Chapter Eighteen
Aidan walked into the room hours later to find it dark. They must be having a good time, he thought as he turned on the light. To his shock, he found a tear-stained Bethany in bed asleep. His cell phone rang, and he ran to get it off the nightstand.
“Yeah?” he murmured as he walked to the sitting room, closing the door softly behind him.
“Aidan, there is a problem.”
“What is it, Serena, didn’t Beth have a good time?”
“Yeah, but listen. She would kill me if she knew I was telling you this, but Paula came by the hotel earlier.”
Aidan groaned.
“And well, Bethany knows about the number two cell phone. Paula called it the number you gave your whores.”
Aidan cursed as he laid his head back against the chair. “What am I going to do now, Serena?”
Serena sighed. “Sorry, honey, I have no idea.”
When Aidan entered the bedroom again, Bethany was stirring.
Aidan lay in bed and cupped her face as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her eyes opened, and the pain was there for him to see. Then it vanished, and she said, “You survived your ordeal. Good, let me get dressed, and we can get something to—”
“I know about Paula. That she came here.”
Bethany froze, clearly not sure what to do.
Aidan got out of bed and began pacing. “Look, I felt that it was a mistake to give you that number, but we didn’t know each other that well.”
“You’re right; I sometimes forget how famous you are. It must be really tough trusting people,” she said as she unconsciously pulled the comforter up as if to protect herself. “Look, I understand, I just needed time to get adjusted to knowing that I wasn’t…that I was just like any other…”
Aidan walked up and grabbed her by the arm. “Beth you are important to me. Even after I leave Virginia, I want us to remain friends. I planned on giving you the other number, it just seemed,”—he hesitated and combed his fingers through his hair—“awkward to have to explain it.”
Bethany looked at him. “My feelings are hurt, but it was a good thing too, Aidan. I was growing too fond of you, and this served as a wake-up call, sort of put me in my place.”
Aidan winced, and let her go. “I don’t know what to say to you, Bethany, I’m not sure how to make us better.” He walked toward the window and looked out at the Los Angeles skyline. For all the ugliness in Hollywood, there was something magical about the city at night. He wished the magic could save him now. He was an ass.
When he turned to face her, he said, “I want to give you the number to my personal phone.”
“No, thank you, I’ll stick with the one I’ve got.”
Aidan sighed. “Beth, I don’t even have that one with me half the time.”
Bethany looked down at her feet as if they were the most interesting things in the world. “I know. I called it after Paula left. You left your cell here when you went on the interviews, I called the number and that one,” she said indicating the cell phone now in his pocket, “didn’t ring.”
Aidan cursed, and walked to her. He needed to hold her, to soothe her with his body. Aidan wrapped her in his arms, murmuring into her ear how sorry he was.
Bethany hugged him back.
“Bethany,” he murmured as he kissed her temple and held her close. “Please let me give you the other number.”
Bethany pulled back from the embrace and walked to her purse.
“Of course. It’s silly to be petty about that. We have one more day here, I could get lost, and then what would happen?” Grabbing her cell phone, she looked up at him and said, “All right, tell me the number.”
Aidan gave her his number, and she diligently programmed her cell.
“Now do me a favor and erase the other number.”
Bethany looked up at him, nodded, and deleted the other number. “Now, can we have dinner? I want to hear how you all handled Paula’s lies.”
“Of course, let’s get ready.”
Later that evening when they returned from dinner, Aidan took a shower, and Bethany got ready for bed. Aidan watched her sleep for a long time. Other women would have used the guise of sleep to punish him after a fight, but not Bethany. She was exhausted. Her face was wan, and she had barely touched her meal. She had put a good dent in their bottle of wine, and he knew things were still not straight between them.
Perhaps it was better this way, he thought, as he stood up and stared out the window in a desperate attempt to ignore her lovely form. He would take her home, and they would not see each other again. It was never supposed to be forever anyway.
But he yearned for her touch, and he knew that breaking up with her was not an option, especially while they lived in the same town. It would be easier for him once he returned to Ireland. Later, as he was falling asleep, it became clear to him that even Ireland was not far enough away.
Later that night, Aidan awoke to Bethany’s screams.
“What is it, luv?” Aidan asked as he tried to bring her tense body back into his heat. “Come back here to me.” When she remained unwilling, Aidan sat up. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“Yes, but I’m fine now.” She remained an unmoving shadow.
Aidan wrapped his arms around her. “You don’t seem fine; you want to tell me about it?”
Aidan heard Bethany sigh. “Go back to sleep, Aidan, I have this nightmare a lot. I just need to relax, and I’ll be fine.”
Aidan knew a good way to relax, but common sense told him that his idea would not be a welcomed one. “You spoke about Alice. Who is she?” Aidan murmured as he continued to cuddle close to her.
It didn’t seem possible, but Bethany became, if anything, even more tense. “Aidan, please let’s not talk about this, I can’t talk about Alice, okay?”
Aidan kissed the top of her head. “All right, but lie here next to me; let me hold you.”
Bethany went into his arms, and his chest warmed her back. They lay on the bed for minutes, breathing together, and then Aidan asked, “Do you know about the fairies, Bethany?”
“You mean like magic fairies?”
“Yes.” Aidan smiled as he pressed a light kiss to her fragrant hair. “A long time ago there was this fairy named Bethany…”
Bethany let out an unladylike snort. “Yeah, right.”
“Do you know all the fairy stories?” he asked, continuing to cuddle his own sweet fairy in his arms.
“Well, no, but…”
“Hush. So,” he began, and his voice shifted to the stereotypical leprechaun. “The young fairy Bethany was vexed, and do you know why?”
Bethany giggled. “No. Why was she vexed?”
“She had made plans for the perfect picnic, but couldn’t find her basket.”
“Terrible!”
Aidan smiled and continued to make up his tale of fairies until she drifted off like a child in his arms. He pressed his lips to her hair and whispered, “There, luv, sleep well.”