Page 20 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
She smiled faintly. “Meaning you’re going to do whatever you want no matter what I say.”
He flattened her hand against his cheek and held it there. “Everything you say matters to me, babe, but there’s nothing I won’t do to protect you and our children. Nothing!” He was unable to keep the fierceness out of his voice.
“I know.” The smile she gave him had an aching quality. “It’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”
Chapter 4: Boyfriend Duty
Next day
Aurora stepped inside the lake house with plastic grocery bags looped around both wrists. She made a beeline for the fridge to put away the milk, eggs, and other cold items. A hissing sound caught her attention. She closed the fridge door and glanced curiously around the room, but nothing looked out of place.
“Bandit?” Was he responsible for the sound? She’d never heard him hiss like that before. “Bandit, where are you?” He usually came when she called, slinking stealthily around the island to start begging for his next treat. However, the room settled into silence once again and remained that way.
She spun in a slow circle, knowing she should go find the cat before her brother did. Knowing Bandit, he was probably paws deep in mischief. A wave of dizziness and nausea made her pause and reach for the edge ofthe cabinet.
Oh, boy.She breathed through the sensation until it passed, fearing she was coming down with a bug.
“Aurora?” Aaron’s voice wafted down the hallway to her. “Now that you’re home,” his voice grew closer, “we need to talk.”
Uh-oh.That didn’t sound good.
Aaron came around the corner and leaned against the doorway, looking pale and disheveled.
She stared at him in dismay. “You don’t look so good.”
“Thanks.” His voice was dry.
“I meant?—”
He cut her off with a jerky wave of his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me A.J.’s living in the garage two doors down from us?”
Oh, great…not!She wasn’t in the mood for another argument, but her brother clearly was. “He’s not living in the garage. He’s living over it,” she corrected in a teasing voice. “The owners renovated the attic and turned it into an apartment.”
“I don’t care if they turned it into a rocket ship. You should’ve told me about this before now.” He folded his arms, stubbornly waiting for an explanation.
Cranky.She summoned her most pleasant voice. “How about we take this to the sunroom?” He looked ready to topple over.
He pushed away from the doorframe and trudged tiredly into the adjoining sunroom, pausing by the windows overlooking Heart Lake to gaze at the water. He looked like he was getting sick.
Another wave of nausea rocked through Aurora, making her wonder if they were sharing a winter virus. She swallowed and joined him at the wall of windows. “Just curious. How did you find out where A.J.lives?” She’d put off sharing her boyfriend’s new address as long as she could, knowing the news wouldn’t sit well with him.
Boy, was I right!
Sometimes being right was no fun.
“I asked you a question first,” he griped. “Why didn’t you tell me yourself?”
As if he didn’t already know! “Because I knew you’d blow up at me, which is exactly what you’re doing.” She backed up a few steps to take a seat on the wicker sofa. As much as she hated the way her relationship with A.J. was coming between her and her brother, she wasn’t sure what to do about it. A.J. was in her life to stay. The sooner Aaron accepted that, the better for them all.
“I’m not blowing up.” He laid a hand against the glass, as if needing the support. “I’m just disappointed. We used to tell each other stuff like this.”
“Did we?” She frowned as she reached for the laptop she’d left on the end table. Opening it, she took another look at the firewall she’d been attempting to hack through. So far, Modello’s security system was holding strong. It was good for them, but it didn’t shed any light on what had triggered their alarm. “I don’t recall you confiding in me about Elise Hathaway.” The words on her screen blurred. She blinked a few times to bring them back into focus.
Elise was his ex-girlfriend and the only serious relationship he’d ever been involved with. Elise had also been the biggest sore point between them before A.J. had come along.
He snorted. “You made your feelings clear about her from the start. You were right. End of story.”
“But we never actually talked about her,” Aurora protested. “You mainly avoided me while you were dating her because you didn’t care for my opinion of her.” Oh, howit had stung! She’d feared she was losing her brother forever. “I’ve tried really hard to be upfront with you about A.J., but you either shut me down or make me feel like a criminal for wanting him in my life. And that’s not fair! A.J. isn’t Elise. He’s a wonderful person, one I’m convinced you would like if you gave him a chance.”
