He thought Nick might crack a joke, but instead his brother’s expression turned serious. “It’s all going to be on you now. The family thing. I’m sorry about that.”

“I can handle it. I don’t get her relationship with Dad, but there’s no getting around the fact that she loves him. He’s her world. The rest of us are a distant second.” He took another drink. “I think that’s how it’s supposed to be when you’re married, though. Sure the kids are important, but they grow up and move away. If you lose your partner while dealing with your children, then one day you have nothing.”

Nick’s brows rose. “What is Shelby doing to you?”

Aidan laughed. “Nothing bad. We talk about stuff. Sometimes it’s good to talk.”

“No, it’s not.” Nick swore. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to leave.”

“I belong here.”

“Because of the business?”

“Some. I like it here.” There had been a time when Aidan had chafed against what he’d seen as being trapped. When Del had left, the family business had fallen to him. But over time, he’d realized this was where he was meant to be.

“Are you happy?” Nick pressed.

“That’s a very girly question.”

“You, of all people, should be forgiving of that,” Nick pointed out.

“I am.” Aidan thought for a second. “Yeah, I am. What I was doing before, going from woman to woman, it was a way of hiding. I thought I was playing it safe, but acting like that came at a price. I was a jackass.”

“And now?”

“Less of one, I hope.” He reached over and rubbed Charlie’s ears.

“This is Shelby’s doing?”

“Some of it is her and some of it is me.”

“You’re still not...” Nick’s voice trailed off.

Aidan thought about the kiss and how much he’d wanted her. How he’d resisted. How he hadn’t talked to her since.

“No. It’s not like that.”

“But you want it to be like that.” Nick raised his bottle of beer. “That wasn’t a question, by the way. You want her.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Aidan exhaled. “But we’re friends. And I like being friends with her. I like her. Sleeping together would change everything.”

“Maybe not. Maybe if you did it, you could get her out of your system and go back to the way things were.”

Aidan had a bad feeling that wasn’t likely to happen. Shelby wasn’t the do-it-once-and-forget-her kind of woman. “That’s not gonna work.”

“Then sleep with someone else.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“We have a deal.”

“One that’s not working.”

“Then we should probably talk about that.”

Aidan turned and saw Shelby standing in the open door of Nick’s studio.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I AM SO out of here,” Nick said.

“You don’t have to go,” Shelby told him, because it was the right thing to say. In truth, she needed Nick to go so she could talk to Aidan.

She’d been avoiding him for forty-eight hours. If she’d been able to avoid herself, she would have done that, too. Because she was nothing if not confused. Confused about the kiss and what it meant. Confused about what to do next. When she’d suddenly realized she had to talk to him, he hadn’t been at his office. Fay had told her where to find him.

Now she waited, shifting her weight from foot to foot as Nick collected his car keys.