Chapter 1

Lily Phillips took the exit that would bring her to York, Maine. Her hometown. She couldn't believe she was returning after all this time away. Sometimes, though, you needed to get away. Now she was back and she couldn't wait to see how the town had changed and if she admitted it to herself she wanted to know if he was still there. He always said he would wait for her and she couldn't help but wonder if he had waited all this time for her. She had denied herself that knowledge enough. She missed him and wondered how his life was shaping up to be. That's why she had screwed up her last mission. She had been thinking of him and had caused the failure of the mission.

She took a deep breath of the warm afternoon air blowing in through the open car window before pulling over in front of her old home. The front lawn faced the beach and of course her next door neighbor was him. Or his family, if he had moved on and lived the life he had told her he would. He may not even live there anymore. For all she knew he had left town long ago. Pulling into the driveway, she parked and got out to look up at the house her mother had painstainkingly decorated every holiday. Her mother had died a couple of years ago leaving the house to her and since then it hadn't been decorated once. Merely maintained. Maybe she would decorate this year. She would be here for a long time to come if the way her mission had gone down was any indication. Looking over the flowers that grew in abundance in the flower pots by the front door she couldn't help but smile.

The slamming of a door made her jerk around and standing on his front porch was the object of her distraction and he was staring back at her. He had changed but not much. He had more muscles and he had grown into his height. He towered over her at six feet four inches. His eyes, a golden honey brown, that lit up when he saw her. His dark hair was cut short but was still long enough to ruffle in the slight ocean breeze.

Aidan Gray stared at the woman that had captivated his mind since the moment he had met her. There she stood in all her glory. Her long dark hair looked nearly blue in the sunlight and her eyes a a dark chocolate brown that seemed to look directly into his soul. He couldn't help himself as he took a couple of hesitant steps toward her before making himself stop. If she truly wanted him she would take the next step.

Lily swallowed hard before turning fully towards him and taking the first steps. Knowing full well where this could lead she mentally kicked herself but it still wasn't enough to erase the smile from her face, "Aidan." She said with a wave as she came to a stop a few feet away from him.

He merely looked her over and smiled, "Lily." He said with a nod as her eyes stared into his.

Lily smiled hesitantly, "How have you been?" She asked just as hesitantly as her eyes lost the sheen of happiness they had held when she walked over.

Aidan shrugged, "Okay I guess." He said and looked away from her as he saw the hurt in her eyes before she quickly masked it with a fake smile.

"That's nice." She said with fake enthusiasm and hesitation, her eyes dulling into a muddy brown something they've never been.

"How about you?" He asked her trying his best to not make it awkward.

Hesitating again, something she was now prone to doing, she looked away and took a few steps backwards away from him, "Fine, I guess." She replied after a couple of seconds of silence.

He had frowned when she took those steps away from him. She took them as if she expected something bad to happen to her. He watched her as her eyes darted around them as if looking for something or someone that was going to reproach her for being happy or content, "You're moving back in?" He asked her ignoring the feeling he got deep in his stomach that someone had hurt her because the Lily he remembered wasn't broken.

"Yeah." She said shakily before looking completely away from him, "I guess I'll see you around." She whispered before walking back towards the front door. Unlocking it she looked back once and waved before she walked inside and closed the door.

Aidan frowned as he climbed into his car to drive the couple miles to his job. Walking into his office he told his secretary to cancel his morning meetings and booted up his computer. Logging in he went to the search engine and hesitated. What exactly was he searching for? Shrugging he typed in Lily's name and nothing came up. Sure lots of Lily Phillips popped up but not his Lily. Leaning back in his seat he thought about that and he couldn't shake that nagging feeling that something was wrong.

Lily couldn't breathe. She hoped no one ever found out about her past. Her hesitation had cost her team member his life and all because she couldn't shoot her target. His eyes had been so hauntingly familiar that she hadn't been able to pull the trigger. Her partner had ended up dead by someone who'd spotted them and everyday after that she'd wished she was dead too. Instead of killing her they had taken her hostage. After they'd found out about who she was and her father was they'd wasted no time in demanding ransom but not before bringing her to the very brink of insanity.

