Right this second, Aidan wasn’t seeing the downside of that.
* * *
After she left Susie’s, Liz couldn’t seem to shake the old memories that had been stirred up by their conversation. Once she’d left North Carolina, she’d resolved to put her marriage and all the rest where it belonged, in the past. Most days she’d been successful doing that. Josh March rarely crossed her mind, or when he did, she immediately found some way to drive him out again.
That determination to keep those thoughts at bay was one of the reasons she’d taken up running. With her earphones in and music blasting as she ran, to say nothing of just trying to breathe, those memories couldn’t creep in, not the good ones or the bad.
Since it wasn’t that late when she got home, she changed into jogging shorts and shoes, grabbed her iPod and turned on a mix of songs with a fast beat and cheerful lyrics. Ignoring the plaintive looks of all three dogs, she went out alone.
She instinctively avoided Dogwood Hill and headed toward the bay, where the winding road would take her toward The Inn at Eagle Point. From there, she wound her way back toward town and Shore Road, which would probably still be bustling on the warm late-spring evening.
With the music playing and her concentration focused on her breathing, she was startled when someone stepped in front of her and blocked her path. Shaken, she looked up into Aidan’s face.
Pulling the earbuds from her ears, she scowled at him. “You scared me to death!”
“I’ve been calling your name for the past block,” he said.
She gestured to the iPod. “Sorry. I was listening to music.”
“It’s a little late for a run, isn’t it?” he asked. “Even in Chesapeake Shores, you probably shouldn’t be out alone at this hour.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “It’s barely ten.”
He tapped his watch. “Check again. It’s going on midnight.”
Liz regarded him with shock. “That can’t be. I know when I got home it was going on ten.”
“And then you, what? Changed clothes? Ran—where exactly?”
“Up to the inn,” she conceded, then sighed. “I guess it was farther than I realized. Or maybe I’m just slower. I’m a little out of practice.”
“Any particular reason you decided to go for a run in the first place at this hour?”
She shrugged. “It clears my head.”
“Of?”
She smiled. “This and that.”
“Ah, the woman has secrets,” he said.
She held his gaze. “Don’t we all?”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said, looking vaguely uncomfortable. He gestured across the street. “Panini Bistro hasn’t closed yet. Want to grab something to drink before you head home? It doesn’t seem to be crowded with O’Briens at this hour.”
“I wouldn’t mind some bottled water,” she admitted.
“Come on, then,” he said, taking her elbow and guiding her across the street. “You grab a table out here. It’s too nice to sit inside. I’ll get the drinks.”
Liz nodded. “That works.”
She sat down gratefully, suddenly aware in every muscle that the run had taken her farther than she usually went. At least it had served its avowed purpose of clearing her head of thoughts of Josh. Sadly, though, it seemed Aidan was now front and center once again. Why couldn’t she just give in to the inevitable and engage in some hot, steamy sex? That would definitely clear her head, at least temporarily.
And that, of course, was precisely why she couldn’t. Sex was easy. It was fun. It was after sex that emotions could get all tangled up and life could get really complicated.
When Aidan returned with two cold bottles of water, she studied him and noted that he was dressed more casually than usual. In fact, she thought, hiding a smile, it looked as if he’d grabbed that T-shirt straight from the dryer.
“Did you get dressed in a hurry?” she asked.
He glanced down at his shirt and grimaced. “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But no—I played basketball with a bunch of the O’Briens tonight. This shirt is a little the worse for wear. In fact, if I were you, I’d stay downwind of me.”
Liz laughed. “I’ve always thought men were kind of sexy when they sweated.”
He regarded her incredulously. “Seriously?”
“Must be all the pheromones they exude.”
He laughed. “Well, to hear my mom tell it, it was a cardinal sin, especially if I expected to be in the company of ladies.”
“So, what does that make me?”
“A lady, no question about it,” he said quickly. “But I spotted you running as I was coming home and didn’t want you to get away. I figured this was an exception.”
“So, how was the game?” she asked.
“The game was great. My team won.”
“The only critical point of the evening, I gather,” she said, chuckling.
“Well, of course. It’s a guy thing. Winning matters, though if you tell any of my players that, I’ll swear I was misquoted. How’d you spend your evening?”
“With the O’Brien women. They weren’t nearly as competitive, unless you count the degree of their meddling.”
He slanted a surprising look of commiseration in her direction. “Must be genetic.”
She gave him a sharp look. “You, too?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“What did you tell them?”
“To take a hike.”
Liz regarded him hopefully. “Did that work?”
“Are you kidding me? Not a chance,” he said ruefully. “What about you?”
“Ditto,” she said.
“Any thoughts about what happens next?”
She smiled at the hopeful note in his voice. “Just remember that we’re in control of our own destinies. They’re not.”
Aidan nodded, then stared toward the bay, his expression thoughtful. When he finally turned back to her, he asked quietly, “Are you so sure about that?”
Something in his tone suggested he was more resigned than convinced.
“We have to be,” she said flatly.
“Okay, then. Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
Liz stood up. “You don’t have to do that,” she protested. “It’s a few blocks.”
“Another of those lessons from my mom,” he said
