LITMIR.BIZ

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      The men simply stared at him for a minute before Christina answered. “Bateman is the current day foreman at the mill.”

      “Check it out,” Jason said, raising his voice just a bit. “Guy doesn’t even know who the foreman is, and he thinks he’s gonna stop all the bull that’s been going on over there.”

      “I’m sure I’ll manage,” Aiden said, cool, calm and collected. Standing tall on the steps, his back braced and arms folded across his chest, giving him the presence of a leader.

      Jason held his gaze for a moment, probably an attempt to stare Aiden down, then shifted his cocky eyes to Christina. A weaker target. She fought the urge to ease behind Aiden’s strong back for protection. Jason was older than she was by a few years, but that hadn’t stopped him from hitting on her when they were teenagers. He hadn’t appreciated her rejection, and now enjoyed hassling her whenever they met. “I guess you filled him in, huh, sweet cheeks? Is that all you gave him? Information?”

      Confident he’d gotten a few good jabs in, Jason decided he was done with them. With a self-assured jerk of his head, he got the whole crew moving like the lemmings they were.

      Aiden watched them go before asking, “So he works out at the mill?”

      Canton replied before Christina could. “Yes. His father is in management, I believe.”

      “That’s not going to help him if he ever talks to Christina like that again.”

      Startled, Christina eyed Aiden’s hard jaw and compressed lips. She’d never had a champion before, at least, not one capable of doing much in her defense. That Aiden would punish Jason on her behalf...she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

      Christina frowned after the departing group. Maybe she had more of her mother’s tastes than she’d wanted to admit. None of the local guys had ever interested her much. Jerks like Jason who thought they were God’s gift to the women of this town didn’t help. But Aiden’s quietly sophisticated, confident aura made her stomach tighten every time she saw him. Which was trouble, big trouble. Especially when she started looking to him for more than just that tingling rush.

      Glancing back at the men, she found Aiden watching her intently. Her cheeks burned. Please don’t let him be able to guess my thoughts.

      “What’s he talking about?” Aiden asked.

      Was he asking her? Why not the lawyer? But the direction of Aiden’s stare was plain.

      “Well, I know there’ve been some problems out at the mill. Strange things happening. Shipments delayed or missing altogether. Perfectly good equipment breaking unexpectedly. Things like that.”

      “Sabotage?” Aiden asked with narrowing eyes.

      Canton broke in. “Absolutely not. Just a coincidence, is all.”

      But Christina wasn’t about to lie to the person she hoped would be able to fix it. “Some people say it is. But there’s no proof of anything. Still, people in the town are starting to get antsy, superstitious, worried about their jobs—”

      Canton cleared his throat, shooting her a “shut your mouth” glare. “Everything will be fine once they realize a strong Blackstone is back at the helm.”

      Still, Aiden watched her, assessing as if he were cataloging her every feature. But then his gaze seemed to morph into something more, something she couldn’t look away from as heat spread through her limbs like seeping honey. When was the last time a man, any man, had truly seen her? Gifted her with a moment of intense focus?

      But Aiden’s silvery-black gaze didn’t hold desire—at least, not the kind that shivered through her veins. No, his eyes appraised her, calculating her value. Their shared look allowed her to see the moment the idea hit him.

      Yes, she could be useful to a lot of people, but to Aiden in particular. She knew this town in ways he didn’t anymore. And Jason had just proven that taking over the town’s biggest source of income wasn’t going to be easy. Small-town Southerners had long memories, and little tolerance for outsiders coming in to tell them what to do.

      He didn’t have an easy road ahead of him, but she had a feeling she’d just been chosen to pave his way.

       Four

      Christina enjoyed reading to Lily. Sometimes she would indulge in short verses from a book of poetry, magazine articles or a cozy mystery. Today the words from a story set in a small town like theirs eased over them both, until muffled bumps and bangs erupted from the adjoining room. She cocked her head, hearing more thumping sounds. A quick glance reassured her Lily was okay, so she set the book down and hurried through the dressing room.

      The noise grew as she approached the door that led from Lily’s dressing room to Christina’s bedroom. What was going on?

      Opening the door, she found herself facing a...wall? A mattress wall?

      Going back through Lily’s suite to the other exit into the hallway only gave her time to get good and angry. Nolen stood outside Christina’s room, arms crossed over his chest. His closed stance matched his expression.

      “What’s going on?” she asked.

      Nolen shook his head. “That boy. Master Aiden always was one to get something in his mind, and that’s all she wrote....”

      Alarm skittered through Christina. What was he up to? One step inside the disarray told her it was no good.

      “Why are you rearranging the furniture in my room?” She didn’t care that her voice was high-pitched and panicked. He could not do this. He could not simply move himself in without permission.

      Furniture had been shoved aside, her bed taken apart and general chaos reigned. In the midst of it all, Aiden stood, legs braced. He wore almond-colored cargo pants and a blue button-down, sleeves rolled up to expose muscled forearms with a sprinkling of dark hair. A masculine statue in purple girly land.

      He nodded to the delivery guys. “I think I’ve got it from here.”

      Christina practically vibrated as she waited for them to clear the room. Her eyes rounded and her throat tightened as the men took her old mattress with them.

      “Thanks, Nolen,” she heard Aiden say before the door clicked closed. Then he resumed his autocratic stance nearby.

      “Don’t you think we should have talked about this first?”

      His insolent shrug matched his nonchalant attitude, which only upped her panic for some reason. “Why? You said you would go through with this for Mother.”

      She wanted to scream, but held on to her control for a moment more. “Yes, but not sharing a bed.”

      He was silent so long that she shifted uncomfortably. Finally, he said, “James will get his way—you said that yourself.”

      “But if we give him the marriage, maybe—”

      “He doesn’t want this half-done, Christina. You know that. But I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t feel comfortable with.”

      She raised her brows, pointedly surveying her disheveled room. “It seems like that’s exactly what you’re doing. I’m definitely not comfortable with this.”

      “We each have a side. I’ll keep my clothes and stuff upstairs, out of your way. This doesn’t have to be any more intimate than two people sleeping beside each other.”

      She wanted to study his face, see if he really believed that, but she couldn’t scratch up the nerve. Instead, she concentrated on maintaining what small modicum of grace she still possessed.

      “Look,” Aiden said, “if we’re gonna do this, we’ve got to be all in. Either that, or get out now.”

      Christina glanced at the door to Lily’s room.

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