Aiden watched Felicity disappear into the shadows by her villa. He hadn’t been certain, but it seemed like she’d gotten into the kiss. Certainly he’d been affected more than he’d expected. His lips still felt the tingles she’d left behind.

Brittany tapped the headrest in front of her. “Can you let me out?”

He was going to drive her closer to her villa, but it might be better if he let her walk. The less time spent with Brittany, the better. “Sure.”

He pulled the lever and the seat bent forward. Brittany crawled out of the cramped space. She adjusted her shirt then turned to him. Her gaze swept over him. “Thanks.”

“Have a good evening.”

Instead of turning away, she took a step toward him. Aiden stumbled, trying to get away from her. She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Hey, what’s gotten into you?”

“Look, I don’t want to tell you again. I’m with Felicity.”

She dropped her hand. “I know. That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

What in the world? Was she insane? “Uh, yes it does. That’s exactly what it means. You can’t kiss me. We can’t have a relationship. We can’t be anything.” He motioned between them. “We never were anything.”

Brittany blinked, and it suddenly looked like she was going to cry.

Aiden backed up even more. She was the devil. How else could she cry on demand like that? “Don’t think your tears are going to make me change my mind.”

“I’m sorry.” She bowed her head and wiped at her cheeks. “You’re right. I should go.”

Brittany grabbed her shoulder bag and turned. She walked quickly away down the path toward the villas. Aiden rubbed the back of his neck. That was too easy, wasn’t it? He could have sworn she was about to cry and fuss, making him console her. Instead, she ran away.

He shrugged and walked around to the passenger side of the car. Whatever. Brittany was confusing, that was for sure. Who knew what really was going on inside her head? At least she was gone now. He’d take the peace and quiet.

He drove home and parked his car in the garage. When he got inside the kitchen, Grams fluttered up to him, the arms on her floral outfit hanging so low, they looked like wings. “How did today go?”

“Fine.”

She made a face. “That’s all you got for me? Fine?”

He reached out to pick up a snickerdoodle cookie, but Grams slapped his hand back. “These are for Felicity.”

“The whole batch? What are you trying to do? Put her in a diabetic coma?”

“Hush, now. What happened?” Grams folded her arms.

“We went spelunking.”

She reached up and wiped something off his cheek with her thumb. “You kissed Felicity?”

What? How did she know that? “Yes. We’re back together, remember?”

She gave him a critical look. “I remember you saying that. And I remember her acting like you put her up to it.”

Busted. Grams was far too observant for her own good. But he couldn’t admit to it now. He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Things are just a little awkward right now. We truly are back together.” The lie didn’t taste good on his tongue.

“And that little hussy didn’t try anything?”

“Grams!” He stared at her. “Since when do you talk like that?”

She waved his comment away and sat down on a barstool at the kitchen island. “She’s up to no good, that one. I don’t like her and I don’t trust her.”

“I don’t think she’ll be bothering us again,” he said under his breath.

Grams pointed at him, her large turquoise ring on her index finger. “I knew it. She tried something, didn’t she?”

How in the world did Grams know everything? “She kissed me. But I set her straight.”

“Good.” His grandmother picked up a snickerdoodle and took a bite.

He huffed and put his hands on his hips. “What, you can eat them, but I can’t?”

“Oh, go ahead. I thought maybe you would spend the evening with your girlfriend...” Grams looked at him pointedly. “But it looks like that’s not the case.”

Crud. He should have invited Felicity over. It probably looked bad to spend the evening away from her. “She’s taking a shower. I’m going to clean up too then go over there in a bit.”

Grams brightened up. “Oh. Well, take her these cookies, then.” She stood and crossed the room, opening a drawer to get the plastic wrap.

“I will.” He grabbed one and bit into it before Grams could put the wrap over them and forbid him to have one.

***

FELICITY TOWELED HER hair off and slipped into a T-shirt and jeans. She wanted to set up her camera on the tripod and take some pictures of the full moon over the beach. It was a perfect evening outside. The breeze blowing through her villa smelled of flowers and the sea. A knock came on her door and her heart jumped. Was that Aiden?

