Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (16 page)

"No," she croaked out, the lie a bitter taste on
her tongue. "I can't remember much after that fourth glass of champagne
you handed me so eagerly." She bit her lip, forcing herself to keep her
eyes on his, but certain her expression gave away the blatant lie.

He chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her
hip. "I was just trying to help you relax."

"Well, it worked."

"Obviously. So, you don't remember coming here?"

She shook her head, hating herself already.

"I see," he sighed, looking mildly dejected.
"Well, in case you are wondering, we just talked and you fell asleep on
the couch. I brought you in here thinking you would be more comfortable."

She looked down at her body, just now noticing that she was
still in her dress and sighing in relief. "Thank you."

He watched her for a long moment, his jaw ticking and his
piercing eyes searching hers. Then he leaned over and grabbed the glass of
water and pills off of the nightstand. "Take these. It will help and make
sure you eat something light. I have some bread for toast if that works."

"I'll just head back to my apartment."

He nodded. "I should be back in a few hours. You get
yourself straightened out and then we are going to the park this afternoon with
Aidy."

"But I'm not watching Aidy today."

"I know.
We
are. I called Lily and gave her the
afternoon off to get some things done. By the way, I told her you weren't mad
at her for last night, so don't go blowing it and arguing with her, okay?"

"But-"

"Aiden. Let it go, babe." His expression wasn't pleading,
it was demanding, and it made her stomach flutter.

Not good.

She huffed and finally snatched the glass out of his
outstretched hand, splashing water onto her fingers. He handed over the pills
with a smirk and she threw them in her mouth before chugging the entire glass.

"Fine, I'll let it go."

He winked at her then sauntered out of the room, leaving her
in his bed with a scowl on her face. That is, until she glanced down and saw
his perfectly shaped ass in those perfectly worn jeans. Why God was punishing
every woman on this earth by making only one of him, she had no clue.

She gingerly stood and steadied herself when her head spun.
Normally, she wasn't such a lightweight, but drinking that much champagne on an
empty stomach last night had been a huge mistake.

When she caught her reflection in the mirror above Gus'
dresser, her stomach dropped right to the floor. Her hair looked like… God,
there were no words for how it looked. Birds could have made it a home, rats
probably drooled over the idea of settling in, and there looked to be no
immediate hope for it. The only thing that would fix it was a nice hot shower -
which would probably fix the rest of her, too. The makeup she hadn't washed off
made her skin feel stiff and sticky and her mascara had made a pleasant home on
the skin beneath her eyes. The worst of it was that she could smell the stink
on her breath without even inhaling.

Gus must have been in his bathroom washing out his eyes
after a sight like this. It no longer mattered what the hell she had said to
him the night before. It was all completely moot now.

She didn't know how long she sat there staring at herself,
but the sound of someone clearing their throat finally forced her to tear her
eyes away. Gus was leaning against the doorframe, watching her with a wicked
grin on his handsome face. He hadn't shaved that morning and the light scruff
covering his jaw was probably the sexiest thing she had ever seen.

"It doesn't matter how long you look in that mirror,
Aid. You'll still be beautiful when you turn away."

Warmth flooded her cheeks and the constant flutter in her
stomach whenever he was near, exploded. The things this man could do to her
with just a few words, words she knew were a flat out lie, but sweet
nonetheless.

"This?" she cried, gesturing to her whole head.
"
This
isn't beautiful, it's just scary."

He threw his head back and laughed, the sound warming the
deepest, coldest parts of her. That laugh was hypnotizing. Always had been,
even when they were only speaking on the phone. If Gus had laughed like that at
any point before they
officially
met, she would have had no doubt Dreamy
and him were one and the same.

"You couldn't be scary if you tried," he stated
with another wink. "I'll see you when I get home. An extra key is on the counter
so you can lock up."

"I'll just leave now," she hurriedly stated.

His mouth turned down before he shrugged indifferently and
turned away from her. No way was she going to go another minute without fixing
the mess she had made of herself. Her guilt for not telling him the truth was
starting to drown out the pleasant hum they shared and she needed some distance
before she spilled the beans and told him that if she hadn't been so exhausted,
she would have ravished him right there on the couch last night.

She followed him to the front door, snatching up her heels
and purse that were still laying on the ground in the living room. When they
left the apartment, she all but ran to her own door.

"See you soon, Red."

"Bye, Gus," she panted and slammed her door shut,
forcing herself not to care if he was offended by her rude departure. He would
just have to deal with it.

"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. This is bad. This is really,
really
bad."

The muffled ring of her phone sounded from her purse and
seeing that it was her sister, she was finally able to release the breath she
had been holding. Perfect timing.

"Lily."

"Aiden, how you doing?"

"Lily."

"Aiden?"

"I'm fucked."

Her sister's chuckle couldn't have been more annoying,
"I take it you have the same plans as Gus this afternoon now?"

"Is there
anything
I could possibly do to
convince you to join my side on this?" she practically begged, almost
dropping to her knees to do so even though her sister wasn't standing in front
of her.

"No."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"No, I really think I do."

"Aiden, you hate salmon, black licorice, and broccoli."

"And you."

"No," she sighed. "Not me. You just don't see
the good this is going to give you, but you will. Eventually, you'll understand
why your big sister went to such great lengths to get you to see
yourself."

"I see myself just fine, Lil."

"Maybe you do, but you still don't see the
you
I
see when you are with
him
."

She closed her eyes and dropped her head forward, wishing
she
could
see it. It would be so much easier if she did.

All she could think about was what would happen later when
she finally did and she let herself go. It wouldn't matter
who
she saw
anymore because it would never be
her
. No matter what she did, she would
end up the shell of a woman that made an impossible choice. Just like her
sister had been five years ago when she was abandoned, pregnant and broken.

