Farrah Rochon - Hot Christmas Nights - Tuscan Nights / Christmas Tango / Tied Up in Tinsel

But she knew Aiden wanted it to. And as much as she’d tried to turn a blind eye to what was happening, she knew that she had wanted something more to happen, too.

She should have stopped it long before those feelings got so out of hand. But she had not wanted it to stop, because never in her life had she felt more alive, more true to herself, than she had when she was with Aiden. Even though their relationship had never become physical, what had started as just a friendship had blossomed into more.

That she had allowed her heart to become involved had made her into the thing she most loathed—a cheater. After suffering through the hurt of a philandering ex-lover, Nyla had thought it incomprehensible that she could ever do something remotely similar.

That’s why she continued to feed herself the lies that what she and Aiden were doing wasn’t cheating. There was nothing wrong with spending time with someone who shared her interests, especially when Cameron had shown a complete lack of enthusiasm for many of the “boring” things she enjoyed. Aiden had filled a void, and eventually he began to fill crevices in her heart she hadn’t known were empty.

He’d made falling for him so damn easy.

Nyla’s eyes fell shut. She would not go there again. She couldn’t. She’d suffered enough guilt to last a lifetime; she would not put herself through that again.

She grabbed her weekender bag from the top shelf of the hall closet on the way to her room. As she snatched a couple of sets of bras and panties from her underwear drawer, she pulled up Else’s number. She knew Else, a college professor originally from Phoenix, wouldn’t have a problem with her bunking at her place for a few days, but Nyla would do her the courtesy of asking first. Her call went to voice mail, so she left a message, letting Else know that she would be darkening her doorstep in a few hours.

As she plucked a couple of sweater dresses and her calf-length boots from the closet, she tried to dismiss the anxiety creeping along her conscience.

“What are you doing?” Nyla asked the empty room.

On a list of bad ideas, this had to rank at the very top, right above jumping off a cliff. Which was how she felt with the way her emotions were all over the place. Had she not learned anything from the repercussions she’d suffered the first time she’d allowed herself to get close to him? Was she setting herself up for another fall?

“It’s just a couple of days,” Nyla reminded herself. She could handle a couple of days.

She reentered the living room and immediately rethought that assertion.

Aiden stood with his back to her, observing the framed photographs she’d taken when she’d tried her hand at photography.

Nyla was struck by the quiet confidence he now exuded. It was evident in the way he carried himself, standing strong with shoulders back and his head high. She’d caught glimpses of the young, sweet, slightly nerdy college student she remembered so well, but there was no denying that he’d come into his own. Or that he was all man.

As his eyes roamed the black-and-white stills of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the tree-lined Champs-Élysées, Nyla’s eyes roamed over him.

Her gaze immediately homed in on the way his soft brown corduroys cupped his backside. As her eyes traveled upward, she marveled at the way the wool sweater outlined the muscles in his back and shoulders. It was such a contrast to the slim, lanky body of a few years ago. His muscles weren’t as big as Cameron’s, but they were just as fine. Perfect, actually. She had never been a fan of huge muscles. Toned and trim was much sexier.

Nyla’s head jerked back as she realized where her train of thought had led her. She had to stop doing this.

Aiden turned, catching her off guard. “Hey.” He gestured to her bag. “You ready?”

“Uh, yes,” she said. “I am.”

His forehead dipped in a curious frown as he reached for her bag. “You okay?”

“Yes, of course,” Nyla lied.

She wasn’t okay. Not even a little bit. She didn’t know how she would survive the next few days. The swift rush of pleasure she experienced every time she saw him, along with the anguish she suffered knowing that he would eventually share all that she loved about him with someone else, was bound to overwhelm her.

Envy toward the woman who would one day be a part of his world had been a constant struggle during those first few months after she left. It still was. Although, now that she thought about it, maybe knowing he was off-limits could actually help her get through these next few days.

“I’ve been meaning to ask how things are going with your girlfriend,” Nyla said.

“Who?”

“The girl who was with you in your profile picture on Facebook for a while. She had that pretty light brown complexion and those green eyes.”

“You mean Erica.”

“I guess. Where did the two of you meet?”

“Work. She’s in Human Resources. But we’re not seeing each other anymore. We decided we worked better as friends and coworkers.”

“Oh.” Nyla staunchly ignored the sudden tingles that traveled across her skin. It shouldn’t matter that he’d broken things off with his girlfriend. “So, is there anyone special in your life?” she asked.

Aiden paused for a moment, his eyes trained on her. “Yes,” he answered.

She couldn’t ignore the way her heart deflated at that single word. “That’s wonderful,” she said, and tried to convince herself that she meant it.

She was happy for him. Of course, she was happy for him. Aiden was sweet, smart and funny; he deserved to have someone special in his life. And it was exactly what she needed to hear. Knowing that he was taken took the pressure off her. She wasn’t about to become the other woman for anyone. She could relax now and just enjoy this time with him.

“Nyla,” Aiden started. “That someone special—”

Her phone rang.

She held up a finger, grateful for the interruption. She was happy for him, but she wasn’t interested in hearing about his latest girlfriend.

“One minute.” She checked the phone, expecting to see Else’s number. Instead it was Guido Leoncini’s. “It’s the bakery owner,” she said. “I need to cover a few things with him before I leave.”

She turned and spoke to Guido in Italian, letting him know the bakery was locked up but that he should go in tomorrow to make sure the embers in the oven had completely burned out.

She took pride in running Leoncini’s, even though she’d known she would leave, even if Murano weren’t returning. She had not put in so much time and effort into learning the craft of pastry making to spend the rest of her life in a small family bakery. Her dreams had always been so much bigger. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to take the step she had been contemplating.

Nyla glanced at the tiny desk in the corner. The yellow legal pad next to her laptop listed several vacant storefronts in downtown Atlanta and a few in some of the wealthier suburbs where a high-end bakery would thrive. She’d slashed through the ones that had been leased over the past few weeks, but the one she’d had her eye on was still available.

All it would take was a phone call to the real-estate agent. She’d purposely refrained from accumulating too many possessions. A few boxes and her suitcase, and she could be on her way to Atlanta and the pastry shop she’d had her heart set on opening since her dad brought her to one to celebrate her tenth birthday.

Her chest tightened just at the thought of returning home, back to the family she’d missed like crazy over the past three years.

Back to the place where so many people knew of the humiliation she’d suffered.

Could she do it? Did she have a choice?