squeezes. “I’m starving. Aren’t you? Let’s hurry inside so we can order some appetizers.”
Then she starts tugging him away from me at top speed as if we’re not all going to the same place. I see them whispering to one another, complicit in a plan I’m not a part of.
I know Maddie is worried I’m going to scare Brent away—and she’s right to worry. That’s exactly my plan. But c’mon, I can sit at a table with the group and participate in civil conversation. I can drink spiked hot chocolate and scoop up my portion of the appetizers without contemplating whether or not I’d like to cause Brent some kind of bodily harm. Don’t worry, it wouldn’t be anything long-lasting, just something that would force him to be carried down the mountain in a stretcher.
“How’s New York treating you, Aiden?”
This question comes from Jolie. She’s trying to draw me into the conversation because I’ve been sitting in silence like a miserable asshole for the last half hour.
“It’s good.”
“And work?”
“Busy as ever,” I say with a tight smile.
“Where do you work?” Brent asks, trying to get to know me.
“The New York Times,” Maddie supplies.
Brent’s eyes widen with appreciation. “Wow, that’s really cool.”
“It’s taken him all over the world,” my brother adds proudly. “Where were you last month, Aiden?”
“Dubai.”
“What were you doing there?” Brent asks.
“Writing up a story about the Burj Jumeira.”
“Is that the one that’ll be the new tallest skyscraper in the world?” James asks.
“Exactly.”
“What an awesome job,” Brent notes enthusiastically.
I frown, trying to catch her eye, but she won’t look my way.
“Can you pass me the salt?” she asks, pointing to where it sits in front of Jolie.
“How’s your work, Maddie?” I ask.
Her eyes flit up to me and it’s like ZAP, a bolt of lightning strikes me when our gazes meet. Then, just as quickly, she looks down at her drink. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t be shy,” her sister teases. “Have you told Aiden about your new position with Elise?”
“What position?”
“It’s nothing,” Maddie says, rushing to put an end to the subject.
Jolie huffs out a breath of air and turns her attention on me. “Maddie is Elise’s right-hand woman. She assists with campaigns and is working more in the creative department now. No more admin stuff. Just a few weeks ago she was up in New York with Elise helping shoot an advertising campaign for an Austin brand that’s expanding north.”
“You were in New York?” I ask, dumbfounded.
What the fuck?
Why wouldn’t she have told me?
Her brows pinch together and she glances up, looking at a spot just over my shoulder as if that’s as close as she wants to get to meeting my gaze. “It was only for a few days. I worked the whole time.”
Silence blankets the table. I catch my brother and Jolie exchanging a quick glance. Brent busies himself by grabbing another piece of bread, and Ford sucks on a teething toy.
We’re saved by the waiter coming over to give us the check.
I’m in a foul mood as we leave the restaurant.
Jolie and James insist we take in more of the scenery before we head back down, but I can’t get into the winter spirit.
Eventually the group has had their fill of the top of the mountain and we head toward the gondola. I’m at the end of the line. Maddie is up ahead smiling at Brent. My heart is a raging angry thing. I can’t believe she came to New York and didn’t let me know. We could have seen each other. We could have talked.
The line moves and Maddie’s gaze darts to the enclosed cabins like she’s making sure they’re still there, ready to eat her alive.
The group is about to step onto one all together, and before I fully comprehend what I’m doing, I charge forward and grab her arm, keeping her from getting on.
“You guys go ahead,” I tell the others.
No one can argue because the gondola is already sweeping them away.
Maddie whips around with a fierce scowl in place. “What’d you do that for?”
“Are you guys getting on?” the attendant asks us.
We’re holding up the line.
“Sure,” I say, keeping hold of her arm and leading her into the next cabin.
Either they don’t group strangers together or they can sense that we’re about to get into it, because the attendant doesn’t usher anyone on after us.
We’re on our own with nowhere to go.
Maddie looks panicked, and I don’t think it’s because of her fear of heights. In