Page 110 of Beauty
Aiden: Sienna?
Aiden: That’s it, I’m going looking for her.
I closeout the text thread and quickly navigate to Aiden’s name in my list of contacts. I left without my phone and missed a whole slew of messages. Hopefully Aiden hasn’t sent out a search party already.
“Where the hell have you been?” he booms.
I wince. The tone is so unlike my happy-go-lucky brother.
“Sorry, I left my phone in my room.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
I don’t know how he’ll react if I admit that I spent the day with Noah, but since Ollie was with us, I can’t lie about it. With as much as he talks, I can’t imagine he’ll keep that factoid to himself. “Ollie invited me to go fishing, so I spent the day with him.”
“And Noah?” he asks, his voice full of confusion.
“I didn’t just steal his kid for the day, if that’s what you’re asking.” I huff a breath, going for annoyed when, inside, I’m squirming.
“Are you guys like, friends?”
Friends. That’s what we agreed on, but why does the word feel so wrong? “He’s my neighbor, and he’s a player on the team, and he’s Hannah’s brother?—”
“I’m aware of his many roles, Sienna.”
“Okay.” I drag out the word.
“It’s just weird, I guess.”
I cringe, but I tamp down the anxiety his questioning brings. “Why is it weird? His kid asked me to hang out, and I said yes. I say yes to everyone else’s kids, so why not him?”
Aiden sighs. “Sure, whatever. What are you doing now?” he asks, blessedly moving on. “Want to come to dinner with Brooks and me? Gavin’s going out with Ezra.”
My mood sours at the mention of our GM. I really don’t like him.
But I push those thoughts aside and focus on the topic at hand. “Oh, I’m, uh, grabbing dinner with Ollie,” I stammer.
I don’t know why I leave Noah’s name out. It’s idiotic.
My brother clearly thinks so too. I can envision exactly how his brows jump to his hairline. “Just Ollie?”
“Well, no. And his dad and his…grandpas?” That’s what the little guy called them, so I roll with it. Plus, this way, there’s no implication that I know the guys.
“You’re going to a family dinner with Noah?”
“Ollie,” I correct him. “Ollie invited me, and I said yes.” Knee bouncing, I exhale loudly. “Sorry, I really have to get ready. Talk to you later?”
“Yeah, okay. Give me a call when you aren’t so busy withOllie.” He’s teasing me now. I’ll take it over the suspicion any day.
I laugh, feeling slightly more at ease. “Will do.”
Next I message Beckett.
Me: Does Liv want me to design a dress for her, or is this one of your harebrained schemes to make me feel better?
Beckett: Liv’s been looking for a dress for a month, and she says nothing she tries on is made to fit her curves. It’s driving me nuts. The woman seems to think there’s something wrong with HER rather than the dresses she’s looking at. So no, this isn’t a scheme to make you feel better, though if this helps with that, then I really am a genius.
I snort. My oldest brother may be ridiculous most of the time, but he’s got a big heart. My initial instinct was to say no, so I’m glad I asked him to clarify. What he’s doing for Liv is sweet, and maybe it’ll be good to design something again. It’s not a violation of the agreement because I won’t profit from it.
