Page 63 of Heat Exchange
“Oh, that’s nice. Deborah has a lovely friend I’d thought perhaps you might like, but it seems I’m too late.”
Aidan glanced at his brother’s wife and she gave him a tight smile. He suspected she was mentally sighing in relief, though. She didn’t look thrilled about the idea of hooking one of her friends up with a guy like him.
Conversation continued around the table, but Aidan didn’t pay a lot of attention. And they wouldn’t even notice. Once, when he was about thirteen, he’d gone through his father’s office and his mother’s closet, certain he’d find adoption papers. At the time, it had seemed the only possible explanation for why he not only didn’t fit in, but seemed to be actively disappointing to his parents. As he’d aged, though, the resemblance to his father had become unmistakable, and his brother looked like them both.
And this feeling of being the odd man out at the dinner table was exactly why Tommy Kincaid meant so much to him. The man “got” him, and he’d taken Aidan under his wing and taught him everything he knew. The guilt hit him again, harder this time, and put a damper on his appetite.
Aidan wasn’t so old-fashioned that he believed he was dishonoring Tommy’s daughter. She was a grown woman and she was entitled to a sex life, and none of that was her father’s business. It was the lying that ate at him. He was lying to Tommy and to Scott, and that was a betrayal in itself.
“Aidan?” He realized his mother had spoken to him and looked up. She was looking at him intently. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I guess. Why?”
“You look a little flushed and you’re pushing your food around on your plate.”
“I’m fine. Maybe not as hungry as I thought, though.”
“I hope you’re not sick. I have to fly to South Carolina in two days for business and I’d rather not fly sick,” his father said. “It’s bad enough you smell like gasoline, but germs, too?”
Aidan took a deep breath. One of these days he was just going to get up and walk out and not come back. There were a whole lot of people who liked and accepted him just the way he was. Why he cared about people who did nothing but judge him and find him wanting just because they shared DNA was beyond him.
But today wouldn’t be that day. He knew if he did that, it would be a long time before he saw his family again, especially since they’d blame him without taking a look at their own possible shortcomings. And, even though there were countless reasons why it shouldn’t matter to him, he couldn’t quite bring himself to cut ties completely.
He made it through dessert, which was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Just like the meal, it was one of his favorites, and it went a long way toward making him feel better. She might not be any better than her husband at making him feel like a valued member of the family, but this wasn’t a coincidence. Maryanne Hunt had little ways of making her son feel loved, even if she wasn’t good at the words.
After an hour of listening to his dad and Bryan recount their recent business triumphs, though, he’d had enough. “I have the night shift, so I should get home and get ready for work.”
It was a lie. He wasn’t assigned the night tour, but he did want to get home. Not only because he was tired of investment talk, but because Kincaid’s Pub closed at nine on Sundays—except when the Patriots had a Sunday Night Football game—so he’d have an extra couple of hours to spend with Lydia tonight.
“Honestly, Aidan, I think it’s barbaric the way they just flip from day to night at will like that.”
“It’s not that bad, Mom. There’s usually enough time between the changes and you just sort of get used to it. We learn to sleep when we need to sleep, for the most part, whether it’s day or night.”
“Be careful,” she whispered, squeezing his hand when he bent down to kiss her cheek.
“Always.”
He kissed Sarah on the cheek, wishing they were closer. He’d tried over the years, partly because he envied the relationship Scott had with Lydia and Ashley, but his sister had the personality of a wet paper bag and absolutely no desire to return the effort. Then he said goodbye to Deborah and Bryan from across the room, stiffly shook his father’s hand and got the hell out of there.
* * *
LYDIAWASN’TSUREwhat to expect when she showed up at Aidan’s after he got back from his parents’ house. She knew he had a contentious relationship with his family and his father had a way of putting him in a bad mood.
When she’d texted him to let him know she’d thrown his phone charger in her bag and then forgotten about it and offered to drop it off, she’d expected him to tell her not to worry about it. He probably had more than one, and he could get it another time.
If you don’t mind bringing it by,I’d like to see you.
She’d laughed, getting a curious glance from Ashley, who’d been watching some afternoon talk show she was hooked on now.
It’s only been a few hours since you saw me.
You can help me forget I spent the evening with my family.
There had been a pause while he typed more.
Unless you’re tired or don’t want to.Ihave another charger.
Of course he did. But she didn’t mind.
