Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2) (54)

I sighed heavily and asked no one in particular, “Why the hell are we friends again?”





After finishing my workout, I left Theo to agonize over his never-ending screenplay and made my way to Aria’s office. At her distracted-sounding “come in,” I entered to find her staring at her phone and biting her nails. The posture of anxiousness was unlike her, and my gut knotted a wee bit. Her mood affected mine way more than I should be comfortable with, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything but happy that I’d found Aria during one of the toughest moments in my adult life.

And I never wanted her to be anything but happy too. I closed the door and strode across the room. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She blinked rapidly as if surprised to see me. “Oh. I’m … what? Is everything okay?”

“You tell me.” I settled my arse on her desk. Today she wore a short-sleeve silk blouse that accentuated her curves. Her hair was down, something I noted she’d been doing more often lately. It fell in straight, silky strands around her perfect face. My attention snagged on her full mouth and I fought the urge to steal a kiss. Or ten.

Her eyes glinted with amusement as if she knew my thoughts. “I’m fine. What brings you to my office?”

I wanted to push, but I also had to run the conversation I’d had with my agent this morning by her. “Forster wants me back in training ASAP.”

Aria’s expression turned annoyingly blank. “So you’re leaving?”

Frustrated that she was still hiding herself from me, I buried it because I didn’t want to push too hard. “I hoped it would be all right with the club if my trainer comes to Ardnoch.”

Still no reaction. Just efficient estate manager mode. “You know your membership includes a plus one. We can accommodate your personal trainer. May I ask for how long?”

“About a month, and then I’ll have to leave to go train with the stunt team.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re doing your own stunts?”

Was she worried about me? I smiled at the thought. “Not all of them. But some. I want to be as believable as possible. Matt Damon was Jason Bourne. Daniel Craig was James Bond. Those are the kinds of performances I want to live up to.”

She nodded, lowering her eyes. “Well, be careful.”

“That’s why I’m training.” I leaned in and nudged her leg with my foot. “So, why were you biting your nails when I walked in?” Was it because I was leaving in a month? Was she going to use it as an excuse to break things off between us? Because I wasn’t giving up that easily.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, shifted uncomfortably, and then let out a long, exasperated sigh. I tried to wait patiently through it.

Then she grabbed her phone off the desk and waved it in agitation at me. “I’m worried about Allegra.”

Not what I’d been expecting, but I also wasn’t surprised. Aria had already told me things were strained between them but had gone into little detail. “What’s going on?”

“It’s stupid. I’m being stupid.” Her eyes brightened with tears. “It’s just hormones.”

Aria’s period had arrived last night, so we’d hung out, made out, but not a lot else. Which was more than fine with me. She hadn’t quite realized we were acting like a couple in a relationship, and I didn’t intend to enlighten her until she was already too deep in.

I lowered to my haunches to force her to look at me. “You can tell me anything, princess.”

She flicked a manicured hand near her eye and chuckled unhappily. “I’m acting like a baby.”

“That’s for me to decide,” I joked, smoothing my hands over her thighs in reassurance. “Come on, tell me what’s upsetting you.”

Fiddling with her phone, she took a minute before meeting my gaze. And at that moment, I felt myself falling into her. Falling for her. Because there was nothing more important to me than taking away the sadness I saw buried in her eyes. My hands tightened on her and my words were thick as I pushed, “Talk to me.”

“Maybe it is stupid … but … Allegra always used to tell me she loved me in her texts.” Her voice broke a little as she dropped her phone onto the desk with a thump. “She hasn’t said it since I refused to help her with dropping out of college. I thought things were weird, but not so weird that she wasn’t talking to me. Does that make sense?”

I nodded, pressing closer.

“She hugged me when she left. I thought we were okay.” Without thinking, she sought my comfort, sliding her hands over mine. I turned my palms up and tangled my fingers through hers. “But she’s so distant. She just posted a picture from the South of France. She’s there for spring break and never mentioned to me she was going to an entirely different country. Oh, God …” She tugged on her hands, but I wouldn’t let her go. “I sound about ten years old.”

“You sound hurt,” I disagreed.

“I am.” Fresh tears brightened her eyes. “What? I’m only worthy of my family’s love as long as I do exactly what they want me to do for them? That’s how Mamma has made me feel my whole life, how the guys I’ve dated made me feel … I never thought Allegra would treat me like that.”