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deep breath. So if Aiden hadn’t seen him, I’d never have known. How many other times had there been when he’d got away with it?
    “I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” I said, letting a few more tears escape. “I guess I’m not attractive enough, or sexy enough, or something.”
    “You haven’t done anything, Jenny. You’re a wonderful person. So kind and sweet and incredibly sexy. You’re absolutely beautiful.”
    I looked up at him. His arm was still around me and we were so close. I held my breath and I wanted him to kiss me: to make me feel good about myself, to make myself feel better. I wanted to feel loved and safe and warm again. I leaned towards him but he moved away.
    “I’m sorry,” I said, embarrassed.
    “Don’t be. Listen, you need to get your head straight. I might be appealing to you right now because I’m here being the nice one when he’s been the horrible one, but it’s not fair to either of us, or even him, to do this while you’re upset and confused.”
    I nodded. Why did he have to be such a decent guy?
    “When did you first, you know, feel something between us?”
    “Last night,” I confessed.
    He sighed. “That’s what I thought.”
    “But today, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. It’s like I’ve been completely oblivious, until now…”
    His face was fixed and emotionless. It was hard to know what he was thinking.
    “Look, Jenny … what I was trying to tell you before was that I’m in love with you.”
    His face changed as he said it, moving from stone-cold to warm and smiley. The shock of his words made me catch my breath. I wasn’t expecting that.
    “I always have been. And I would love nothing more than to make you feel good right now but I can’t go down that path. You’re married to my brother and you have a mild crush on me at best. You need to take some time and figure out what you want, and maybe if things don’t work out with you and Ross we could, I don’t know, go on a date or something, but until then, I think I should leave you alone.”
    What a speech. How could I respond to that?
    “I don’t know what to say. I do have feelings for you, Aiden.”
    “That’s amazing to hear but you’re hurt and confused so you can’t know how you feel about me really. Come on, I’ll walk you back to your office.”
    We got up and I linked my arm with his.
    “You’re a decent guy, Aiden.”
    “Yes, I am. And if any other decent guy offered you kindness right now, you’d get a crush on him, too.”
    “That’s not true.”
    “Promise me something?”
    “What?”
    We stopped walking and turned to face each other. I willed him to kiss me.
    “You don’t make any rash decisions. Think about what you want. Think about Ross first and whether you want him.”
    “I don’t.”
    “Think about it. Please?”
    “Okay.”
    We carried on walking.
    “Maybe you ought to get some space, get away for a few days or something.”
    “Actually, Ross and I have next week booked out. We were going to get a cheap last minute holiday to Tenerife or somewhere like that, but my friend Hayley said she’d escape somewhere with me if I still wanted to get away.”
    “Well, you should go. Get some distance. Decide what you want.”
    “Maybe.” The idea was kind of appealing.
    We kept walking. I didn’t know what to say to him. He kept taking deep breaths and I wondered why. Was he nervous? Did he regret saying what he’d said?
    “How long?” I asked, almost whispering.
    “What?”
    “How long have you felt this way about me?”
    He smiled, sadly.
    “Always. Since I met you.”
    “You never said anything. You could have told me before I got married.”
    “Would you have ditched him and been with me?”
    Probably not. But I just shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “Anyway, he’s my brother. Back then, I could never do that to him.”
    “But you would now?”
    “Now, he’s different. He’s treated you badly. I don’t like to see you hurt. But I