Still, the fact that he had retreated altogether and had done nothing to pursue me was a little irritating. It had only emphasized to me that I was doing the right thing by keeping this man at bay.

“I said I was giving you time,” he whispered back. “I’ve done that.”

“Less than a week?”

“We both know I’m not a patient man when I want something, Pixie.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Your face gets soft every time I say it.” He reached out to run the back of his finger along my cheek. I jerked away from his touch. “Pixie …” He sounded sad.

My chest ached with guilt. “Aidan, please, don’t.”

“Not until you tell me you don’t love me.”

Suddenly, it wasn’t so easy to breathe. We had never used the L Word before. “What?”

“I said, not until you tell me—”

“Jesus Christ, Aidan, why are you disrupting my rehearsals now?” Quentin called over to us.

The entire theater went quiet and I glanced sheepishly at Quentin and then up on stage where Jack and Terence looked put out. No wonder. It was intolerably rude of us to whisper during their performance.

I opened my mouth to apologize but Aidan beat me to it.

“Apologies, Quentin, but Miss O’Brien and I have some unfinished business.”

“Like what?” My director crossed his arms over his chest and waited expectantly.

“Aidan—”

“Nothing I’d like to share with the room,” Aidan cut off my protest.

“Well, if that’s so, then perhaps you would be so kind as to shut the fuck up?”

I heard Aidan’s quiet chuckle. “Of course.”

He did shut up but I could feel him at my back, his eyes boring into me, and I was never so relieved as to get on that stage and away from him. My whole body thrummed with awareness of him, and I had excited, wild butterflies in my belly that I wished I could say were due to my upcoming performance. But they weren’t.

Those butterflies didn’t belong to the theater.

They all belonged to Aidan.

I forced him out and let Viola/Cesario in.

“‘How does he love me?’” Jane asked, playful, suspicious as Olivia.

“‘With adoration, fertile tears, with groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire,’” I replied.

“That was perfect, Pixie,” Aidan called from offstage.

“Pixie?” Quentin huffed. “Who the hell is Pixie?”

I glowered at Aidan. “I am. And that’s enough chatter from the peanut gallery.”

He laughed. “Merely giving you a compliment. You know how I love to give you compliments.”

“Oh, really? Flattery? Because lately there have only been insults.”

“You know why, Pixie. I’ve apologized. And it’s not flattery. It’s compliments. There’s a difference.”

I tried not to smile at his charm. “Well, I’m still stinging from the insults.”

“I can kiss those away.” He grinned unrepentantly up at me.

My lips twitched but I refused to give in. “Your lips are no good here.”

“Oh, Pixie …” His smile turned wicked. “We both know that’s a lie.”

Heat licked through me and my breath stuttered. “Asshole.”

Looking much too happy and smug for someone who had just been called an asshole, he replied, “Angel.”

“Prick.”

“Gorgeous.”

“Demented.”

“Addictive.”

“Aidan,” I snapped.

“Well, as entertaining as this is, I’m also completely flummoxed,” Quentin said. “Anyone else?”

There were murmurs around the room and I flushed, realizing I’d been carrying on a private encounter in front of absolutely everyone. Damn it! How did he make me forget myself?

“You know this is important to me. Stop interrupting.”

He studied me thoughtfully. “If I leave, Pixie, it’s not for good. You’ll see me again.”

“Make sure to bring your boom box blaring out Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ and I’ll know you’re coming.”

Aidan laughed. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”

My insides got all squishy but I refused to let him see those feelings on my face.

He nodded. “I’ll go. But I’ll see you soon.”

I watched him stride down the aisle and out of the auditorium doors, and I hated how I wanted to jump off the stage and run after him.

Once I’d dragged my gaze from the doors, I faced the curious and very confused stares of my fellow company members. Then they volleyed their questions. How did Aidan and I go from him insulting and critiquing me constantly to us acting like we were flirty friends who knew each other?

I shrugged. “We’re old friends, okay?”

“Old friends?” Quentin asked.

“Yeah.”

“And why didn’t you say something before?”

“Because we were mad at each other about something and I didn’t want it to affect the play, but now we’re not mad. Well, not in the angry sense. I think he might be a little crazy.”

“Crazy in love with you,” Jane said quietly at my side.

I looked at her startled. “What?”

“Nora—” She laughed, looking at me incredulous, like she thought I might be a little insane myself. “I have never seen a man look at a woman the way he was looking at you. Now all that fiery anger with you before makes sense. Only love can make someone act that way. Trust me, I know. One minute, my wife adores me and the next, she wants to kill me while still wanting to make love to me.”

My heart raced. “Aidan doesn’t love me,” I denied.

“If that’s true, he’s certainly good at acting like a lovelorn idiot.”

I looked at him across the bar. “What are you doing here?”

He leaned across it, seemingly to hear me over the noise of the pub.

Not even twenty-four hours later and here he was, back again. To torment me. His look said it all.

“Aidan, this is my job.” I gestured around the pub. “I’m busy.”

“Then serve me.” He gave me a boyish, mischievous smile that melted my insides.

“Aidan—”

“I’m with some friends.” He glanced over at a table near one of the stained-glass windows. Three guys were sitting at the table, grinning at me. It was strange but in all the time I’d known Aidan, I’d never met any of his friends—except Laine.

We really had existed in a little bubble together.

I was more curious about his friends than I cared to admit. “What are you guys drinking?”

He ordered four pints of Guinness and I felt his eyes on me the entire time I pulled them. “Do you like it here?” he asked as he handed over money for the drinks.

“Yeah. Why?”

Aidan’s countenance grew so serious that I saw behind the cocky smiles and teasing to a sadness I detested seeing in him. “I want to make sure you’re happy.”

My hand closed around the twenty note he’d given me, clasping his fingers. “Are you happy, Aidan?”

“Do you still care, Pixie?”

“I want you to be happy,” I evaded.

“Oi, what’s the hold-up?” One of the guys from Aidan’s table appeared, clapping Aidan on the shoulder. I let go of Aidan’s hand and turned to the till to finish the sale.

“Nora, this is Colin. We’re old pals from school. Colin, this is Nora.”

After I handed Aidan his change (which he immediately put in the tip jar), I smiled politely at Colin. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’re all old school pals of Aidan.” Colin gestured behind him at the table. He was almost as tall as Aidan with broad shoulders and massive arms. He had a bit of a gut but there was no mistaking this guy was strong. I looked past him at the others and noted they were all pretty big.

“Huh. You weren’t on a rugby team together, were you?”

“Under 19s,” Colin said, grinning through his scraggly beard. He was dark like Aidan and he had flecks of gray in his hair. “How did you guess?”