wished her a happy birthday, he was about to do so when his phone rang. He had slipped off the patio to take the call from a friend from college who was trying to fix him up on a blind date for next weekend.
When he returned to the patio after finishing his call, everyone else had gone inside to watch a movie or play cards, and she’d been alone. She would never know how hard it had been for him to sit across from her without touching her. She looked good and smelled good, as well.
Jillian Novak had definitely caught his eye.
But Dillon and Pam would pluck out that same eye if he didn’t squash what he was feeling.
Everybody knew how protective Pam was when it came to her sisters. Just like everyone knew Aidan wasn’t one to take women seriously. And he didn’t plan to change his behavior now. So the best thing for him to do while he was home for the next three days was to keep his distance from Jillian as he’d always done.
So why did I get her phone number and give her mine, for crying out loud?
Okay, he reasoned quickly, it had been a crazy moment, one he now regretted. The good thing was he doubted she would ever call him for help and he would make it a point never to call her.
That was a good plan, one he intended to stick to. Now, if he could only stop thinking about her that would be great. Glancing down at the medical journal he was supposed to be reading, he tried to focus on the words. Within a few minutes he’d read one interesting article and was about to start on another.
“Will you do me a big favor?”
Aidan glanced up to stare into the face of his sister Bailey. She used to be the baby in the Denver Westmoreland family but that had changed now that Dillon and Pam had a son, and Aidan’s brother Ramsey and his wife, Chloe, had a daughter.
“Depends on what the favor is?”
“I promised Jill that I would go riding with her and show her the section of Westmoreland Country that she hasn’t seen yet. Now they’ve called me to come in to work. I need you to go with Jillian instead.”
“Just show her another day,” he said, quickly deciding that going horseback riding with Jillian wasn’t a smart idea.
“That was my original plan but I can’t reach her on her cell phone. We were to meet at Gemma Lake, and you know how bad phone reception is out there. She’s already there waiting for me.”
He frowned. “Can’t you ask someone else?”
“I did but everyone is busy.”
His frown deepened. “And I’m not?”
Bailey rolled her eyes. “Not like everyone else. You’re just reading a magazine.”
He figured there was no use explaining to Bailey that his reading was important. He just so happened to be reading about a medical breakthrough where the use of bionic eyes had been tested as a way to restore sight with good results.
“Well, will you do it?”
He closed the medical journal and placed it aside. “You’re positive there’s no one else who can do it?”
“Yes, and she really wants to see it. This is her home now and—”
“Her home? She’s away at school most of the time,” he said.
“And so are you, Adrian, Stern and Canyon, and this is still your home. So what’s your point?”
He decided not to argue with her. There were times when his baby sister could read him like an open book and he didn’t want her to do that in this instance. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out the story written on his pages was all about Jillian.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Act a little enthused, will you? You’ve been kind of standoffish with Jillian and her sisters since Dillon married Pam.”
“I have not.”
“You have, too. You should take time to get to know them. They’re part of the family now. Besides, you and Jill will both become doctors one day so already you have a common interest.”
He hoped like hell that would remain their only common interest. It was up to him to make sure it did. “Whatever,” he said, standing and walking toward the door, pausing to grab his Stetson off the hat rack.
“And, Aidan?”
He stopped before opening the door and turned around, somewhat annoyed. “What now?”
“Try to be nice. You can act like a grizzly bear at times.”
That was her opinion. Deciding not to disagree with her, because you could never win with Bailey, he walked out of the house.
Jillian heard the sound of a rider approaching and turned around, using her hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. Although she couldn’t make out the identity of the rider, she knew it wasn’t Bailey.
The rider came closer and when her heart began pounding hard in her chest, she knew it was Aidan. What was he doing here? And where was Bailey?
Over breakfast she and Bailey had agreed to go riding after lunch. Because the property was located so far from Denver’s city limits and encompassed so much land, the locals referred to it as Westmoreland Country. Although Jillian had seen parts of it, she had yet to see all of it and Bailey had volunteered to show it to her.
Dropping her hand to her side, Jillian drew in a deep breath as Aidan and his horse came closer. She tried not to notice how straight he sat in the saddle or how good he looked sitting astride the horse. And she tried not to gawk at how his Stetson, along with his western shirt, vest, jeans and boots, made him look like a cowboy in the flesh.
When he brought the horse to a stop a few feet from where she stood, she had to tilt her head all the way back to look up at him. “Aidan.”
He nodded. “Jillian.”
His irritated expression and the cutting sound of his voice made her think he was upset about something. Was she trespassing on a particular part of Westmoreland land where she had no business being?
Thinking she needed to give him an explanation, she said, “I’m waiting for Bailey. We’re going riding.”
“Yes, those were your plans.”
She lifted a brow. “Were?”
He nodded. “Bailey tried reaching you but your phone is out of range. She was called in to work and asked that I take her place.”
“Take her place?”
“Yes, take her place. She indicated you wanted to tour Westmoreland Country.”
“I did, but...”
Penetrating dark eyes held hers. “But what?”
She shoved both hands into the pockets of her jeans. There was no way she could tell him that under no circumstances would she go riding anywhere with him. She could barely be around him for a few minutes without becoming unglued...like she was becoming now.
The reason she had placed her hands in her pockets was because they were already sweaty. And then there was that little ball of fire in her stomach that always seemed to burst into flames whenever he was around. Aidan Westmoreland oozed so much sexiness it was driving her to the edge of madness.
“Jillian?”
She blinked when he said her name. The sound of his voice was like a caress across her skin. “Yes?”
“But what? Do you have a problem with me being Bailey’s replacement?”
She drew in a deep breath. She couldn’t see him being anyone’s replacement. It was easy to see