Page 20 of Stained Hearts
“Seriously, I don’t want you to filter yourself. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a conversation with a friend.”
“Oh.” Disappointment dripped from his words. “Yeah, I like talking to you too.”
But it didn’t sound like that. “Have I upset you?”
“Me? No, absolutely not. You know me. Just a flighty kid.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “I should go. I need to get these last pieces fitted so I can solder them in. I’ll give you a call at the end of the week, and we can figure out how to get it to your house so it can be installed. Have a good night.”
And before I could say anything, he hung up.
I sat there staring at the phone, wondering what the hell I’d done. I set the phone on the arm of the chair and replayed the conversation in my head, dissecting it every way I could think of, but nothing explained why Aiden had turned ice-cold after we were having a good talk. Maybe I needed a fresh perspective. I dialed the shelter, wanting to talk with Robert.
“Tenth Street Shelter. This is Galen. How can I help you?”
“Hey, Galen. It’s Tom. Is Robert around?”
“No, I’m sorry. He’s out with Brady, getting him signed up for some classes. Brady took the job of office manager, and we’re paying for him to take some classes, then working here so he can learn the system.”
“Oh, that’s great. Okay, I guess I’ll talk to him later, then.”
“Tom? Is there something I can help you with?”
He sounded eager, and I did need to talk with someone. “Maybe? I’m not sure.” So I relayed the conversation I’d had with Aiden and how abruptly it ended. “So, why do you think he sounded upset?”
A few clicks on the line, and then Galen came back. “Honestly? It sounds like he thinks there might be something more than friendship there. You did say he talks to you for hours, right?”
“Well… yeah, but….” I hadn’t led him on. “Why would he think that?”
Galen chuckled. “Let’s see. Who sits on the phone and listens for two hours while someone else talks? Who praises people for what they’re doing? It sounds to me like Aiden might have some serious hero worship going on. He was probably hurt when you said he was your friend.”
“Oh, come on. That’s ridiculous.” Wasn’t it?
Galen hummed. “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s how it sounds to me, but I could be way off base. When Olivia worked for me, she said that Aiden was shy and had problems talking to people. You let him open up to you, so naturally he’s going to latch on.”
Holy hell, Iwasleading him on. I groaned and scrubbed a hand over my face. “Shit. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t.” Galen was quiet for a second. “Let me ask you something, and you can think about it as much as you need. When you guys talked on the phone, what did you get out of it?”
“I don’t know that I understand the question.”
“He’s twentysomething, right?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure I liked where this was leading. “What of it?”
“Nothing. Just seems to me the two of you wouldn’t have much in common. So why do you sit on the phone for hours at a time?”
I think the more important question was why I always had an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when we had to hang up. Talking with Aiden had become the highlight of my day. There was nothing like sitting outside, a glass of lemonade beside me, listening as he told me about his day, how the project was progressing, how Noel had befriended him at school.
And for everything he told me, I wanted to know more.
“He makes me smile.” God, that sounded pathetic. “He’s so full of life, and I enjoy being able to talk to him.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and squinted at it, even though Galen couldn’t see me. “Mm-hmm what?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just… thinking.”
My bullshit detector was going crazy. “Don’t tell me that. What are you humming about?”
