On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

death?" He moved into the light.
    "Aiden?" she asked sharply. "What are you doing out here?"
    "I saw someone in the yard. Thought I'd check it out."
    As he said the words, he realized how familiar they sounded. He'd shared more than a few late night conversations in this garden with Sara. They'd both been night owls for different reasons. Sara had usually stressed herself out with worry over school or grades or her father. And he'd usually been coming back from some party and not ready to call it a night.
    "Couldn't you sleep?" he asked.
    Sara lowered the pillow and sat back down. "The house is stuffy. I needed some fresh air."
    "You should have gone to a hotel." He took the chair across from her.
    "I didn't want to leave the house empty."
    "Then you should have armed yourself with more than a pillow if you were going to stand watch."
    "Funny. You can go now, Aiden."
    "I could," he agreed, but he made no move to leave. He was too restless to sleep and pacing around his small room seemed far less interesting than talking to Sara. "Did you talk to your dad again?"
    "I called the hospital before I went to bed, but he was sleeping. I guess that's good—if anything about this can be called good. The house is a disaster."
    "I'm sure your father has insurance. If you need a construction bid, you should talk to my Uncle Kevin. He's a contractor. He won't take advantage of you, and I'm sure he can give you a good price."
    "I will. Thanks."
    Silence fell between them. He wasn't in a hurry to fill it. It had been ten years since he'd seen Sara, and he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty he'd always known was there. As a teenager, she'd hid her body in big clothes and worn her hair in a tight ponytail, not a bit of make-up on her face. She'd been awkward and clumsy, and he'd enjoyed teasing her just to see the light come on in her eyes and the red blush of embarrassment flood across her cheeks.
    He'd always known that there was a spark inside of her. He'd seen glimpses of it on a few occasions, but while he'd been intrigued by the idea of bringing her out of her shell, some self-protective instinct had usually kicked in, reminding him that Sara wasn't a girl to play around with. She was his sister's friend, the girl next door, and her parents were friends with his parents. There was no way he could get involved with her. He didn't do serious, and Sara was as serious as they came.
    But as much as he'd tried to look at her as an honorary big brother, he'd never really seen her like a sister, or even like a friend. She was more like a challenge, a girl he knew he wouldn't be able to impress with his usual lines. And one night, he'd let things go a little too far.
    "You're staring at me, Aiden," she said tersely.
    Her face was stiff, her body tense, her obvious dislike of him palpable, which for some reason made him want to linger. He had enough people who hated his guts these days; he didn't really need any more. But this was Sara, and he'd wondered many times over the years if they'd ever meet again. He hadn't expected her to still be so pissed off at him. Obviously she hadn't forgotten their last encounter.
    "You've grown up," he said after a moment. "I like the long hair." He liked a lot of other things, too, like the way her breasts moved against her t-shirt, and the way her eyes sparkled. Was she pissed off or turned on? He decided not to ask. Instead, he said, "What's up with you?"
    "What do you mean?" she said quickly.
    "What's happening in your life?"
    "Why do you care?"
    "We used to be friends."
    "Were we?" she asked. "I thought I was just the irritating friend of your sister."
    "That, too," he conceded. "But we had some good times."
    "And some bad," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
    He knew exactly what she was referring to. "That was a long time ago."
    "Tonight, it doesn't seem that long."
    "You still blame me for sending you home after the concert, don't you?"
    She gave him an incredulous look. "Is that how you remember it? You sent me home after a concert? There was a lot more to that night than that."
    "We had fun. And we ended things before they got complicated. That's what I remember."
    Her look of amazement deepened. "Seriously?"
    He knew he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't stop himself. "How do you remember it?"
    She hesitated. "It doesn't matter."
    "Apparently, it does."
    Anger flickered in her eyes. "You humiliated me, Aiden."
    "No," he said quickly. "I protected you. I stopped you from