Flashback

pain, lots of it; rising, he went into the kitchen for a glass of water. Bringing it back to her, he pried the prescription drugs from her fingers, read the label-yep, painkillers-and shook one out.

“I’m okay.”

“You don’t look it. You look like hell.”

“You say the nicest things.”

With another sigh, he once again hunkered down at her side. “Look, you’ve been through a lot. I know you’re alone and…”

“If you say helpless, I’ll slug you with my good fist.”

Once upon a time she’d been the most amazing thing in his life.

The. Most. Amazing. Thing.

On the outside she’d been so mind-blowingly, adorably, effortlessly sexy. Inside, she’d been pure warmth and sweetness, loyal to a fault, always believing the best in everyone, willing to defend what she believed in to the death if necessary.

From their very first moment together, she’d wreaked havoc with his common sense. Before her, nothing in his world had been warm or sweet or particularly loyal. She’d brought lightness into the dark.

Until he’d sent her away. “Not helpless,” he said a little thickly. “Never helpless.”

“Okay, then.” She hugged herself and shivered.

With a frown, he moved to the fireplace. For late summer, the evening did have a chill to it, and she probably was still in some shock. He set up kindling and held a lit match to it until it flamed with a low whoosh.

With a startled cry, Kenzie shrank back from the small flames, covering her face.

Yeah, still in shock. He should have thought about how she’d feel about a flame of any kind, and cursing himself, he rose and went to her.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, peeking out from between her fingers, very carefully not looking at the flickering fire. “It’s the crackling.” She grimaced. “And, okay, the sight. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“It’s normal.”

“I don’t feel normal.”

He didn’t feed the small fire, letting it burn out. “I’m sorry. Let’s go with the heater instead, okay?”

Once again she leaned her head back, carefully not moving a single inch more than she absolutely had to. “Thanks.”

She was killing him. “Kenzie-”

“Could we not talk? It’s threatening my head’s precarious perch on my shoulders.”

“Take the pill.”

“I guess I could use a little oblivion. Okay, I could use a lot of oblivion…” Turning her head, she eyed the fireplace as if it were a spitting cobra. “You know, they don’t call me Kenzie in Los Angeles.”

“Or in the gossip rags.”

Without moving another muscle, she arched an eyebrow, appearing to be genuinely surprised. He’d given himself away.

“You read them?”

“Hard to miss when you’re going through the grocery store,” he said defensively. “They’re right next to the candy bars.”

The smallest smile crossed her lips.

“You dated that underwear model. The one who danced naked on all the commercials. Chad.”

“Chase. And he wasn’t naked. He was wearing the underwear he was marketing. Which isn’t that much less than what you’re wearing in that calendar, Mr. 2008.” She gave him a long look.

“Last year you went out with a European prince.”

“Now that was just publicity.”

He didn’t know if he believed her, or cared.

Strike that. He cared. “Take the pill.” He watched her chase it with the glass of water he offered.

Yeah, he cared.

Dammit.

“Problem,” she said, and licked a drop of water off her bottom lip.

He dragged his gaze up to hers. “What?”

“Even if there were no dogs. I still couldn’t get a room. I have no money-my purse either burned up or is below several yards of water, probably both.” Kenzie winced. “The hospital had to give me an emergency taxi voucher to get to my car. I’d be really screwed right now if my keys hadn’t been in my pocket. Luckily, I also left my cell in the car, so I called my financial manager and he’s overnighting emergency funds. But your address was the only one I could think to give him, and I have no place to go until it arrives. And now I can’t drive.” She shook the bottle of pills. “It’s not recommended.”

Their eyes met as the implications of her little speech sank in.

“Apparently, I still trust you,” she whispered. “At least a little.”

Damn if that didn’t cut right through everything to the heart of the matter. For better or worse, she trusted him, and he had to admit, that meant something to him. Plus, there was the other truth-there was no other place she could go. Like it or not, he was her only contact in town. Which meant…

She was staying here.

With him.

5

KENZIE SAT ON AIDAN’S COUCH absorbing the awkward silence. Her eyes were closed but she could feel him close. Thinking. Probably panicking. “Or if you loan me a few bucks, I’ll call a cab.”

“And go where?”

Right. Well, dammit, if he’d just give her some room, she could just sit and try to ignore him-try being the key word.

It wasn’t his good looks that held her interest. She’d had her fill of good-looking guys on a daily basis at work and she would have said Aidan wasn’t that pretty, at least not soap-star pretty. Until she’d seen the calendar. Because holy cow, he’d looked pretty damn fine in eight-and-a-half-by-eleven color glossy, there was no doubt. But he was also tough, and far more rugged than that. There was just something about his eyes and mouth, and the laugh lines lining both that suggested he could be dangerous or outrageous, sweet or maybe not so much so, sheer trouble or the boy next door…

She knew all to be true.

What she didn’t know was why she’d come here, to his house.

Okay, she knew. He was the only familiar thing in her entire world. She’d gotten his address easily enough by calling his station, where some friendly firefighter had recognized her and cheerfully offered up direction. She’d driven here on auto-pilot, having no trouble remembering her way around Santa Rey, getting spooked only when she’d thought she was being followed by a gray sedan.

Which was ridiculous and paranoid. God, she needed a nap.

Aidan’s house was tiny, and definitely old, but cozy. From the looks of things, he’d been remodeling it. The living room had lovely hardwood floors and gorgeous wood trim on all the windows, which looked out to the ocean and the rolling hills surrounding it.

He’d always been handy-with tools, with his mind, his words.

His body…

Yeah, he’d been really good in that department. In fact, it was fair to say he’d been her willing tutor, and she a most apt pupil.

But that thought led to others, including the fact that she’d once been young and stupid enough to believe in fairy tales. Aidan had been her prince, her happily-ever-after.