Reverence (9 page)

NINA

At seven sharp the next day, Carson and I pulled up as Aiden opened his front door. He turned to me as I was exiting the limo. He looked dashing in an old school, black, perfectly fitted tux and a bowtie. I damn near stumbled toward him in my new Jimmy Choo’s as he descended the stairs, doing a little dance reminiscent of some Broadway show and nailing it with ease.

The man was brilliant, beautiful, talented beyond words, and had a cock that could silence a porn star.

I sighed as he took my mouth in a kiss that promised me much more as the night progressed.

“You look beautiful, Nina.” He pulled my hands out as he admired my sea colored dress that hugged my body perfectly and flowed loose from mid-thigh down. I wore my hair up and left my neck bare, but cuffed my wrist in diamonds. We slid into the cab of my town car as Carson drove toward the venue.

“You don’t mind slummin’ it with me tonight?” I asked as he kissed my palm.

“I’m a chameleon, baby. I can handle any situation.”

I quirked my brow. “I believe it.”

“I was raised knowing where the proper fork is. I did indeed have a mighty large silver spoon.”

“Tell me about your parents,” I asked, knowing a part of the answer. He stilled my wandering hand on his thigh.

“My father died when I was young, my mother … I rarely hear from her.” He didn’t seem affected by it.

“That must be hard.” I pulled my feet up beneath me on the comfortable seat as I tuned in. He leaned back in his seat, straightening his already perfect bowtie.

Another dark expression, one I hadn’t seen before, crossed his features, but it wasn’t sadness. It looked like resentment. “My father killed himself. I never thought it bothered me, but I guess it stuck with me. I researched a lot about emotions and the human mind, that’s what got me interested in psychiatry. I was looking for answers.”

“Did you find them?” He nodded his head, looking out the window. “Yes and no. I got some insight, but in truth, he would be the only one who could truly answer them. My mother refused to speak of him.”

“I’m sorry, Aiden.”

“It was just a way for me to cope, I guess. I never really wanted to be a shrink.”

“You never really wanted to be anything, did you?” I laughed. “You have all these amazing talents, degrees, and you just…”

He leaned in with a grin. “To you it’s a waste, but why? For money? You of all people know how tainted that point is.”

“I do,” I agreed whole-heartedly, but added, “You could be helping people with your expertise.”

“Point made, but Nina, I’d rather lift them with music, not listen to them suffer. I’m not so sure there are magic words to help the human condition. But I’m beginning to think there are magic people.” He fingered my cheek as his molten brown eyes moved over my face. “You do things to me.”

Ignoring the intimacy of his statement, I opted for humor. “You do things to me to,” I said on a laugh. “Pretty raunchy, Mr. Shrink. What would Freud say about the way you fuck?”

His grin left my heart racing. “He wouldn’t say anything, he would take notes and do the same to his woman.”

We laughed as the car slowed, and I pulled out my lipstick for a quick fix. “One hour and we are out of here. I’ll take you for a happy meal.”

He stilled my movement. “If you hate these things so much, why are you here?”

“I joined
everything
in hopes of making some new friends when I became wealthy. I was chair on a couple of committees due to my overly generous donations. I’ve stepped down and ducked out of everything in the last six months. I no longer give a shit. I’ve hated most of these functions, but this is one cause close to my heart.” I nodded out of the window and smiled as he saw the sign for the Charleston Aquarium.

He nodded as he exited the car and reached out his hand for mine. We bypassed the carpet at his insistence and headed in and were greeted by an ambiance of soft lights and live jazz music. I immediately grabbed a waiting glass of champagne and handed one to my beautiful date.

“It’s my job to get the drinks,” he cooed in my ear as we sipped champagne, hands clasped.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” I walked him past the first two larger than life sized aquariums filled with tropical fish, and he looked on, admiring them along with me.

“It’s way more fascinating to me than art. It’s alive and beautiful and ever changing.” He squeezed my hand as we walked along the colorful and contrasting wall of fish. I weaved through the crowd, intentionally not making eye contact with anyone. I was here with Aiden and that was all that mattered. For once in the last two years, I had someone to entertain. I wasn’t being hidden, a kept secret. For once I was being revered as someone important. At least to him.

“Want to dance?” I asked quickly. Aiden seemed distracted as he looked around us.

“No, not here. I’ll dance with you some other time. I promise.” He squeezed my hand and I let it go. We circled the aquarium, stopping in a quiet room filled from floor to ceiling with sharks. I stood in awe, staring into the tanks with the same fear that always struck me when I saw them. I swam amongst them in all aspects of my life, but I respected them greatly. I watched as a six foot black tip swam past me, touching the reinforced glass as it slid along side of me. I loved the sea and all its creatures and was fascinated by its intricate ecosystem. My plans were to help expand the aquarium, making it one of the east coast’s biggest and best. I stood for several moments watching the beady eyed, smooth skinned predators glide along the water, changing directions without warning. Suddenly there was a whirlwind of activity. They began to circle faster as more sharks joined the mix, causing my pulse to pick up with the flurry of activity in front of me as they raced around, held captive only by a few inches of glass.

