Ronan joked, earning a narrowed gaze from Aiden.
“Couldn’t help yourself.”
Ronan rolled his eyes. “Well, I haven’t changed completely.”
“Clearly.”
“But in all seriousness, I would like to spend time together. I want to talk. Just talk. I want to know what happened to you over all these years. I want to know about your sons. I want to know about this woman who stole your heart away.”
Aiden jerked out of Ronan’s arms, his blood suddenly running cold at Ronan’s words. His friend looked hurt and confused, but Aiden forced himself to ignore it. The mention of Julianna was a splash of ice water waking him from this dream Ronan had been weaving.
What was he doing? Had he not suffered enough heartache and pain over his lovely angel, Julianna? He regretted not a moment of his time with her, but could he truly risk his heart all over again for Ronan? Fear squeezed his lungs, making it hard to breathe as he stared at his friend’s confused expression. Losing Ronan the first time nearly killed him. Losing Julianna to madness after he’d tried to save her had crushed what was left of his heart. It was only through the love and devotion of his sons that he’d survived this long. What would happen if he lost Ronan again?
It wasn’t just his life and heart on the line. What about his sons? What about their safety and well-being? No. This was madness.
“Julianna stole nothing. I gave her my heart freely,” Aiden snapped when he could unclench his jaw. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” He spun quickly on his heel and marched to the open doorway.
“I’ll wait for you, Aiden. I’ll wait an eternity. I just got you back,” Ronan replied as Aiden made his escape.
No, before Aiden could run. He was running. Running from Ronan. Running from these old and new feelings the man was stirring up that he just couldn’t afford to feel.
“You shouldn’t,” Aiden whispered and then hurried across the hall and down the stairs.
What the hell was he thinking?
He’d been thinking that he needed to lean in only an inch to brush his lips over Ronan’s. That only an inch had kept him from tasting the man’s mouth, feeling those full lips on his.
At the bottom of the stairs, he halted sharply, his gaze catching on the last place he’d seen Julianna’s ghost. What would she say about Aiden dancing in Ronan’s arms? Would she feel betrayed? Hurt? Disappointed? He’d thought he’d follow her into the next life when their existence here was over.
But he was still here.
“I’m not leaving,” Ronan stubbornly called from the second floor. “If you want me to leave your domain, you have to say the words, Aiden. You have to say them to my face.”
Aiden clenched his jaw and continued to march to his office. A wise man would have gone back up the stairs and said them. He would have removed any hope that Ronan was still tightly gripping. It would have been the kind thing to do. But he didn’t. Couldn’t.
As he reached the door, he could have sworn he heard Ronan’s relieved “Thank you” drift through the silence.
Aiden couldn’t let him go. Not yet.
Chapter Six
Aiden sat with a book in his lap later that evening, but he was spending more time staring out the window than actually reading. Hours had passed since Ronan had left the house, and now Aiden couldn’t decide if maybe he’d overreacted to Ronan’s mention of Julianna. Common sense said that Ronan hadn’t meant anything by the playful comment. There hadn’t been an ounce of disdain or jealousy in his tone.
Why had he flown off like that?
His mind shied away from the answer to a more difficult thought. Maybe it would be better if Ronan left his domain and they went their separate ways. So much time had passed. How could they possibly just pick up where they left off? That didn’t make any sense at all.
“That must be a really horrible book,” Winter murmured, drawing a chuckle from Aiden. “You’ve been staring out the window for the last five minutes.”
“Maybe I was just wondering which son would bring trouble to my doorstep next,” Aiden said with a smile. Putting the book on the table at his elbow, he started to rise, but Winter was already waving him to stay seated. Closing the distance between them, Winter wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him as tightly as he could from the awkward position.
Winter