Page 43 of Almost True
Or at least, it’d shaken me from what could easily be called a nightmare and shifted life, especially tonight, into a dream world.
“Thank you. Yes. It’s a beautiful piece of land.” His humble nod made my stomach flip.
He was adorable. And so sturdy. He didn’t shift or try to edge away from the questions, the thinly-veiled criticism in almost every word out of my mother’s mouth.
“And your family? How long have they been settled in Silverton?”
“Several generations. My great-grandparents were one of the founding families here.”
She nodded. “So your roots run deep.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So you’re unlikely to move away from Silverton, I imagine.” She stated it rather than posing a question. No hinting for Annette Reynolds, especially not when it came to someone associated with the Reynolds name.
Heat burned in my cheeks, but I pasted on a smile and pressed closer to him, hoping he’d sense my appreciation. I didn’t want Aidan offended by her, and he’d done his time. “That’s enough of an inquisition, Mother. I think Aidan needs to check in on his cousin.”
She waved a hand like it was all the same to her. “I’m only observing the reality, darling. He’s a man tethered here in this town, and you’re a woman devoted to her work, which happens to be based in New York and LA. I’m not sure how you envision things moving forward, but I hate to see you fooling yourselves—assuming this is even something to consider.”
She turned and left, a punctuation mark on the moment in her signature direct-and-slightly-painful style.
It took a few seconds, both of us watching her go, before I peeled myself away from his warmth. But her parting shot had hit its mark, so I reluctantly let a few inches come between us.
“A woman devoted to her work.”I might’ve stood taller at that description in the past. The idea of devotion to my work had always seemed kind of romantic. Right up until it felt like practically all I had was that devotion, and it was something that would never love me back.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Aidan
Maddie’s mother was, as they say, a piece of work.
I didn’t tend to dislike people based on a single interaction because I understood that sometimes, people aren’t at their best. This came from several years after losing Viv when all I could do was function. It took everything I had to just get up and take care of Luca, so being friendly? Accommodating? Welcoming? Thoughtful? These were thrown to the wolves of grief. They were qualities I had mined and worked to refine more aggressively in the last four years or so, and I still had a long way to go.
Annette Reynolds clearly had the ability to charm. She fluttered from group to group around the garden and overtly delighted the people she spoke with. Even Quinn Darling and Julian Grenier, both of whom I viewed as generally undelightable, had been ensnared. They were not easily impressed or charmed, and yet she’d had them chuckling cheerily into their champagne glasses while she told them a story.
As the yokel whom she no doubt viewed as the man who wanted to steal away her daughter and ruin all her hopes and dreams, I very clearly didn’t rate on the need-to-be-charmed scale. I already had the lingering feeling that I was silly for having thought of her so often, and even dreamed of what it might be like to have something real and long-term with her, before realizing she was… her. But seeing her mother so thoroughly unimpressed with my existence drilled it home.
I was nowhere near good enough for Madeline Reynolds. Maddie and I hit it off. We had great chemistry, and I got a little weak when I talked to her or looked at her too long, but Madeline and I?
What could we possibly even have?
Maddie’s hand on me drew my eyes away from her departing mother. Pleasure at the feeling of her fingers on my skin shivered up from my wrist, over my shoulder, to the base of my neck. I’d just had my arm around her, and it’d felt right, but her touching me now, with no one around to see, made my pulse jump anew.
“I’m so sorry.” She crushed her eyes closed for a second and sighed. “She can be so rude.”
“She’s very direct, that’s for sure.”
She chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah. I’d like to defend her and say she can be really great, but lately, this is what I get. It’s something about me and dating and who I’ll eventually marry. My brother already ruined her hopes for marrying up, so now it’s on me, I guess.”
I nodded, pushing away the twinge of regret that news caused in me. “Well, I think it’s safe to say I’m not going to make her list of eligible bachelors.”
She stepped closer and surprised me by putting her hand on my jaw, cradling my face. “You’re amazing. I’d be lucky to be with someone like you. Don’t mistake her opinions for mine.”
Her hazel eyes shone with a fierceness I wouldn’t have expected except maybe in a boardroom negotiation or… whatever it was she did that made her so formidable in the land of business.
“Thank you.” I wanted to say more, to prolong this nearness between us, but John tapped my shoulder. Maddie’s hand dropped to her side and she stepped back.
“Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but I wanted to introduce you to some friends, Aidan. They’re looking to do some similar work and wanted to speak with you for a bit, if you don’t mind.”