“Aren’t they incredib—” I was cut short by the sight of Aiden facing Devin in the center of the room. I stood paralyzed with fear and jumped as a shark tale tapped the glass next to my head. The two men were completely silent in what looked to be a standoff. Terror crept through me as I realized these men not only knew each other, but hated each other as well. I stood motionless as fierce blue eyes met molten lava. I could literally feel the hate static mounting between them and cringed. I’d never seen Devin so livid, his jaw set. I couldn’t see Aiden’s face clearly, but his posture told me his look was probably eerily similar.

Breaking my immobility, I walked up next to Aiden and grabbed his hand.

“Let’s go,” I prompted, starting to walk as Aiden gripped my hand hard, telling me to stay in place. Devin turned his glare from Aiden to look at me and seemed to suddenly realize I was standing there, a physical jerk moving through him, his glare turning to disbelief. Aiden caught on and turned to look at me for confirmation, asking the silent question “Is this him?” and I nodded quickly as he dropped my hand.

My heart ripped at the loss as my eyes stayed glued between the two of them.

“Fuck you, I’m not doing this tonight,” Aiden hissed at Devin through clenched teeth. I looked to Devin who had murder in his eyes, his gaze shooting back and forth between us.

“Nina, when you
fuck
my cousin, does it remind you of me?” I was crippled in that moment. Devin looked at me with a “Well?” as I stood there, completely powerless to stop the next few minutes of my life. Aiden turned to me, confrontation clear in his features. “Research.”

My defense was weak and worthless. “I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.” I cowered away, terrified of the two of them.

“We’re leaving,” Aiden snapped as he came toward me in a blur.

“You aren’t going anywhere with her,” Devin hissed as he walked forward in an attempt to block him.

“Devin, do yourself a favor and walk away,” Aiden countered, sliding his hand around my hip.

“The fuck I will!” Devin yelled as I stood in front of Aiden.

“You have no say in anything I do, Devin. I came with Aiden, I’m leaving with him. This wasn’t intentional, it just happened. Aiden can attest to that.” I turned on my heel, heading toward the exit with or without Aiden. I knew I should be throwing myself at his feet, at his mercy, but I couldn’t do it. Not with Devin standing there. I clutched my purse and dug deep for my emergency bottle of Xanax, taking one and downing it with a glass of champagne from a ready tray. Minutes passed as I waited on Carson to bring the car around. Suddenly Aiden was hot on my heels as he exited the building. Carson pulled up and opened the door for us, concern written all over his face. Once seated, I popped a hot bottle of un-chilled champagne I kept on hand, taking a long sip. It was awful but it would get the job done.

“I didn’t know. We didn’t exactly disclose our names until the night I asked. I was just as surprised as you are now. When I found out you weren’t brothers, I didn’t think much more of it. I figured he wasn’t a part of your life.”

“You fucked up,” he said tightly. “You figured wrong.”

I felt a chill sweep through me as a stone faced Aiden failed to look at me. I lowered the glass partition.

“Mr. McIntyre will be returning home.” Carson nodded as I put the partition back up, cradling the warm bottle of champagne in my arm, wishing at that moment to be anyone but me.

“What can I say? Please, Aiden, tell me.”

Aiden sat perfectly still, his body language screaming violence. I wanted more than anything to ask what had transpired between them, but knew I may never get the answers. Carson stopped in Aiden’s drive, and for the first time Aiden looked at me and in his eyes I saw what I’d feared.

“If I would have asked you—”

“We would have never begun,” he said, matter of fact. “This can’t happen, Nina. I’m sorry.”

He exited the limo, walking past his porch steps toward the side of his house, down the beach path, motion lights beaming on to guide his steps. I blindly followed him, my insides sinking as he made his way out to the surf, untying his bowtie. He stood as he reached the white foam, the only light hovering over us coming from the back porch of his house.

“Aiden, please talk to me.” I heard my voice shake and took a deep breath.

“You knew,” he said as a statement. “You surprise me sometimes. I think I have you figured out and then you pull the rug out from under me. It was what I loved about you most. Now I think it’s what I like about you least.”

“Fuck, please don’t do that. Don’t jab at me. You came after me that night, remember. I didn’t do this intentionally or to spite him.”

“It can’t happen. I’m sorry. You need to leave.” He walked away, leaving me on the beach holding a hot bottle of champagne and my face covered in running mascara.

I was pulled from sleep by the rumbling of my cell phone. I texted Taylor that I would be into the office in the morning, then lay in bed with my eyes shut tight.

Did that really fucking happen?

I had no reason to believe Devin would show up to that event. It wasn’t something he would be interested in, and no matter how hard I’d pushed the case, none of the women on my other committees were remotely interested in helping with the expansion of the aquarium.

He’d made good on his threat and come specifically for me.

And now you know. Cousins.

I saw it and ignored it. Same last name, similar upbringings, Ivy League educations. It was clear it was a connect the dots scenario. I knew and I’d ignored it. I wanted Aiden. And deep down, I still wanted Devin. Fresh tears crippled me from moving out of bed as I christened my pillow over and over. Devin was furious. Aiden was done. And I was once again alone.