be a very handsome young man.'
'For a long time, I wasn't that easy to look at.' He tugged down his shirt collar to show his neck. 'This was all scarred from the burns,' he said. 'Well, you remember, you saw what I looked like in the hospital. Anyway, I had extensive plastic surgery two years ago. No more scars....' He unbuttoned his shirt to show her his smooth chest and shoulders. 'You'd never know I was that same burnt-up kid. I can go outside with my shirt off now and not scare people.'
Sydney stared at his chest and nodded. 'Well, they--they did a beautiful job.'
He took her hand and guided it to his chest. 'Here, feel.'
Her fingers glided over the silky skin. She could feel his heartbeat. Sydney nodded again, then gently pulled her hand away.
'They fixed my back, too,' Aidan said, buttoning up his shirt. 'It was like a miracle--the end to twelve years of agonizing pain.' He left the last three buttons undone, and took hold of her hand once more. 'Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but I feel kind of bad I don't have any more scars....'
'Why in the world would you feel bad about that?' she asked.
'Because I don't have anything left over from that day, but you--you're still limping, Sydney. I did that to you. It's my fault.'
She didn't know what to say. She shrugged. 'Oh, please, don't worry about it.'
He kissed the back of her hand and pressed it against his face.
Sydney gingerly took her hand away, and then patted his shoulder. Even if Aidan was attracted to her, his mother had just died this afternoon. And Eli was in the next room, for God's sake. She could hear Matt Damon on TV, kicking someone's ass. What if Eli had come in there two minutes ago and found her fondling Aidan's bare chest?
She slid off the stool and went back to the sink. Grabbing a towel, she started drying some cooking utensils. 'So what are you going to do now?' she asked.
'Well, my mother will be cremated,' he said. 'I don't think I'm having a service for her or anything. It'll take a few days to clean out her apartment. Right now, I should be looking for a cheap motel. I certainly can't stay at my mother's tonight...'
'You're more than welcome to stay here,' Sydney offered.
He got to his feet. 'No, thanks, I've imposed on you enough. In fact, I should get going. Thanks for a wonderful dinner.'
Putting down the dish towel, Sydney walked him toward the front door.
'So long, Eli,' he said, passing by the living room. 'It was nice meeting you.'
Eli put the movie on pause. 'Bye. I'm sorry about your mom.'
Sydney stepped outside with him. 'I hope I'll see you again before you go back to San Francisco.'
He nodded and said nothing for a moment. His eyes wrestled with hers. 'I--I need to tell you something, Sydney,' he whispered at last. 'The reason I can afford all these trips back and forth between here and San Francisco is because of this--older woman. Her name's Rita. She's very rich, very high society. She's about sixty- five, and has had about a dozen tummy tucks and face-lifts. It was her surgeon who did the repair job on me. She paid for it. She paid for my back surgery, too. She pays the rent on my one-bedroom apartment. If you ask any maitre d' or salesperson in the finer San Francisco restaurants or department stores, they'll tell you that Rita Bellamy is a raving bitch. But around me, she's very sweet and vulnerable. She saw something in me when I was still hideous-looking. I'm very grateful to her. Anyway, I guess you could say I'm her 'kept man.''
Sydney stood on the front stoop, her hand still on the outside doorknob. 'Why are you telling me this?'
'Because it matters to me what you think,' he whispered. 'I care about you, Sydney--and not just because you saved my life. I want you to know me. Do you--do you think I'm sleazy for letting this woman take care of me?'
She shrugged. 'No, I wouldn't think that of you, Aidan.' She couldn't really judge him. Considering how awful his mother had been, and everything life had offered him, he was probably doing the best as he could.
'Thank you,' he said. He hugged her. As he pulled away, his lips brushed against her cheek and touched the corner of her mouth.
'Good night, Aidan,' Sydney said, awkwardly pulling back.
'I'll call you, okay?'
Touching her lips, Sydney nodded and watched him walk away.
On the TV, Matt Damon was in PAUSE mode, frozen and suspended in midair as he leapt off a tall bridge. Sitting on the living room floor with the DVD remote in his hand, Eli squinted at her. 'What were you guys doing outside for so long?'
His mother shut the front door. 'We were just talking, honey.'
'Does Dad know that guy?' he asked.
'No, they've never met. The last time I saw Aidan, he was only a year or two older than you are now. I've already explained that to you.' She started toward the kitchen. 'Anyway, thank you for being nice to him at dinner. He's been through an awful lot today. Poor guy, he's been through an awful lot--period.'
Eli followed her into the kitchen. 'Does he want to date you or something?'
She started to dry the rest of the cooking utensils. 'Eli, I'm fourteen years older than him.'
There were several knocks on the front door.
His mouth open, Eli glanced at his mother. She put down the dish towel. 'He must have forgotten something...'
Eli ran ahead of her and checked the peephole. Aidan stood outside. He looked like he was about to knock again. Eli quickly opened the door.
Aidan seemed out of breath. 'I don't mean to scare you,' he said. 'But maybe you should call the police. I was about to leave and glanced back. I saw this creepy-looking guy sneaking around your place. He was peeking into the living room window.'
Sydney stared down at the footprints in the muddy garden directly below her living room window. The cop, a slightly beefy, tanned man with a strawberry-blond crew cut, shined his flashlight on the evidence. 'Thanks to the rain today, this guy left his calling card,' he said.
Sydney shuddered and nervously rubbed her arms. Eli and Aidan stood beside her. Aidan put his hand on her shoulder, but then Sydney caught Eli glaring at them and she delicately pulled away. They followed the cop to the front door. He directed his flashlight beam on the door--around the lock. The wood was chipped in spots near where the catch protruded. Some paint had been scraped away at the corresponding location on the door frame. 'Somebody's been trying to force his way in,' the stocky policeman said. 'And not just tonight; it looks like they've been at it for a while.'
Sydney felt stupid for not noticing it earlier. She told the cop about the possible break-in on July Fourth and the dead bird she'd found on her bed on Saturday. 'Also on Saturday afternoon,' she continued. 'I'm pretty sure someone followed me from here all the way out to Auburn. He was in his late twenties, about six feet tall, with black hair and a dark complexion.' She turned to Aidan. 'You sure you didn't get a good look at the prowler out here just now?'
Frowning, he shook his head. 'I just saw him in the shadows. As soon as I got close to the apartment again, he must have seen me coming, because he just shot out of there.' Aidan nodded toward the alley on the other side of the courtyard driveway, where the patrol car was parked with its blinkers going. 'He disappeared down there. It all happened so fast, I never got a good look at him.'
'I think I saw the guy you're talking about at the beach today, Mom,' Eli piped up. 'He's dark, and one of his eyes is all red and bloodshot, right?'
Sydney stared at him. 'Why didn't you tell me?'
Wincing, he shrugged. 'I think he was there yesterday, too.'
'Good lord, Eli! I asked you about him yesterday, and you said you didn't see anyone like that.'
'Did he approach you or threaten you in any way?' the cop asked him.
Eli shook his head. 'No, sir. He was just there.'
'But he was close enough that you could see his bloodshot eye,' Sydney said, edgily.
'Um, the guy wasn't around for very long, Mom, just a few seconds. That's why I didn't remember it until I saw him again today.'
