Independent Jenny Read Online Free PDF Page B

and I felt guilty about it the next morning. But I didn’t see Aiden again for a long time, and by then Ross and I were more serious and, well, I hadn’t given it another thought. Until now.
    I looked at Aiden as Ross continued to bore us about his job. I couldn’t help but notice how cute he was, now I looked properly. He glanced at me then back at Ross. Then he glanced at me again. Was I staring? I went back to looking at Ross but I couldn’t resist.
    I imagined kissing Aiden and my heart fluttered. Was it just the wine or did everything suddenly make sense?
    All too soon, they were saying good night. I was quite happy to see Ross go but would’ve liked to chat with Aiden alone some more.
    Monday morning, I left the house wondering what on Earth my hormones were doing. I had to concentrate on Ross and what we were going to do, not get a silly crush on his brother. But he was so kind and sweet and cute, my heart whispered to me. Stupid heart.
    I was walking down to my office, ready to airbrush the bride and her maids if necessary, when I saw Aiden crossing the street nearby. How had I managed to go years without seeing him as more than a brother-in-law and now I had that nervous excited feeling shooting through my chest?
    “Hey,” I said as breezily as I could manage.
    “Everything okay?” he said, falling into step beside me.
    “Yeah, not bad. Thanks for coming last night. I know it must have been awkward for you.”
    “No worries. You headed to work?”
    Had he always been this gorgeous?
    “Yes. You?”
    “Just walking down to the post office.”
    Why hadn’t I noticed how green his eyes were before? I always thought they were brown but, when you really looked closely, they were definitely hazel. Much more interesting and beautiful than Ross’ boring brown ones.
    When I thought about it, Aiden and I had more in common too. We both liked to get out walking, for example, and he was quite keen on art and photography, like me. Just think how much more interesting dinner conversations would be if I were married to Aiden, instead of Ross … No, I must stop this.
    “Listen, while we’re alone…”
    “Yes?” I said, fluttering my eyelashes a little and then telling myself to get a grip on this before I embarrassed myself.
    “I just wanted to say that Ross is an idiot, Jenny. I really had a go at him. I can’t believe he’d do this to you and I’m very sorry.”
    I swallowed hard and blinked back a few tears.
    “Thank you Aiden. I appreciate it.”
    “If you were mine, I’d treat you so much better.”
    What? Did that mean he wanted me? This was all too much. Way too much, too soon. I felt a little dizzy.
    “I know. You’re a decent guy, Aiden,” I managed to utter. He looked at me for longer than necessary and I didn’t know what to do. Maybe I was imagining this chemistry between us.
    And he was way too decent a guy to steal his brother’s wife, anyway.
    But, what if I were his brother’s ex-wife?
    We’d reached the post office and Aiden stopped before he went in.
    “What’re you doing at lunch time?”
    I mean, if we were divorced … well, I was fair game then, surely?

Chapter Eight
     
    I arranged to meet Aiden at Shane’s place at noon, and I spent the morning at work going through my photos from the weekend’s wedding, feeling confused as ever.
    How could I have been ignorant and in love with Ross two weeks ago, and now, I wasn’t sure if I even liked him? How could I have been completely oblivious to Aiden, other than a sisterly affection, and now I couldn’t get him out of my head? The way he looked at me … I couldn’t remember ever feeling so special. Had he always looked at me that way?
    I repeated all this to Shane in the thirty seconds he could spare me before the lunchtime rush.
    “Look, firstly your head is all over the place. You’re bound to feel mixed up and fancy the first guy you see, especially one who’s being nice to you. Just take a breath, get some perspective,