“Take the whole thing if you want.”
Please don’t. Aaron would want a second slice later. He couldn’t get one if the cake was down in cottage number ten.
“No, I just want a piece.”
While his sister wrapped up a substantial slice, he grabbed the menu she’d taken out. He hadn’t lied. He didn’t care what kind of pizza she ordered, but looking at the menu gave his eyes something to do other than stare at their guest. The traitorous things had a mind of their own whenever Juliette was in the same room.
“Are you sure there isn’t something specific you want?” Candace asked once they were alone.
Well, maybe, but it wasn’t available from Bruno’s Pizza. He pushed the menu across the counter toward her. “Whatever you want.”
Her eyebrow inched ever so slightly up, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she called in an order before retaking her seat. Before she could spew out whatever was on her mind, and he knew something was tumbling around in her head, he needed to start a conversation.
Following his and Tiegan’s conversation at George’s Diner, he’d run the idea of getting his niece tickets to the ballet by his sister, since she was the one who would have to take her. Although she’d argued it was potentially an expensive gift, she’d given him the green light. He’d hoped for something much later in the spring or perhaps the early summer, since Tiegan’s birthday wasn’t until April, and although the calendar claimed spring had arrived, it didn’t mean they couldn’t still get some nasty wintery weather. Last year, they’d gotten eight inches of snow on April Fool’s Day. If a late season storm hit, he’d prefer his sister or mother didn’t find themselves stuck driving in it.
“I got tickets for Tiegan to see Swan Lake on Saturday night with you and Mom for her birthday. And I booked a hotel room for the three of you to stay in the city for three nights since Tiegan doesn’t have school on Monday. The show is leaving Boston at the end of March, and there isn’t another ballet being performed in the city until November.” In his mind, making an eleven-year-old wait more than seven months to see a show wasn’t an option.
“One night would’ve been sufficient.”
Aaron knew that. But this was Tiegan’s first birthday since Eric walked out on her and Candace. He wanted to make it as special as possible. “The hotel has a pool. Good luck getting Tiegan out of it.”
“Since you’ll have the house all to yourself for the weekend, maybe you should have a little fun.”
Her tone told him the kind of fun she had in mind. And while he hadn’t been on a date or had any woman over since his sister and niece moved in, it wasn’t only because they were there. Aaron hadn’t met anyone he wanted to spend time with.
“Did the town get an influx of women between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five? Because if not, there isn’t anyone in Avon I’d want to spend my weekend with.”
Candace steepled her fingers underneath her chin. “Liar.”
Like every other human on Earth, he’d told the occasional little white lie from time to time. Now wasn’t one of those times. “If you think I’m interested in Nelly, you’re wrong. Besides, isn’t she with Jeff?” The previous summer, he and Nelly had gone out a few times, but it never developed into anything. Now, if they saw each other at the store or George’s, they said hello and went about their business.
“Wow, you’re being difficult. I’m talking about our guest in Cottage 10. You can’t take your eyes off her whenever she’s here.”
She’d already called him a liar anyway, so he might as well prove her right. “You’re imagining things.”
“Please. We both know I’m not. While we’re gone, invite Juliette up for dinner. Who knows what will happen.”
Any additional denials wouldn’t help him, but the truth might. “If she was Juliette Belmont, high school English teacher or accountant from New York, I’d consider it.” He’d never gotten involved with any of the campground’s guests, but then they’d never had a guest stay as long as she planned to, either. “But not heiress Juliette Belmont. We both know people like her live in a world that plays by a different set of rules.”
“That just might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever said. And you’ve said some stupid stuff in the past.”
“Huh, then if Bryon’s parents had been schoolteachers instead of multimillionaires, he still would’ve gotten only three years of probation, right?”
Candace scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re right. Stuff like that unfortunately happens. But I still like Juliette, and if you asked her up for dinner or to a movie, I’m confident she would say yes.”
At least every time he’d been around her, she’d been nice enough. She never put on airs or talked down to anyone in the family. And much to her credit, she hadn’t tried to change anyone’s mind when Candace told her Tiegan wasn’t interested in modeling. That didn’t mean he wanted to get involved with her.
“And I didn’t say you couldn’t be friends with her and spend time together. I just do not want to.” Standing, he retrieved his jacket and computer bag from the kitchen chair. “I’ll be right back.”
Aaron dropped off his laptop in his office before continuing upstairs to his bedroom so he could put away his jacket, which he usually hung in the closet near the front door. Today though, he wanted a few minutes alone to deal with the emotions his conversation with Candace brought up.
Born nine months apart, he and Troy had been more like brothers than cousins. They’d played on the same sports team, hung out with the same friends, and graduated high school together. Hell, they’d even taken a set of identical twins to their senior prom. Even when they’d gone off to college, they’d seen each other all the time, since they’d b
oth attended in-state universities. And seven years ago when his mom called and told him Troy had been killed in a car accident, it’d been like losing a cousin, best friend, and brother all at once. An accident caused by a Bryon Casella, a seventeen-year-old who’d been as high as a kite and behind the wheel of his wealthy parents’ SUV. While both cars had been totaled, Casella and his sister had walked away without a scratch on them while Troy died before the EMTs even reached the crash site, and his girlfriend spent weeks in the hospital. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Casella’s high-priced lawyers from Boston saved him from serving any jail time. Instead, the judge suspended his license for two years and gave him probation, proving to Aaron that a different set of rules applied to the wealthy. And at least in the United States, there weren’t too many people wealthier than their long-term guest—a woman he would be polite to whenever he was around her, but not one he intended to get to know any better.
The sound of the doorbell disturbed the silence in the room. A moment or two later, he heard feet running down the hallway.
Grabbing the ballet tickets from his jacket pocket, Aaron stuffed his thoughts of Troy back into the corner of his mind where they usually resided and left the room.