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heart. Aiden wasn’t Trey, and Harmony wasn’t Celeste. Sadie supposed she should respect Aiden for his forthrightness, but the old wound suddenly felt fresh, and Sadie not as magnanimous as she should.
    “Anyway,” Aiden said. “I want to see you. When are you free?”
    Right now. Despite her concern about what had happened between Aiden and his ex, Sadie longed to feel his arms wrapped around her. The connection between them was so strong that even when she was without him she wanted to be near him. She could picture him now, leaning against his motorcycle, wind tugging a few random strands from the ponytail low on the back of his neck. She wanted to spear her hands into his hair. She wanted to kiss his firm, full mouth.
    Had Harmony done the same with him today?
    Sadie blinked out of her daze, moving to a bench where she sat, phone to her ear. There was no reason for Aiden to see Harmony. Unless they were trying to be friends again. And if that was the case, how long until friends turned to lovers? Until the wife of his not-so-distant past, who Aiden had shared a bed with—a life with—wormed her way back in permanently.
    Where would that leave Sadie?
    “This week is crazy for me,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. Most likely, she was being paranoid, but the vision of Harmony and Aiden together was too real, too possible for her to let go of it. She searched for an excuse, any excuse, to put off seeing him for a few more days. Just until the idea of being with him didn’t fill her with jealousy. Or worse… Her boss had asked her to attend a motorcycle supply conference in Cincinnati, she remembered. And Sadie promised to think it over and give her an answer tomorrow. It was as good an excuse as any. “I’m going to be out of town this week.”
    “When do you leave?” he asked.
    “Um…not until Thursday, but—”
    “Can I see you tomorrow?” She could hear the confusion in his voice, his insistence daring her to argue.
    She did. “I have to pack, get things wrapped up at the office…”
    “Sadie,” Aiden said sternly. “Are you blowing me off?”
    Kind of. “No! I’m not, I promise. What about dinner on Saturday night?” Yes. By Saturday she’d have had time to wrap her mind around where the two of them were going. What all of this meant. Saturday wasn’t that far away.
    Aiden didn’t sound happy about it, but he agreed. If Sadie thought she’d pulled the wool over his eyes, she knew a second later she hadn’t when he said, “Nothing happened between Harmony and me. Just the same old crap.”
    “I know,” she said in a small voice, guilt needling her. Was she being overly protective of her heart? Then she recalled the crushing, thousand-pound weight that smashed her flat the day Trey called to dump her for Celeste, and thought, maybe, a few days to herself to get some distance wasn’t the worst plan ever.
    And frankly, it was “the same old crap” that worried Sadie most. A week away would give Aiden ample time to go back to Harmony if that’s what he wanted. And if he did, she could cut her losses—already an idea that made her rub the sharp pain above her breastbone—but it would be much worse if she and Aiden were really entrenched. Sadie couldn’t compete with the history Aiden had with his ex-wife. And chances were, nothing would happen. Aiden would show up on Saturday and then…then…
    Well, she’d figure that out Saturday.
    “I’ll pick you up some cool freebies at MotorCon,” she promised, desperate to change the subject.
    Aiden didn’t let her do it. Instead, he laid her heart out like a piece of meat and tenderized it with his next five words. “All I want is you.”
    Maybe, she thought as she watched the people milling around the crowded mall, that’s what scared her the most. Because “all” was a lot to ask. And Sadie wasn’t sure she would ever be enough.

Chapter 5
    T o say Aiden was worried about losing Sadie was the understatement of the year. But