Page 73 of The Rancher's Unrequited Love

It was unlikely they'd ever get past that stage, Aidan thought wryly. It wasn't so long ago when Blake's feelings for Thornton were one-sided, and Aidan had actually taken to avoiding the girl because of all the gag-worthy gushing she did over his twin.

Blake had worn her heart so proudly on her sleeve that the whole town knew about her feelings for Thornton even without her saying a word. And now that he thought about it, Anah had been the same. While she had never been as openly chatty as Blake about her feelings, the way the younger girl always seemed to bloom to life whenever Ethan was around was just as telling, and Anah's unrequited love had become another one of Hartland's open secrets.

It would've been nice if Aidan could say the same thing about his own life, but as things were now...

"Things must be really bad if you've come to me to talk."

Thornton's gruff tone had Aidan starting, and the way the other man's lips tightened told Thornton that his twin hadn't even noticed Blake going inside the bookshop to get him.

When Blake told him Aidan needed to talk to him aboutthegirl, Thornton hadn't believed her, but now that he had seen his twin...

"What's wrong?" he asked bluntly.

"She's leaving."

"Fuck."

Aidan's lips twisted. "Exactly."

"What's your next move?"

"Nothing."

Thornton's impassive expression didn't change.Nothing, where his twin was concerned, still meant something.

Although he and Aidan had always presented a united front in public, one little-known secret about them was how intensely competitive they were with each other behind closed doors. Even Ethan didn't know about the hours Thornton and Aidan used to spend playing chess against each other in their younger days, and later on, this had progressed into high-stakes games on whose I.T. venture could generate more sales or whose start-up funding had reported more gains at a given time frame.

The Aidan Blackwood everyone knew seemed like an open book; a gentleman whom no one would hesitate to trust and ask help from. Thornton used to believe the same thing, too...or at least he had until they started playing those games, and he had come to realize just how much of his real self his twin kept hidden.

The real Aidan was a sly, cunning trickster made tougher by his subtly forceful nature and rock-solid composure. The first few times they had played against each other, Thornton had been chagrined to realize how his older twin was often ten steps ahead of him, and how the other man's genial demeanor was nothing but a mask.

The quiet charm and impeccable manners. Even those damn smiles that Blake often urged Thornton to try for himself.

Ha!

Thornton nearly snorted at the memory. Everything about Aidan's "public" persona was a sham, and Blake, just like the rest of the town, had completelyfallen for it. Control meant so damn much to his twin that if and when Aidan were to fall in love, Thornton had always imagined it would be with a girl who was malleable and uncomplicated. Someone who would never be so troublesome to upset his twin's perfectly mapped life.

But looking at Aidan now...

The mask was definitely off,Thornton thought, and as for the reason behind it...

Aidan saw the way his brother was looking at him and had no trouble interpreting the disquiet in Thornton's gaze. "You looked her up."

"I'm sure you did as well."

"Naturally."

"And you know about the man in her life?"

"He's immaterial." Aidan genuinely didn't give a fuck about Jack-what's-his-face. "It'sher..."His jaw clenched, and a rare trace of frustration underscored his tone when he spoke again. "It's Serafina I can't figure out. There are things at play...and I just fucking wish they were things I couldfixfor her. But I can't."

The next move had to come from Serafina.

No fucking ifs and buts about it.

She had to want him enough to make the first move.

It was the only way they'd have a fighting chance.

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