On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

enough experience with women to suspect he wasn't going to get a great welcome.

Chapter Sixteen

    Aiden had expected Sara to be pissed off, maybe sulking, maybe even gone. But when he let himself into his apartment, he found her in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot on the stove. The air smelled like garlic and onions, and for the first time in a long time, a bit like home. To say he was shocked was an understatement.
    "I hope you're hungry," Sara said, turning her head to give him a warm smile.
    That smile held absolutely no hint of resentment or anger and it rattled him as much as the dinner she appeared to be making.
    "I am starving," he said, as he limped across the room.
    Her sharp gaze took in his hobbling stride. "You're hurt."
    "I just walked too long," he said, pausing by the stove.
    "You look like you just finished a marathon," she said, her eyes running down his sweaty face and body. "Do you need some ice? Maybe a shower?"
    "I'll get to all that. First I want to apologize."
    "It's fine, Aiden."
    "I shouldn't have—"
    "Stop," she interrupted, holding up a hand. "I said it was fine. You don't have to apologize. I know what grief feels like, and I know why you had to get out of here."
    He could see the understanding in her eyes, which only made him feel guilty. "Still, I shouldn't have left you like that. You've had a tough day, too."
    "Well, surprisingly, I feel better. I'm far, far away from my problems, and I have you to thank for that. So I decided to make you dinner."
    "You're being very nice," he said, surprised by her attitude.
    "I'm a very nice person. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
    He smiled back at her. "Actually, I've known that all along. You were always a sweetheart, Sara. Far too good for me."
    She shook her head, her expression turning rueful. "I never liked being the good girl. It was so boring."
    "It's who you were and who you still are," he amended. Sara had definitely come out of her shell since high school. She wasn't afraid to be smart in front of people anymore and she could stand up for herself. But deep down she still had a core of softness and warmth that was just inherent in who she was.
    "Bad girls had and still have more fun," she said. "Anyway, you should check your phone. It rang a few times while you were gone."
    "Probably my family trying to track me down. My father and grandfather both wanted to have a discussion with me tonight."
    "No wonder you were so willing to hit the road," she said dryly. "And here I thought it was all for me."
    "It was for both of us. When you told me you needed time to just think and breathe, I felt exactly the same way. I figured we could do it together." He grabbed his phone and checked his missed calls. There were several from family members along with a couple of text messages from Emma, telling him he better take care of her friend. "Did you hear from Emma?" he asked.
    Sara nodded, her eyes filling with guilt. "I didn't pick up the call, but I sent her a message saying I'm okay and not to worry. I feel badly about taking off on her the way I did. She must be wondering what's going on."
    "You'll fill her in when it's time. In the meanwhile, she'll live." He moved over to the stove. "That sauce smells amazing. I thought you said you couldn't cook."
    "I have three dishes I know how to make and this is one of them. It's not fancy, but it's pretty tasty."
    "I know you didn't find any food in my refrigerator, so…"
    "So I walked to the store, which thankfully was only about a mile. You took the keys to your truck with you."
    "I realized that later."
    "And I bought a few things for dinner and breakfast. I threw out all the expired food in your fridge. It was starting to stink."
    "I left in a hurry."
    "Where exactly did you go?"
    "I just drove. To be honest, I wasn't paying any attention. When I would start to fall asleep, I'd pull over, camp out or find a motel for the occasional shower. I ended up in Wyoming."
    "That's crazy, Aiden."
    "That's when I realized that no matter how far I went, I wasn't going to be able to get away from myself. So I headed back to San Francisco, thinking maybe being around the family would help me remember who I was. That didn't really work out. Although, I did find you there. That was a nice surprise—at least for me. You weren't too happy about it."
    "I wasn't expecting to see you and the fire shook me up. I thought I was just going to surprise my father for his birthday and, wow, look how that's turned out.