Free Never Say Never by Emily Goodwin Page A

into his eyes. “We should go riding together. You can give me pointers. I kind of suck, and I’m not used to being bad at anything.” He runs his hand through his hair again, laughing. The scar on the inside of his wrist is covered with makeup. “Maybe those pain meds are stronger than I thought. I shouldn’t have admitted that.”
    “I…I can’t.” The air leaves my lungs and I’m spinning. Riding. Giving lessons. That was something I did before the accident and haven’t done since.
    He raises an eyebrow. “You turn me down for drinks and now riding. You can just tell me you’re not a fan or something so I can stop trying.”
    I close my eyes and shake my head. “No…it’…it’s not you. It’s, uh…”
    “You’re really giving me the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ line right now?”
    My fingers shake and the scars prickle. I try to take in a breath but fail. I falter on my heels. Total walking disaster. If Aiden were smart, he’d get the hell away from me.
    “You don’t understand,” I say.
    He takes my hand again, looking at the tiny scratches on my skin. “Then help me understand. You’re different, Haley, and I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing. You’re a curious thing, that I know for sure.”
    I swallow, my throat suddenly thick and dry. “It’s complicated, and you really don’t want to be around me.”
    He laces his fingers through mine. “That makes me want to even more.”
    I pull my hand back, refusing to fall for his charm. It was easy to do. From his brooding eyes and charming smile, to his body so hot you could fry an egg on it, he could fool you into plummeting off the steepest cliff for him.
    But he wouldn’t catch me. Not ever. He’s Aiden Shepherd. That’s what he does, who he is. And I have to be smarter than that. I promised to make a difference in this world, to right the wrongs and restore my own faith. Aiden is the last thing I need.
    “You shouldn’t.” And now my eyes are filling with tears, and I’m angry with myself for being so weak, for crumbling so easily. It’s easy to fall apart when nothing is holding you together. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. A tear rolls down my cheek.
    He steps closer and wipes it away. “What happened to you?” His eyes meet mine, and I can see the pleading, the desperation, and the fear.
    “It’s not what happened, it’s what didn’t happen.”
    “Tell me?” he asks, so quietly I almost don’t hear him. He puts one hand on my waist. His touch is warm and gentle. I want to move in, to bury myself in his embrace and just feel.
    I take a step back. “Why do you care?”
    The same confusion he showed when I turned him down for drinks is back. He shakes his head. “I don’t know. You’re different, Haley,” he says again. “It’s weird to be treated—”
    “Like normal?” I interrupt.
    “Yeah,” he says, not seeing how offensive that is.
    “Because you’re not normal? You’re better than everyone just because you’re famous?”
    “Well,” he starts, and the look on his face is all I need. He thinks it’s true, that he should be treated better, given a gold star by everyone, just because he’s an actor. “Wait,” he says when he sees the abhorrence in my eyes. “That came out wrong…even though I didn’t say anything. Listen, Haley.”
    Someone walks toward us, and I turn to see Lori stop dead in her tracks. Her jaw drops and she looks from me to Aiden several times. Then she sees my tears and rushes over.
    “Are you okay?” she asks, putting an arm around me. “What did you do to my friend?” She turns on Aiden. Lori can channel something dark and evil that makes her five-foot, four-inch frame terrifying. “Did you hurt her?”
    God, I love my best friend.
    “I…I didn’t,” Aiden says as he puts his hands up.
    “It’s okay,” I say, tipping my head up. It’s not okay, not at all. I’m a bumbling mess and I haven’t told anyone about the flashbacks. “I got bored waiting