Page 16 of Killer Attraction

Then my heart did a weird little flutter inside my chest. He hadn’t called me a psychopath. The realization turned my gaze to wonder and, perhaps stupidly, to hope. Because while the term psychopath wasn’t really used anymore, it was the more well-known term.

“Ten,” I answered honestly. “Though, not for lack of my parents trying to find out what was wrong with me before that.” The urge to be honest and purge my sins to him was too great. I had to be careful, or I’d be admitting to a lot more than just my mental health diagnosis to him.

Aiden frowned, the crease between his eyes deepening.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Nate.”

My eyes widened at not just his words but the scowl that marred his beautiful face.

“Little bird,” I said with a sigh as I signaled to the waiter for our check. “I’ll take you home now.”

There was no way to explain things to him without explaining everything to him. While I’d never regret our time together, I knew I should have let him go after I left his hotel room the morning after the wedding. It had been stupid to continue to follow him and then insert myself into his life.

“What the fuck, Nate?” he seethed.

I’d made him angry again, but I couldn’t figure out why. Unless he was angry about how he’d spent the last month with someone who couldn’t feel the same about him as he did about me. That thought stung because I did have feelings for Nate. I couldn’t be sure how to describe them or what to name them, but they were there.

And I knew what the sting of rejection felt like as it burned in my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I said as I kept my head down and slid my card to the waiter without even looking at the total. “You have every right to be mad at me for wasting your time.” I couldn’t tell him how I felt, even if I wanted to. Not only did I not know how to put it into words but it would also be incredibly unfair to him when he was already upset.

Aiden sputtered, his cheeks growing even redder as his eyes narrowed at me.

A sense of unease filled me, as I got the feeling I had missed something important along the way.

“So, what? Now you’re going to sit there and try to explain my own feelings to me? You couldn’t possibly understand what I’m thinking or feeling right now, Nate!”

His eyes went wide, and he slapped a hand over his mouth at his words.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. That wasn’t… I didn’t… That came out wrong.”

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Everything about Aiden was a breath of fresh air—from his anger, his honesty, and even his embarrassment.

“You’re right,” I conceded as I cocked my head and studied him. “I shouldn’t have assumed anything. Just, I know from past experiences what comes next when people realize I’m… different.” I shrugged, trying to feign indifference, but the buzz of vulnerability made my skin feel itchy. I wasn’t used to feeling so exposed. To make matters worse, I was sure I wasn’t fooling him. “It’s a lot and not something most people want to stick around and deal with.”

“That sounds… lonely,” he said. His expression was soft and sorrowful enough that I couldn’t help but nod in agreement with his words. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, little bird. It is what it is.” I let out a sigh and stood. “Come on, let's get you home.”

He frowned but said nothing else as we walked out of the restaurant. When we got to the parking lot, I remembered we had driven separately. The pang of sorrow was like a punch to the gut as I realized I didn’t even get to take him home one last time.

My eyes tracked him as he walked through the lot, before he stopped between our cars. I wasn’t sure what I expected him to do, but I hadn’t expected him to roll his eyes and tease me.

“Are you going to wait until next month’s anniversary to unlock the door so I can get in?”

My legs carried me over to where he stood before I even made the decision to go to him. His words bounced around my head as I tried to wrap my mind around it.

Next month’s anniversary.

But there wouldn’t be a next anniversary, would there?

“I thought you would take your car.” It was the stupidest thing I could have said, and from the soft look on his face, he knew it too. But he didn’t call me out on it.

“Unlock the damn door, Nate.”

Just call me a genie in a bottle because his wish was my command.

I wasn’t sure what he expected when we got to his house, and the drive was filled mostly with tense silence as I contemplated all the things that had been shared during dinner.

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