Stupid. Why was she allowing herself to get all flustered over him? She was acting like a school girl and it was going to get her in the end. She needed to calm herself down and take it easy. Another knock sounded and she called out, “Coming.”

She made her way through the living room and opened the door. When she saw who stood on her porch, she frowned. “Brittany?”

As her vision adjusted to the dim light, she could tell something was wrong. Mascara ran down Brittany’s face, and her eyes were filled with tears. Her initial reaction was to bristle, but the way Brittany stood there was odd. Like she had none of her usual confidence. Like she really was in trouble. “Come in,” Felicity said, standing back.

Brittany walked into the living room and crumpled onto the chair. With her face in her hands, she moaned. “I’m ruined.”

Felicity held back a sarcastic remark. Brittany was always the drama queen. If something terrible wasn’t happening to her, she was stirring up trouble for someone else. It was like Brittany wasn’t happy unless she was miserable.

To punctuate that thought, Brittany sobbed into her hands.

Felicity closed the door and sat on the couch. “What’s wrong?”

Brittany sniffed and looked up. “I’m a horrible person.”

At this point, Felicity wanted to agree with her but again held her tongue. “Why do you say that?”

“I came here to seduce Aiden.” Brittany winced, then rushed on. “I know that sounds terrible, but I had no idea you two would make up. You said there was no way you were getting back together. And then when it happened, I panicked and didn’t know what to do. I spent the last of my savings to get here.” She covered her face again and made a distressing sound. “I’m penniless.”

Felicity didn’t know what to say. “What do you mean? You got all that money from the divorce.”

Brittany shook her head. “I wanted people to think I had money, but Bruce had a good lawyer. We had no kids, and I didn’t work the whole time we were married. It was all his money to begin with, so I didn’t get much in the divorce. And what I did I already spent.”

Felicity had a hard time feeling sorry for Brittany. She was a self-centered brat and it looked like finally she was getting what she deserved. “Then I guess you’ll have to get a job.”

“Who’s going to hire me?” Brittany gave her a tearful look. “I have no skills.”

Felicity wanted to suggest she go flip burgers but thought better of it and bit her tongue. “I’m sure there’s something you can do.”

Brittany sniffed, and Felicity picked up the box of tissues from the coffee table and handed them to her. She pulled one out and blew her nose. “I don’t know what to do with my life.”

“So, getting a billionaire to marry you was your plan?” Felicity couldn’t believe the words had left her mouth. Since when was she the mean one? She was the kind-hearted girl while Brittany was the snarky person. She wasn’t sure where that snark had come from.

Brittany teared up again and hung her head. “It was stupid to come here. I know that. I was just desperate. I married Bruce so young. I thought we would be together forever. It wasn’t until...” Her voice trailed off and she pulled another tissue from the box and dabbed at her nose.

“Until what?”

Brittany looked like she had something sour in her mouth. “After we married, Bruce told me he had a girlfriend.”

Felicity’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”

“No. He said he married me to keep up appearances and as long as I did what he wanted, I could live a life of luxury.” She twisted the tissue in her hand. “I was devastated. I thought he loved me.” She blinked back tears. “Stupid.”

“You weren’t stupid for falling in love.” Felicity couldn’t believe she’d said those words. How many times had she felt stupid for falling in love with Aiden?

“I thought we had a connection. We talked and laughed. I thought we were good together. Instead, he liked how I looked on his arm.” She scoffed. “He told me I had to look the other way when he was with other women.”

“Disgusting.” How could a man do that?

Brittany motioned to her. “Right? He thought I’d just sit back and let him do that?” She frowned. “He was wrong.”

“What did you do?”

“At first, I didn’t do anything. I was so embarrassed that I’d been that naive. I’d jumped at the chance to marry Bruce. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. When he turned out to be a jerk, at first, I thought I’d gotten what I deserved. It took me a while to get angry enough to do something.” She wiped her fingers under her eyes, smearing her mascara.

