Page 99 of Between the Lines

I jump back. “Shit!”

He looks at me. And then he chuckles. “Chaos? Were you going to use that as a weapon?”

“I thought someone was breaking in.”

“If someone is breaking in, you call me, and you go hide in your closet. You donotgo out to meet them in nothing but a bikini, carrying a piece of wood.”

I lower the driftwood sculpture. “I didn’t think you’d be home.”

Aiden walks up the path from the garage. He pulls off his sunglasses, and his eyes rake over me. “You look…”

He’s got that gaze. The one he had in the kitchen the other night, like I’m everything he’s ever wanted. I like it more than I should. “It’s just a bikini.”

“There’s no ‘just’ about you.”

He looks good. Linen shirt, dark pants. His hair is more mussed than usual, and there’s a look in his eyes that makes my stomach tighten.

“You’re a charmer. I thought you needed to be at the office today.”

“I do. Just took a lunch break.” He reaches into his pocket. “Catch.”

He tosses something that dangles my way. I react just in time to catch it.

Car keys.

“What’s this?”

“I don’t think you should drive your little Honda anymore.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not safe. I’ve heard how it sounds when you try to get up the hill here. Drive this one instead.”

“It’s sturdy.”

“It’s not safe.”

“It’s perfectly safe. It doesn’t becomelesssafe just because you repeat those words.” I frown and look behind him to see a silver Audi Q3 that’s parked right next to his massive Jeep. “This is a you thing. Are you embarrassed that people can see my car parked here next to your thirty-million-dollar house?”

“This house didn’t cost thirty million.”

“Fine. Thirty-five.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m not ashamed of your car. That’s ridiculous, Chaos.”

“Did you buy that?” I point to the Audi.

“It’s a lease,” he says. “Of sorts.”

I look down at the keys in my hand. So innocent-looking—a plastic fob with a big button on it. “You didn’t discuss this with me.”

“Did I need to?”

“I happen to like my car,” I say. It’s a lie. That car has been dying a slow death for months, but I keep telling myself to hold off for another ghostwriting paycheck before going to buy a new one. My Honda still works, and that’s all that matters.

Aiden crosses his arms over his chest. “What do you like about it?”

“Lots of things.”

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