Page 49 of Vain

“You went through something horrific, Tilly. I’d be more concerned if you weren’t a little traumatized by the whole thing, to be honest. What you see as a weakness, to me, just makes you human.”

I lean forward and kiss him, pushing every ounce of gratitude I feel into it. “Thank you. And I promise to think about what you said. I have a lot going on up here, and I don’t want to rush into any decisions or hurt people down the line.”

“You’ll get no pressure from me, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

I tuck my head under his chin and soak him in, enjoying the peace before the chaos descends once more. I must drift off to sleep because the next thing I know, Aiden is nudging me awake. I discreetly lift my hand and wipe my mouth, hoping I didn’t drool all over him. When he smirks at me, I figure he knows exactly what I’m doing, but he doesn’t call me on it.

“Time to go,” he whispers, which is when I realize we’ve already landed. “When you’re out, you’re really out.” He chuckles.

“I did warn you.”

“That you did. That you did.”

By the time we make it through the terminal with our bags, my nerves about being home are settling. I realize I can only bury my head in the sand for so long. He’s right that I needed time to heal. I don’t regret the time I took to lick my wounds, but enough is enough. I’m not gonna let this asshole keep shrinking my world until I’m trapped in a cage of my own making.

Of course, that confidence takes a direct hit when we walk through the doors to a wall of press screaming my name and shoving cameras and microphones in my face. I turn my head, grateful for the hat and glasses, as lights flash and pop all around us.

Luckily, Aiden made sure to have a car waiting for us. Once he forcefully clears a path for us, he shoves me into the back of the car and climbs in next to me without anything happening, other than my heart threatening to explode out of my chest.

“Drive,” he orders the driver as he clips my seatbelt. The car rocks slightly as people push up against it. “Jesus fucking Christ, is it always like this?”

“Only when they have something juicy to print. Someone must have tipped them off that I was here.”

“Can’t be Cora, she didn’t know who you were.”

That was the whole point of me not making a complaint, even though it galled me to keep my mouth shut. In the long run, I was more concerned about the media turning up and trying to get to Zoe.

“Nobody knew when we were flying in except for your friends, and I can’t see any of them calling the media. Must be someone from the plane.”

He shakes his head before reaching for his phone and tapping out a message.

“I’m sorry.”

He looks up at me and frowns. “What the heck are you sorry for?”

“This is a lot. With everything that’s happened with Kellen, this is the last thing you need.”

“This is the job I signed up for.”

I flinch before schooling my reaction, but not before he catches it.

He reaches over and slides his hand into my hair, holding me in place, so I can’t turn away. “I came here for a job and I intend to do that to the best of my ability. But you are so much more than a job for me, Matilda Carson. Never doubt that.”

“Okay,” I murmur, my eyes boring into his, looking for any signs of deception and finding none.

“Good girl.”

Chapter Twenty-One

AIDEN

There was another source that she hadn’t considered. I didn’t want to be the one to shatter any illusions, not until I knew for sure.

The drive back home is done in relative silence. I keep hold of her hand, needing to feel connected to her even as I feel her trying to resurrect a wall between us. I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose. It’s more a self-protection thing, but it pisses me off all the same. I wish the rest of the world could just fuck off and leave us alone.

I sigh when we reach the gates and lift her hand to kiss the back of it as the driver holds out his ID for Davey, who leans forward to see who is in the back. He nods at Matilda first, then me, before handing the driver’s ID back to him.

“You okay?”