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  her off, and they’d spent the night at her place.

  In her bed.

  He’d known his words had thrown her. Hell, they’d thrown him. But he wouldn’t take them back—after all, they were the truth—and he wouldn’t hide from them either.

  So he’d done his best to keep the rest of their hours together light and sexy and fun. No pressure.

  Because no way was he going to rush her.

  Ten seconds later, the first call of the shift came in, and he had to set aside his thoughts on what they’d done in her bed to each other.

  The call was an accidental death, and they arrived first on scene to a screaming woman.

  She’d found her husband in the garage, and he was indeed dead. He’d gone to get something out of the garage refrigerator in a robe and lightweight slippers. Near as they could tell, he’d inadvertently stepped into a puddle of water just as he’d opened the fridge and electrocuted himself.

  Sheer, dumb bad luck.

  An hour later Aidan and Mitch were still on-site, sitting in the rig working on the report, when a uniformed Hudson climbed up into the shotgun seat and met Aidan’s gaze.

  They hadn’t spoken since several nights ago, when tempers had gotten hot and Hudson had called him a damn hypocrite.

  “Need a minute,” Hudson said.

  “Later.” Aidan tried to get around his brother, who swore beneath his breath and blocked Aidan’s path.

  “I shouldn’t have called you a hypocrite,” Hudson said quietly. “Or implied that you don’t think of me and Jacob as family.”

  Shit. When Hudson got a stick up his ass to discuss something, he never cared who was listening. But Aidan was very aware of Mitch trying to eavesdrop, because the lot of them were like a bunch of schoolgirls. “Okay,” he said. “Good talk, thanks.”

  Hudson didn’t budge.

  “We can do this later,” Aidan said grimly.

  Hudson dropped his head, swore again, and then looked up. “How about a peace offering?”

  None was needed but Aidan was hungry. “Sure. A loaded breakfast burrito would do it.”

  “I’ve got something better. I’m not going to make you drop trou and prove you’re not wearing the latest delivery.”

  “Shit,” Aidan said. “I completely forgot.”

  “—because you spent the night at Lily’s.”

  Behind Aidan came Mitch’s intake of breath.

  “Okay,” Aidan said, and he shoved Hudson out of the truck. “Turns out I do have a moment. A moment to kick your ass. What makes you think I spent the night with Lily?”

  “Heard it,” Hudson said smugly, all remorse gone.

  “From who?” Aidan demanded. “Who’s talking about what I do on my own damn time?”

  Hudson flashed a grin. “Me. You didn’t come home. And I saw your truck in front of her building when I did a drive-by last night.”

  Shit. “Oh,” he said brilliantly.

  “So I assume you’ve been working on letting her in, showing her by example?”

  “Seriously,” Aidan said. “You need to stop taking those night classes.”

  Hudson smiled, but the smile quickly faded. “Now that you’re talking to me … let’s hit on why I’m here.”

  “Oh, for chrissakes—”

  “I need to know why you don’t want me to contact Dad.”

  “Not this shit again—”

  “I went to Gray,” Hud said.

  Aidan tensed. “What?”

  “Yeah. And he told me it’s your story to tell, not his.”

  Aidan relaxed marginally.

  “But,” Hudson went on. “This isn’t a damn monarchy. You can’t just lay down the law like I’m some little kid. I’m asking you for just one reason. And when you give it, I’ll be on your side no matter what.”

  Aidan closed his eyes. “I don’t want to do this.”

  “Because he hurt your mom, right?” Hudson asked quietly. “Is that it? He hurt Char and … also you?”

  Aidan’s eyes flew open. “Why? Did he ever lay his hands on you?”

  Hudson’s entire demeanor changed. He tensed and his eyes went dark with fury. “Shit. So he did,” he breathed. “He beat you. And you never said a word.”

  When Aidan didn’t respond, Hudson’s hands fisted. “Because you were protecting us. Goddammit, Aidan.” He let out a purposeful breath. “Okay. Okay.” He nodded. “So we keep him clear of here at all costs.”

  “Not for me,” Aidan managed to say. “But for my mom. She …” He shook his head. “I don’t want him within a thousand miles of her.”

  “Ten-four on that,” Hudson said tightly. He nodded, his eyes still hot but also softer now, with an understanding Aidan had hoped to never see. “I’ll let you get back to it,” he said quietly, but didn’t move.

  “If you try to hug me …,” Aidan started.

  “Hell no,” Hud said. “We’re on the street in broad daylight.” He paused. “But we’re okay, right?”

  “Aren’t we always?” And then to lighten the mood he said, “And maybe I was at Lily’s last night for a late dinner. You ever think of that?”

  Hud went brows up. “At three a.m.?”

  “Fine,” Aidan said. “You caught me. I’m a grown-ass man sleeping with a grown-ass woman.”

  Hudson grinned. “Does Char know?”

  “No. And we’re going to keep it that way, you hear me?” Aidan asked warningly. “If she found out, she’d probably start planning some big, fancy wedding and then I’d have to kill you dead. You get me?”

  Hudson laughed.

  “What?”

  “You just said wedding without getting hives,” Hud said.

  “I’m not allergic to weddings, you dumbass.”

  “No, you’re allergic to letting someone love you,” Hudson said.

  This stunned Aidan into momentary silence. “You don’t know shit,” he finally said. “I’m perfectly willing to let Lily love me.” He made a point of looking at himself in the sideview mirror of the truck. “Look, Ma, no hives. Now don’t go away mad, just go away.”

  “Not yet,” Hudson said, studying Aidan. “Because there’s something else bugging you, I can feel it. And I’m not leaving until you tell me. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  Aidan took in the tension lining Hudson’s mouth and felt like a complete asshole. Hudson blamed himself for Jacob’s vanishing act, thinking if he’d only gotten Jacob to open up, he might have been able to stop him from leaving.

  Which was complete bullshit, but the Kincaids never had been much on common sense. Still, he wasn’t going to let Hudson feel responsible for anyone else in this family, ever. “It’s about Lily. It’s not important right now.”

  “Humor me.”

  Aidan sighed. “I’m just not sure she’s ever going to let herself …”

  “What?”

  “Be loved. She’s been independent and on her own all this time and she’s gotten good at it. She doesn’t see herself as worthy of letting anyone in.”

  Hudson nodded and then, proving he wasn’t just a pretty face, came up with a shockingly simply and brilliant solution. “So show her otherwise.”

  Lily rushed toward the salon at ten minutes past nine, gulping down some desperately needed caffeine to wake herself up after not enough sleep. This was directly related to how she’d spent the rest of the night, and not the waxing emergency.

  Aidan hadn’t said “I love you” again, and she hadn’t said anything at all, but as magical as his place had been, her bed was just as good. Her bed, her shower, her kitchen counter …

  A few feet from the door of the salon she fumbled with her purse to put away her sunglasses and ran right into a hard chest that belonged to—

  “Aidan,” she gasped as he easily caught her, steadying her coffee as he did.

  He felt amazing, but when she lifted her face to see his, she frowned at the tension she saw there. “What’s wrong?”

  For a beat he looked startle