“From Mayor Kessler,” he says simply, holding out his arm to me. He’s holding a clothes hanger covered by a large, protective bag. It’s obvious that there’s a freshly pressed suit in there, but the bag is black so I can’t see what it looks like.
Taking the heavy bag from him, I discover that there are two smaller bags on separate hangers behind that one—I’m assuming a suit for each of the twins.
“There’s a card for Mayor Kessler’s personal tailor in Aiden’s suit pocket. If any alterations need to be made, you’ll need to call him in the next twenty minutes and bring the suit in tonight,” he says, not waiting for me to reply b
efore turning around and heading back to his blacked-out SUV.
“Thanks,” I mumble sarcastically as I close the door and head to Aiden’s room.
I knock tentatively and he opens the door a few seconds later wearing nothing but a towel, his hair still wet from his shower and water droplets still dripping down the crevices of his well-defined chest. Forcing my gaze from his body to his face takes an enormous amount of effort, but he doesn’t notice since I thrust the suits out in front of me.
“A large man just delivered these for you.”
Aiden holds the door open wider for me, grabs the suits, and closes the door once I’m in his room. He doesn’t even bother looking at them before throwing them haphazardly on the bed and walking into the closet. I’m sitting cross-legged on the bed by the time he emerges fully dressed, and I try not to feel sad about that.
“Can you believe that guy?” he asks, shooting a look at the suits beside me. “He actually thinks I’m going to dress up in the monkey suit of his choosing and be his puppet. What’s stopping me from exposing him for the piece of shit he is?” Aiden paces in front of the bed, ranting more to himself than to me. “He comes around here spouting all this ‘we’re family’ bullshit. Ha. It’s laughable how messed up that is.”
“You haven’t thought about going at all? It’s being held at his house.”
Aiden’s eyebrows draw together. “No, I haven’t.”
“You’re not the least bit curious about him?” I hesitate. “Isn’t that why you picked Torywood Springs? To see him?”
Aiden’s pacing stops and he looks straight at me, not saying a word.
“You did pick here because you knew he’d be here, right?” I press.
He sighs in resignation and sits down on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, I knew he’d be here.”
I knew it couldn’t have just been fate, as Andrew had said, that brought them together, but I didn’t want to push Aiden.
“I found out he was the mayor here after my arrest,” he confesses, looking out the back window at nothing in particular. “I saw a newspaper article about him running for governor, and recognized him. I couldn’t stop myself from googling him afterward. I don’t even know why I cared.”
I try to put myself in Aiden’s shoes. “It’s normal to want to reach out to your parents.”
He shakes his head, shifting to face me. “No, it’s not that. I couldn’t care less about having him in my life. In fact, I want nothing to do with him, and coming here did nothing but intensify that feeling.”
“Then why did you choose here?” I ask softly. “Brian told us to go somewhere and you volunteered here before we even had a second to think.”
He frowns. “I guess I was just curious, I don’t know. When I saw that he’s the mayor and got remarried, to some old money–type woman of all people, I couldn’t believe it. I guess I just wanted to see with my own eyes that he really wrote us off, that he’s living it up without a spare thought for the three sons he left behind.”
I wrap my arms around his stiff shoulders and rest my head against his shoulder for support.
“I wasn’t planning on talking to him. I wasn’t even planning on punching him believe it or not. At the carnival when I saw him, I just—I don’t know. I sound stupid.”
“You don’t sound stupid, Aiden.”
“It was stupid to think this would give me any closure.”
Lifting my head from his shoulder, I look him in the eye. “It wasn’t a stupid idea. Andrew never was and will never be good enough for you, Jason, and Jackson, and now you know that for sure.”
He nods, his eyes stormy and hard. “That, I know.”
We both glance sideways at the suits sitting innocently on the bed. “So, should we burn those?” I’m only half joking.
A vibrating from the nightstand draws our attention, and Aiden reaches over to check his phone. He shifts suddenly, his face set with new determination. “No. I think I want to go.”
I pause. “Wait, what?”