Page 51 of Between the Lines

She looks at me with curious eyes. “Hi.”

“Hello,” I say.

“This is Charlotte,” Aiden says. He leans against the wall and has the expression of someone long-suffering. “She is working on the book I told you about, and is staying here to ensure we get enough time together.”

The woman glances at him for a few seconds too long before turning back to me. A guarded glint is in her eyes now. Her green-colored eyes… Just like Aiden’s.

“You’re the ghostwriter,” she says.

“Yes, I am.”

“This is Mandy,” Aiden says. “My sister, who is not entirely convinced that a memoir is a good idea.”

She shoots him another annoyed look, before facing me again. The ground beneath me shakes, just a little, the way it does when I find myself on uncertain terrain.

“You’re writing about our family,” she says.

“As it relates to Aiden, yes, and the company,” I say. “Aiden will have complete control over the contents of the first draft. Anything he doesn’t want in there, and by extension you, can be cut.”

She nods slowly. “Oh. That’s good.”

“I understand that your family has been through a lot,” I say. It’s risky, bringing it up like this. Dancing around the topic of their father and his lengthy jail sentence. A topic Aiden and I have still not delved into. “I don’t want to be another negative piece in that puzzle. Quite the opposite.”

“I like the sound of that,” Mandy says. She’s still looking at me with anxious eyes. “The idea of a book is… scary.”

“I understand that,” I say. “Everyone I’ve worked with—from the world poker champion to a tech investor, even a Real Housewife—they were all scared. And nervous. Even if a book was their idea and they’re used to sharing their lives.”

“You’ve worked with a Real Housewife?” Mandy’s eyes widen. “Which one? And can you tell me everything?”

I chuckle. “Probably not everything, but a lot, yeah.”

Aiden pushes off the wall. “Let’s not badger Charlotte as the first thing we do.”

“I’m making conversation,” Mandy says primly, and I like her immediately. “But yeah, I should get going. I’ve got a dinner reservation. Aiden, I’ve left the documents on the table over there.”

“Thank you,” Aiden says. “I’ll have the lawyers look through them.”

“Thank you!” She kisses him on the cheek and waves goodbye to me, and then the front door closes.

I walk toward the stairs. Aiden trails after me, step in step.

“So, now you’ve met Mandy,” he says.

“Can I interview her?”

“How did I know you would ask that?” He sighs. “Maybe. It’ll be on her terms, if at all.”

“Thanks. I meant what I said—anything she doesn’t like can be cut out. Same as for you.”

“Good.”

We reach the top of the landing. His bedroom is in one direction, mine in the other. I reach out and grip the railing. The iron is cool under my fingers and feels nice against my warm skin.

“I have to say, for a second there, I thought…” I shrug and let the words die. I shouldn’t speak them.

Aiden lifts an eyebrow. “You thought what?”

I force myself to smile. “That she was your date or a girlfriend coming over. I was trying to sneak up here without interrupting you.”

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