Closing her eyes she forced herself to stand up off the floor. After walking in she had literally slid down the front door and broke. Completely and utterly broke. Sighing she walked into the kitchen and smiled. Nothing had changed. The same color blue was painted on the walls. The refrigerator and stove were new along with the microwave and coffee maker. She needed the familiar. Slowly she walked to the refrigerator and rolled her eyes. There was nothing in there, she had forgotten to go to the grocery store. Closing the door she walked back out of the house and into her car. Taking a deep breath she started her car and drove to the store. When she got there she knew everyone was staring at her. York was after all a pretty small town and everyone seemed to know each other a lot better than anyone wanted. Grabbing a shopping cart she started down the fruit isle. Before she knew it she was standing in front of the cereals with a frown on her face.

Since when did Oat Cluster Cheerios Crunch come out? Cocking her head to the side she went for the Honey Nut Cheerios and other favorites avoiding the ones that she didn't recognize. She hesitated at the cashiers something most people wouldn't even think twice about she triple thought about it. Something that unnerved her remaining team members enough to tell her she needed a break. Sighing she walked out of the supermarket before the hateful woozy feeling over took her senses and the world did a fun house dance in front of her eyes. Automatically she slammed her eyes shut and waited for the light headedness to pass. When she opened them again Aidan was standing in front of her with a concerned look on his face. It took her a full ten seconds before she realized he had been talking, "I'm sorry what did you say?" She asked him and watched his eyes narrow. 

He had seen her walk out out of the supermarket from his office across the street. He'd watched her go pale and then a sickly green before she seemed to control whatever was wrong. She hadn't heard him speak when he'd asked her the first ten times if she was okay so he asked her again knowing that she would somehow try to play it off, "Are you okay?" he asked her with genuine concern. 

Lily looked away from him before looking back with a smile, "I'm fine." 

Aidan scowled, "You don't sound okay." He replied and earned a grimace from her. 

"You could always see right through me." She whispered softly, "Maybe one day I'll tell you," She said and walked away leaving him standing there. 

Aidan frowned before he took off after her. When he finally caught up to her he grabbed onto her arm and turned her around, "What's really wrong with you?" He asked her and shook her when she opened her mouth, "Don't you dare lie to me." 

Lily snapped her mouth closed before she looked up at him, "You wouldn't understand." she replied her eyes becoming wet with unshed tears. 

"Help me understand." He said softly and watched her as she looked around them as if checking to see if anyone was paying them any mind. 

"Not here." She whispered an pulled back, "My house, seven."

"I'll be there." He replied and watched her as she put her groceries away and climbed in the car. 

He watched her drive away and instantly felt as if something was missing. 

Chapter 2

Lily took a deep breath before she opened the door to Aidan at seven that night. He barely glanced at her before stepping into the house which was brightly lit. 

"Hey." Aidan said as she led him into the living room. 

"Hey." she replied with a soft smile, "I guess you want to know what's going on." she began only to be interrupted by the front door opening and male voices drifting inside. 

Aidan turned towards the entrance of the living room and watched three guys walk through. One had fire engine red curls, brown eyes and built like a god of Olympus, actually all three of them were built like gods. Aidan glanced over at Lily and watched her eyes light with pleasure when a man with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes  walked in behind the red haired man followed by a man with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Jack." Lily said and launched herself at the man with dark hair who enveloped her in a tight hug and stared at Aidan like he was going to do something to Lily. 

"Who's that?" He asked Lily frowning over at Aidan. 

"Aidan." Lily whispered making the guys stiffen. 

"So you're the guy that cost us two mill." Jack said with a grin as he plopped down on the couch. 

"Excuse me?" Aidan asked with an incredulous look on his face. How did he cost them two million?

"You heard me." Jack replied settling into the couch like he owned the place. 

"I'm confused." Aidan said a frown marring his face as he looked over at Lily. 

Jack laughed and so did the other two guys, "Lily you haven't told him?" They all asked at the same time. 

"I was about to tell him when you three showed up." Lily said watching the three guys with narrowed eyes.

"Who are you?" Aidan asked Jack as Lily walked over to him. 

"I'm the lovely Lily's older brother Jackson but most everybody call me Jack." he said with a shrug. 

Aidan stared at Jack and saw the resemblance in his brown eyes that matched Lily's, "Well that's something." He said before looking over at the other two guys. 

 

 

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Publication Date: 05-20-2012

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