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glare was almost visible in the dim light. He should feel lucky he wasn’t smoldering under that fire. Instead, a cool brush of air drifted over him as she shifted back on the steps. “If you had hung around over the past ten years, you’d know that Lily has been like a mother to me. Ever since we were kids.” Pausing to swallow, she looked down for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was once more firm and devoid of emotion. “I understand what’s being required of me.”

      Somehow that monotone didn’t make him any happier than her anger, and he couldn’t resist the urge to shake her out of it. “You’d sell yourself to a stranger for what, money? Hoping ol’ Granddad will give you a piece of the pie if you work hard enough for it?”

      â€œNo,” she insisted. “I’m not selling myself, but I will sacrifice myself to do what I think is right for Lily.” She reached out in a pleading gesture, but jerked back as her fingertips brushed his chest. A deep breath seemed to stabilize her control. The professional was back. “It’s my belief as a nurse, and as Lily’s friend, that she’s conscious of where she is. This house has been her sanctuary since her car accident. I can guarantee that removing her from here will negatively affect her physical and emotional condition. Especially if he puts her in—” a shudder worked its way over her “—that place. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep Lily out of there.... Will you?”

      Aiden shifted his legs, wishing he could pace despite the confinement of his surroundings. “Would he really do that to her, you think?”

      An unladylike snort sounded in the air, surprising him. But Christina obviously wasn’t in the mood to pull her punches. “Have you forgotten that much already? He’s only become more pigheaded through the years.”

      â€œYou seem to handle him pretty well,” he said, remembering how she’d stared James down over the medicine.

      Her brow lifted in disbelief. “He only concedes to my medical expertise because he’s afraid of dying.”

      â€œHe’s not afraid of anything.”

      â€œActually, Aiden, deep down we’re all afraid of something.” Her shaky breath told him she was afraid of something, too, but she wasn’t revealing any secrets. “Death is the only thing James can’t outwit, outsmart or bully into getting his way.”

      Though he didn’t understand why, Aiden felt a strange kinship tingle at the edge of his consciousness. She might look delicate, but Christina was racking up evidence of being one smart cookie. On top of that, a common bond tightened between them: Lily. He knew the source of his guilt—his obligation to his mother. Despite her words, he knew Christina’s devotion to Lily wasn’t just friendship; something else lurked beneath that fierce dedication. Was it just how good Lily had been to her? Or something more? He’d find out what was going on there. She could bet on it.

      The sudden silence must have become too much for her, because Christina moved forward as if to continue down the stairs. The polite thing would have been to step aside, but the ache to feel that body against his once more kept him perversely still. She slowed within a hairbreadth, tension mounting once more. “Aiden?”

      â€œSo you’re really willing to do this?” he asked, almost holding his breath as he awaited her answer. What delicious torture to spend the next year with this woman and keep his hands to himself. Could he? This was a huge mistake.

      â€œI don’t know. I don’t think I can, you know, share a bed with you.”

      The way her voice trailed off told him how very uncomfortable she was, which only awakened images of making her very comfortable in a bed for two. But maybe he could find a way to make this work.

      â€œDon’t worry. I’ll figure out a way around that.”

      â€œDo you have any other choices for a wife?” she asked. “I didn’t really give you a chance to choose.”

      Arguments? He had a few, but none that were effective. Excuses? A whole hay wagon full, but none he dared utter in the face of the threat to his mother’s well-being. Other women? He could think of many a delectable armful over the last ten years, but none interested in anything as mundane as marriage. He’d stayed far away from the home-and-hearth type.

      â€œNo,” he conceded, then stepped aside to let her pass. “I don’t think I could pay my assistant enough to move to the middle of nowhere and put up with me 24/7.”

      â€œIt’s hardly the middle of nowhere,” she said with a light tone as she scooted past, brushing the far wall in an attempt not to touch him again.

      Which was just as well.

      She continued, “We might not have the culture of New York City, but there’s still a movie theater, nice restaurants and the country-club set.” She kept that delicate face turned resolutely away as he followed her into the soft afternoon light of the kitchen. “Not something I’m that interested in, but to each his own.”

      Interesting. “What do your parents think about that?”

      â€œWho knows?” And who cares, her tone said. Could she really brush aside what her family thought that easily? Everything he’d seen since his return made him think she was family-focused. Her graceful appearance, fierce loyalty and career choice made her seem exactly like the marriage, kids and picket-fence type. All the more reason to keep his pants zipped around her.

      What were they going to do about that bed? It was long moments later before she finally turned to face him, but for once the delicate lines of her face told him nothing.

      â€œHonestly, Aiden, I want to help. This situation is uncomfortable at best, but for Lily...”

      She’ll do anything. Her earlier question rang once more in his ears: Would he put aside his own selfish wants, his own desire to run far, far away for the second time, for the needs of his mother and his childhood home?

      Would he?

      * * *

      Christina picked her way down the damp concrete steps in front of the stately Black Hills courthouse. Thunderstorms had blown through during the night, leaving a cool breeze that rustled through the Bradford pear trees lining the square. Her trembling body felt just as jostled as she followed Aiden and Canton. Were her feet really numb or was that just the shock of signing the papers?

      â€œIt’s official,” the probate judge had said, beaming with the pride of initiating a Blackstone marriage.

      Luckily, it wasn’t truly official—she still had about a week before the marriage license came in to regain her senses, but picturing Lily at home, fragile yet safe in her bed, told Christina she wouldn’t change her mind.

      She couldn’t turn her back on the friend who’d given up so much for her.

      The three of them reached the bottom just as a group of local guys approached. Cleaned up from work in jeans and button-downs, they looked like what they were—small-town guys headin’ down to start their weekend with some fun at Lola’s, the local bar.

      â€œWell, look at this, boys. It’s Aiden Blackstone, back from New York City.”

      Christina cringed inside. Jason Briggs had to be the cockiest guy in Black Hills, and had the mouth to prove it. Not someone she wanted to deal with given her current edgy nerves.

      â€œJason.” Aiden acknowledged the other man with the single, short word. From his tight tone, Christina guessed his memories of Jason were anything but fond.

      â€œWhatya doin’ back here?” Jason asked, as if it was any of his business. “Can’t imagine you showing up after all this time for a pleasure visit.”

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