On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

that the few kisses they'd shared had not been nearly enough.
    "It's her," Aiden said suddenly, his attention moving across the room.
    She turned her head to see a blonde woman talking to the bartender. "Who is that?" she asked, looking back at Aiden. "Is she another one of the women you've had fun with?"
    "No," he said, his tone somber, his gaze speculative. "Remember when I told you that I'd seen Kyle with a woman outside of a hotel. That's her."
    "You should talk to her. Ask her how she knew Kyle."
    He hesitated and then gave a nod as he got to his feet. "I think I will."
    Unfortunately, his doubt had cost him valuable time. The woman was already leaving the bar.
    Aiden headed after her, but returned far too quickly.
    "She got in a cab. I couldn't catch her," he said. "Damn, why did I wait?"
    "Go talk to the bartender, or the waitress. They might know who that woman was. She must have had them call a cab for her."
    "You're right." He went to the bar and conversed with the bartender for several minutes, then returned to the table, looking a lot happier with himself. "I've got a name. Sandra Ellingston. Bartender didn't know much about her except that she's divorced and comes in almost every weekend, usually with some other women."
    "Well, that's a start. I'm sure Jeanne can find out more about her."
    He nodded, pulling out his phone. "I'll text her right now."
    While he was composing his message, Sara wondered if Kyle had been having an affair. It could explain why he'd distanced himself from Aiden. He might not have wanted to be judged for his actions. But…
    As Aiden finished sending his text, she said, "Even if Kyle was having an affair, how do you think that played into his death?"
    Aiden frowned and let out a heavy breath. "I don't know."
    "Do you think he was just not paying attention that day, because he had other things on his mind?"
    Something dark settled in Aiden's eyes.
    "No, you don't think that," she said. "Aiden, talk to me."
    "It's hard to say out loud." He paused for a long minute and then said, "Every time I close my eyes, I dream that I'm in that forest, and Kyle is walking away from me. I'm yelling at him, and he's ignoring me. It's as if he's deliberately going into the fire."
    Her stomach turned over. "It seems too extreme," she said quietly, knowing where his thoughts were going. "An affair isn't worth dying for."
    He met her gaze. "I hope not," he said. "But Kyle could be hard on himself. Who knows what guilt could have driven him to do? Let's get out of here."

Chapter Seventeen

    Aiden felt unbelievably tense as he drove Sara back to his apartment. He couldn't believe he'd actually acknowledged aloud that Kyle might have killed himself. It was something that had been festering in his mind for weeks, and he felt like he'd just betrayed Kyle by putting words to the thought.
    But Sara could be trusted. And he'd needed to say the words, because he needed to find out the truth. Hopefully, the investigator would be able to connect Kyle and Sandra Ellingston in a way that made sense.
    As he parked in front of his building, a different kind of tension tightened his muscles. He and Sara were about to spend the night together. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd had a woman over and they hadn't had sex. It just didn't happen. He didn't have close women friends. He'd always felt he had enough females in his life with three sisters.
    Sara was almost like a sister, he tried to tell himself, but that rationalization fell short. He didn't feel like a brother to her at all. He did feel like they were friends though. And as a friend, he couldn't take advantage of her.
    Would it be taking advantage if she wanted it, too?
    Of course it would. Because Sara was upset about her parents and feeling angry and reckless. Sleeping with him might make her feel better for a few hours, but in the morning she'd regret it. He wasn't the kind of man for her. She'd grown up with such a cold father, that she needed someone to really, really love her, to commit heart and soul.
    Love wasn't his thing. It never had been. Love hurt. He could still remember the pain of losing his mother, and that had happened over twenty years ago. The fresh pain that came from losing Kyle had only reinforced his belief that love was an emotion he did not want to embrace; he only wished he didn't want to embrace Sara.
    Sara gave him a wary look as she got out of the truck and followed him up the stairs. He wondered if the same