Claire stepped inside the studio and walked towards the sitting area where Aiden was still waiting at.
She was hoping he wouldn't see past her calm facade like he was constantly doing.
Yes, she had decided to give whatever they had between them a try and she had even started to share parts of her life. But that didn't mean he had suddenly gained the right know all of her secrets. So having that in mind, she was putting effort into not letting her inner turmoil be easily detected by him.
Sitting down next to him she scanned the room until she found Lily. She was concentrating on painting the mug she and Logan had finished preparing. They were too far away to see the exact design she was making. Even so, watching her try her best for Colton, made Claire's heart warm up.
"Everything okay?" Aiden asked as soon as Claire had taken her seat. He only took a glance at her before looking back at Lily, but it was enough for him to know something was off. It was a quick call, but the energy around her was different than the one she had before she had left.
She tensed up a bit thinking he had already seen through her. "Yes. Just my people letting me know what they've gathered so far." The reply was short, precise and left little room for him to inquire more explanation from her.
Aiden hummed in response. He had quickly noticed she didn't want to share. She was obviously more guarded compared to when they were talking about themselves earlier. He wasn't pleased with it, but it didn't exactly bother him either.
"How's she doing?" Claire asked him about Lily while staring in her direction in an attempt to change the topic.
"She's been so concentrated on painting she didn't even notice you were gone. They should be close to placing the mug back in the oven to have it dry. I think they're pretty much finished." He answered while taking note of how good she was at derailing the conversation.
Aiden didn't feel disappointed at all. After all, it would be very unwise and stupid to simply tell him everything. And his little angel was neither of those things. She's not the kind of woman to spill all of her problems onto him the moment she realized he was serious about her. Even if she was madly in love with him, it was foolish to trust blindly. Although he would without a doubt deal with anything she had on her plate just to have her full attention, he knew she would deal with it herself.
"That's great." She turned to face him.
His jaw line was very pronounced when looking at his side profile. From that angle she could see how long his eyelashes were, making her think it was unfair by how easy he had it. He looked like one of Logan's perfectly detailed and awe inducing sculptures without even having to try.
"Um Aiden..." She shyly called him by his name.
"Yes?" Aiden's eyes turned soft while he faced her. He liked hearing his name in her voice. He wasn't usually addressed by his name, so having her of all people call him by it made it all the more pleasing to his ears.
"I'm sorry. I don't think we'll be able to go on with today's outing. There are some things I have to personally attend to that can't wait." Her expression was apologetic while staring at him. But once she turned to look at Lily, it turned somewhat sad. "She really seemed to want to go on the adventure you mentioned before, so I'm truly displeased with myself for having to cut the day short."
He too gazed at Lily and fell into thought for a while. She was clearly having fun with Logan. Aiden didn't need no know everything she's been deprived of before due to her unusual circumstances to understand that the shinning little girl with her hands covered in paint was missing out on a lot. The look of excitement on her face from simply meeting somebody who could make a simple mug, was too bright for him to not have figured it out. It saddened him to think that such a special little princess wasn't constantly exploring and seeing new things like any other girl her age should.
It was evident that her life was in some sort of danger from the way Claire constantly hides her and overprotects her, but that didn't make him feel any better about her situation.
After a long silence between them Aiden suddenly spoke.
"I'm assuming you're going to leave her at some kind of safe house or base while you finish with what you're dealing with today. Am I right?" He asked her.
Confused by Aiden's sudden question, Claire looked at him. His gaze was focused on Lily until he felt her staring at him. Turning to face her, he saw her eyebrows knitted together. It looked charming to him.
"Well? Am I?" He asked her again.
"Well of course. I can't exactly take her with me. Ben is going to pick her up at your company since I was guessing you would go back to work after knowing the rest of the day had to be cancelled." She answered him.
"Then have them both come me with me instead." He suggested to her causing Claire's expression to turn even more confused. Before she could answer him he continued.
"Look, your butler was on guard all night yesterday. I have no doubt he's no ordinary man, but that doesn't mean he's going to be in top shape to keep looking after her without any proper rest. Besides that, I'm more than sure you haven't added more of your men to your security detail because you're well aware of the quality of the men guarding me, hence you haven't felt at risk even once while in my company. The same goes for using my presence as a way to keep whoever is after your family at bay in case they've been trailing you and decided to come after you or Lily." His voice was calm as he straightforwardly outed everything she thought she was keeping from him.
Aiden was completely right. Claire knew he would have only the best security detail guarding him at all hours thanks to his high position. Being a king like figure in both the business and underworld made him a constant target. And although some would think it unwise to stay close to such a risky person, Claire knew best that there was only a handful of places that could be considered safer other than right by his side. A man of his caliber would never let himself be easily targeted or approached by any kind of menace. It was the perfect way to ward off any rats that could be following her or her little flower while keeping them safe at the same time.
Her team was without rest in order to finish with the whole ordeal quickly. Meaning that if she were to spread them out even more, she would only hinder the process. This was the main reasons she had willingly stayed in Aiden's company and even permitted him to be close to Lily all this time.
Yes, she was attracted to him and all that he had made her feel. But Claire was too calculating for her to simply give him an open gateway to her life without considering the benefits of it. She was aware of him as a man, but also as a useful resource for her to take advantage of.
Claire wasn't just embarrassed, she was mortified. Aiden had deciphered so much of her true intentions that she didn't know how to react. Her face flushed as she looked at him. She knew he wasn't blind or stupid, but his ability to connect so many dots in such a short amount of time was nerve racking. It was as if he had the master key to unlock anything she tried to hide from him.
"What? You really thought I wouldn't know you were using me?" He chucked as he said in a questioning matter, but it was more of a statement than it was a question.