Felicity looked down at the carpet. She wasn’t sure what she would do in that situation either. She could understand why Brittany felt embarrassed, wanting to hide the truth about the marriage.

Brittany shifted on her chair and pulled another tissue from the box. “When I had had enough of his lies and manipulation, I decided to expose him. Publicly. I called the media to show up when I knew he was with her.”

“Ha! Good for you.”

Brittany dabbed at her eyes, but she did smile a little. “Yes, my plan worked quite well. There was no mistaking what was going on between them. It didn’t make national news or anything, but he was definitely exposed to all of his local socialites.”

“Serves him right.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it did. He was blackballed for a while, which felt good. Unfortunately, you don’t embarrass any of the Wellingtons without consequences.”

“He divorced you.”

Brittany sighed. “Yes, and he made sure I didn’t get any of his money. So here I am. Yesterday’s old trash, tossed out.”

“You’re not old trash.” Felicity felt bad for her. She couldn’t imagine what Brittany had gone through. She must have been heartbroken and humiliated. She never would have thought she’d feel bad for Brittany, but it was obvious she’d been acting out of desperation.

“What am I good for? I have no job. I’m getting kicked out of my apartment. My bank account is overdrawn.” Brittany’s voice cracked and she pulled another tissue. She now had a small mountain of them crumpled on her lap.

“You can overcome this.” The phrase sounded lame even to Felicity’s ears. What good did saying that do? She couldn’t promise Brittany anything. She couldn’t hire her, and she couldn’t help her out financially. All she could do was offer platitudes.

Brittany sighed and slumped in her chair dramatically. “I don’t see how. I’ll be living on the streets soon.”

And there it was. The drama queen. Felicity pointed to her Jimmy Choo’s. “You’re wearing eight-hundred-dollar sandals. I hardly think you’re going to be living on the streets.”

Brittany tucked her feet under the chair, her eyes wide. “I can’t sell my shoes.”

It would have been comical if Felicity didn’t feel so sorry for her. Brittany probably had no idea what working for her money felt like.

A knock came on the door and Felicity got up to answer it.

Brittany’s face blanched. “Oh, no. Is that Aiden? He can’t see me like this.” She jumped up and ran into the bedroom, leaving only her perfume behind.

Yep. Drama queen. Felicity sighed and opened the door. Aiden stood there, leaning against the door jam, a plate of cookies in his hand. Since when did he start looking this good? She tried to ignore the way her heart raced at seeing him.

“Hey. Sorry to bother you. Since Grams thinks we’re back—”

Felicity pressed her hand on his mouth and joined him on the front stoop. “Hush. Brittany’s here,” she whispered.

His eyes widened and he removed her hand. “What is she doing here?” He craned his neck. “Is she looking for me?”

She pulled away from him and tried to think of a quick way to sum everything up. Failing, she just said, “No, she’s here to talk to me. It’s a long story. You’d better leave.”

“Well, I can’t go back home. Grams thinks I’m spending the evening with you. And if I’m seen anywhere else, she’ll know we’re lying.” He looked down at the plate. “Plus, she wants me to give these to you.”

Felicity grabbed his shirt in her fist and tugged him inside. “Fine,” she whispered. “Just sit down. Let me talk to Brittany.”

She left Aiden in the living room. When she entered the bedroom, she saw Brittany sitting on the bed. The life had gone out of her. She looked defeated, slumped over and frowning. It was odd to feel sorry for someone like Brittany, but Felicity couldn’t help it. Her sympathy deepened. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Brittany wiped under her eyes, smudging more black on her fingers. “But I’ll think of something. And I promise it won’t be dumb like trying to steal Aiden from you again. That was embarrassingly stupid.”

A weird sensation overcame Felicity, and she suddenly saw Brittany for who she was. Insecure, and wanting to be with the popular kids because she didn’t feel like she fit in anywhere. All the times that Brittany had annoyed her came rushing back, and she saw her in a new light. Brittany didn’t know who she was. Her whole life was an act. It had to be hollow.

Felicity reached out and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up so we can go sit outside and talk with Aiden. Maybe he can help us come up with a solution.”