed, even when it set off a warning tone in her mind.

‘You’re asking what you don’t see about me?’

‘I’m asking what’s new with you?’

It was so infuriating she laughed, a slightly hysterical sound. ‘You… what’s new? Aiden, it’s been a lifetime…’

‘Between drinks?’

‘I was a kid back then,’ she muttered, starting the cart and continuing down the path.

‘Not quite.’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘But you’re not a kid now.’

‘No.’

‘So, what’s changed?’

‘Apart from ten or so years?’

‘Is there a reason you don’t want to answer me straight up?’

‘Like what?’ she asked.

‘Like, you’re secretly on the run from Interpol. Or you’ve gone into witness protection. Or you’ve robbed a bank. I don’t know.’

A smile tugged at one side of her lips. ‘No.’

‘Then you’re still pissed at me,’ he said, after a beat.

The whole world seemed to shutter into hyper colour, like some kind of TikTok filter had been applied. Time seemed to slow down, even when Sienna knew that wasn’t possible.

‘Why would I be pissed at you, Aiden?’ She couldn’t believe how steady her voice came out, like she was genuinely surprised by his question.

His laugh was almost self-conscious. ‘Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’