There was no guarantee that he would make it home from his
job every day and in the back of her mind, she finally realized it was the same
with any other job. There were no guarantees in life.

"I've got to go," she whispered, her voice barely
strong enough to do it without a sob.

"I'll see you later. I love you, Aid. I just want you
to be happy."

"Bye, Lily."

She shut off her phone and dragged herself to the shower,
ripping her dress off and throwing it to the floor along with her underwear.
She needed to wash away every emotion she had let consume her since the minute
she woke up. Mortification, fear, anger, doubt, helplessness. She needed them
all gone so she could get a breath in.

Just one breath and she could finish the day.

She stepped under the hot spray and felt her lips tug up
into a traitorous smile.

A day with
him
.

***

Who knew that just a few hours could feel like a lifetime?

Aiden hadn't stopped fidgeting since she got out of the
shower. Her apartment was spotless and without all of her paintings lying
around, she realized she had a lot more space than she originally thought. She
rearranged her furniture, dusted everything, and for God's sake she even wiped
the baseboards - including the area behind her entertainment center.

It was a testament to how desperate she was to keep her mind
off of
him
.

She even called her parents, just to get a better grip on
things. Her mother hadn't been the help she needed, but their conversation was
certainly eye opening.

Rose Elizabeth Murphy, was not a woman you could talk your
way around. She could hear Aiden's stress from the first word.

"If you don't tell me what is eating at you, Aiden, I
will come down there myself and torture it out of you."

"It's nothing I can't figure out on my own, Mom. I've
just got a lot going on and not enough options to get by."

"Is this about that young man Lily has been telling me
about?"

She groaned and rolled her eyes, "Lily's got a big
mouth. We are just friends."

"Really?"

Dammit if she could lie to her mother, the woman had powers
beyond her imagination. "I don't know."

"Sweetie, you can't live your life scared. First of
all, you can't control every aspect of it so stop wasting precious time.
Sometimes you just have to hold on and let it lead you. Second of all, you're
smart enough to find a man that won't treat you the way Brandon treated Lily.
Now, I'm not saying Lily wasn't smart," she added quickly, sensing Aiden's
need to defend her sister. "She is smart. Smarter than you think. But
love…
unhealthy
love built on nothing but doubt can blind a person.
Brandon showed bad signs well before she married him, she just didn't want to
think that the man she loved so deeply could betray her. She ignored her
instincts, but look at the result. Aidy is the best thing to ever happen to
Lily, to this family."

"What do you mean he showed signs, Mom?" Aiden
couldn't remember Lily ever having problems with Brandon before they were
married. They were the happiest couple she had ever seen even if she didn't
like Brandon from the beginning.

"She caught him in compromising situations many times.
He always had some kind of excuse or explanation and she was so doubtful of
herself that she believed him."

"Doubtful? Mom, Lily was the most confident person I
ever knew before Brandon."

Her mother took a deep breath and Aiden could imagine that
the lines on her beautiful face deepened from the stress and worry she felt for
her daughters. "He was manipulative and degrading a lot of the time and so
damn subtle about it that none of us could see it. Not until she was already
gone. After that, she was desperate for a way out and he gave her one. She's
just grateful it happened so perfectly that she ended up with Aidy."

"Why didn't she tell me this?"

"Aiden, how long has it been since you've been in a
relationship?"

"Mom-"

"No," she interceded sharply. "How
long?"

"I don't know," Aiden answered grudgingly.

"She
didn't
tell you and still you've closed
yourself off. You adore your sister, sweetie, you always have and you always
looked up to her. What do you think would have happened if she told you
everything? You would probably be locked away in a convent and I'd
never
have more grandchildren!"

Aiden rolled her eyes. Rose Murphy wanted to be surrounded
by children to spoil rotten, always had and always will. It was her final
argument for everything, just to seal the deal.

"Now, you give this boy a chance, take a risk, and stop
being so damn stubborn. You live your life for your family, and that's a good
thing, but you need to make a family of your own if you ever want to be truly
happy. Lily's relationship with Brandon crashed and burned, but ask her
yourself, she wouldn't have done it any other way and not just because she has
Aidy. She knew passion and laughter and love, even if it was for a short time.
Brandon may be a lowlife cheating bastard, but he loved her when it
mattered."

Aiden had never heard her mother swear as much as she had in
the last few minutes and hearing it now made her grin.

"All we want is for you to be happy, sweetie. Your
father and I are worried about you. You're an extremely talented, beautiful,
and spirited 27 year old woman who deserves so much. Take it, Aiden."

Aiden knew she was right. Knew it in her bones, but her fear
of the unknown was stronger. Still, she gave her mother what she wanted.
"Okay."

"Okay."

"How is Daddy?" she asked without pause. The
subject needed to be changed and fast.

"Oh, he's just fine, sweetie. His surgery went great
and his hip feels much better. They've got him on blood thinners and all that
crap, but he's good. Healthy, thank the Lord."

"Tell him I said hi and that I love him."

"Of course. Now, you have a good afternoon. Give that
Aidy a big kiss from Grandma and Grandpa."

"I will. Love you guys."

"We love you, too."

It wasn't until Lily walked in with her niece that Aiden had
finally stopped moving. Her sister had kept something huge from her. She
thought they didn't have any secrets between them, but she was wrong. Yet, she
understood.

Instead of the enthusiastic greeting she always gave her
niece and sister, she hurried toward Lily and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm guessing you spoke with Mom today," Lily
chuckled, the sound not at all genuine. "I gave her the okay the other day
since I was too big of a coward to tell you myself."