Read Spring Knight: Young Adult Romance Novella (A Seasons of Change Standalone) for Free Online Page A

discard. She’s serious. You do nothing to lead her on, you hear me?”
    “All right, all right. Chill out. I know she’s not a girl that’d be happy with a fling.”
    “Promise me, Aiden. Swear you will do nothing that she could misinterpret or will hurt her.”
    “I swear. I’m not a monster, Ellie. I can tell when someone’s up for a laugh and when someone wants more.”
    “Yeah, well I know your reputation, and Kayleigh isn’t the type of person to make threats on your manhood.”
    Both guys flinched knowing Ellie was deadly serious.
    “Look, I only came by to prove to Justin that I’d won. I have no malicious intentions here.”
    Ellie shrugged and stormed off, leaving just him and Justin in the room.
    “I’ll drop the money off later.”
    “Double or nothing that Kayleigh will be begging for more by the time the show opens?”
    “You’re an ass, and you’re playing a dangerous game. Like Ellie said, unless you’re serious, do not lead her on.”
    “Who said I wasn’t serious? I’ve known her for almost three years.”
    “And how many times have you spoken to her? How many times have you paid attention to her or asked her out?”
    “Hey, I was nervous. She’s different,” Aiden defended, only telling half the truth. The fact was he’d always been intrigued by Kayleigh but too interested in having fun. He hadn’t spoken to her because he wasn’t ready to settle and didn’t want to lead her on. Despite what everyone said, he’d stayed away for
her
benefit.
    “You’re Aiden Hanson, you don’t get nervous.” Justin rolled his eyes at him and Aiden turned to leave.
    “No, but I do always get the girl.” He shut the front door behind him, leaving his cousin to wonder about his statement.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
When Kayleigh arrived at rehearsals the next day she was surprised to find Aiden already there and talking with the other cast members. He was mostly surrounded by the females—leaving the rest of the guys to do their own thing—and he had them in the palm of his hand as usual. However, when the door banged loudly behind her, it caught his attention and his eyes found hers across the room instantly. An easy going smile lit up his face as he watched her dump her bags and approach. Before she could even say hi, Adam barked out orders.
    “Right! Today we’re going to be focusing on the most important scene in the show. That means Kayleigh, Aiden, I want you two front and centre. The rest of you clear the stage.”
    Kayleigh gulped, knowing the exact scene Adam was talking about. She also had a slight suspicion he was deliberately throwing her in at the deep end to watch her squirm.
    “Is he talking about the scene I think he is?” Aiden murmured from the corner of his mouth.
    Kayleigh turned to him, unsure of which one he was thinking about, but he wasn’t even looking at her. His gaze was focused on Adam, who was trying to explain something.
    “Kayleigh!” he snapped, breaking into her thoughts and dragging her attention back to the scene he was trying to direct. “I thought
he
was going to be the problem, not
you
. You’re acting like a love-struck teenager.”
    Much to her embarrassment, some of the cast behind them sniggered at the comment. A wave of heat washed over her face as she stared at the floor. “I ... um ...”
    Standing shoulder to shoulder with Aiden, she felt the movement instantly as his hand slipped to the small of her back. His fingers grazed her lightly, his touch sending an instant burst of reassurance through her body. The gesture was subtle, unnoticeable to anyone who wasn’t directly behind them, and it felt private. It was as if he was sharing an unspoken thought with only her.
    “Isn’t that the whole point of this scene? She is meant to be in love with me after all.”
    Ellie threw him a small smile of gratitude for defending her, but she didn’t know if he saw.
    “Shall we get on with this then? I thought we had a tight deadline.”
    Adam’s face