“I can’t remember,” I said and looked down, suddenly feeling guilty. Why was she so nice and why was I so horrible? Why did I feel like the other woman?
“That good, huh?” She laughed and we both looked up as Scott and Liv approached the table. I watched Elizabeth’s eyes widen as she gazed at Scott and his eyes narrowed as he gazed at her. I almost wondered if I’d imagined the exchange because within seconds they were both smiling normally and Aiden was making introductions.
Liv and I made eye contact, and I could tell that she looked as confused as I did when Elizabeth had arrived. We were both thinking, why was this girl here? And she was totally ruining our plan of me making Aiden want me. How could I make Aiden want me if there was another girl with him right now? Why would he even care about me? And why was he acting so funny about Scott if he had Elizabeth? Maybe it was a simple case of wanting what you didn’t really want because you couldn’t have it. All of a sudden, I felt really sorry for myself.
“Excuse me, but I’m not feeling well,” I said and stood up. My head was pounding and my insides felt empty. All of a sudden I felt tired, really, really tired.
“What’s wrong, Alice?” Liv looked at me with wide eyes. I think she could tell from my face that I was close to tears.
“Nothing, maybe I’m coming down with a cold.” I attempted a cough and looked at the group. “I’m going to go home.” I looked at Elizabeth and smiled weakly. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You too.” She looked nervous and worried as she smiled at me, and I saw her look at Aiden a few times. I looked over at him and his face looked expressionless. I had no idea what he was thinking.
“I’ll walk you home,” Scott said, and I watched as Aiden frowned.
“Thanks,” I said gratefully, not caring what Aiden thought at this point.
“Do you want me to come?” Liv said, and I shook my head.
“No, no. You stay. I’m fine.” I gave her a weak smile and rubbed my head. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded and sat down.
“Ready?” Scott said and grabbed my hand. “Lean on me, I’ll help you.”
“Thanks,” I said gratefully and hurried away from the table. We walked out of the coffee shop fairly quickly, and I took a deep breath of fresh air as we walked along the street.
“You okay, Alice?” Scott stopped and pulled me over to the side of the street. His eyes searched mine, and he had a small smile on his face.
“Yes, why?” I asked softly.
“I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going through your head,” he said as he gazed at me. “But I am going to give you some advice. You need to fight for what you want. You need to grab life by the horns and go after your dreams and goals.”
“What are you talking about?” I said and swallowed hard.
“I know you like Aiden.” He gave me a half-smile and shook his head. “I don’t know why you prefer him to me, but I know you do.”
“I, uh …” I stammered. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. Had I been in a love triangle and not even known it? That would be just my luck. I didn’t want to be in a love triangle. Not at all. Not with any percentage of my being. How icky would that make me to be in a love triangle with two brothers? Granted, I had kissed both of them, but let’s be real, I didn’t really consider my kiss with Scott anything other than a brief peck. I’d regretted it as it happened. I certainly hadn’t kissed him back. And there was no tongue involved. Thank God! So really, it wasn’t even a kiss. What sort of kiss doesn’t involve tongue?
“There’s no need for you to say anything.” Scott laughed and we continued walking again. “I’m just saying you need to fight for what you want. And if you want Aiden, you have to let him know. Without the games. And without the tricks.” He reached forward and patted me on the nose. “I know you and my sister love to play games and stuff, but Aiden’s not the guy for that sort of thing. He doesn’t have patience for games or tricks.”
“I don’t have a shot with him anyway,” I said with a sigh. “He has Elizabeth.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Scott’s eyes narrowed and he looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure exactly what Aiden and Elizabeth have going on, but I don’t think it’s a regular relationship.”
“Oh, you think it could be something other than a regular relationship?” My mind immediately went to BDSM. Was Elizabeth his sub?
“I don’t know.” Scott shrugged, and we both stopped once we reached my building. “You going to be okay? I should get going, I have some work to do.”
“Yeah, sure.” I nodded and tried to stop myself from asking if he knew his older brother was a Dom. It wasn’t my place to bring that up. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for walking me home.”
“It was my pleasure, Alice. It was my pleasure.” Scott gave me a quick hug and I hurried through the front door and up to my apartment. I’d gone and made a mess of everything. I felt horrible. Here I was feeling upset and jealous about Aiden and Elizabeth and now there was a possibility that I’d gone and made Scott fall for me as well.
***
I woke up to my phone buzzing and groaned. I hadn’t meant to fall back asleep. I’d just wanted to lie down and relax and think about everything for a few seconds. I grabbed my phone and looked at the screen and my heart skipped a beat. Aiden had texted me.