L iving with Aiden was a lot of fun, but it was also
somewhat precarious. The man had lived alone
all of his adult life. And until Liam had come along,
he'd never even had a fleeting thought of anyone
living with him.
Generally Liam was able to avert most drama
queen moments and semi hysterical crises with well
timed sex, or perhaps a bit of magic strategically
worked in the background.
But he suspected it was going to take much, much
more than a well-timed blowjob to fix whatever had
happened when a month later Liam parked down the
street from the apartment and noticed a police car
parked at an angle to the curb lights flashing.
Interesting, he thought as he made his way home, for
the apartment was his home now for all intents and
purposes. As he approached the elevator, two
policemen got off. Liam's curiosity was definitely
piqued. It seemed the drama that revolved around he
and Aiden was never going to stop.
176 Magical Moonlight
He took the elevator instead of the stairs for once,
but one look on Aiden's face as he stood in the
doorway made him want to turn around and head back
down the stairs. "Hey what's up?" He asked looking
from Aiden to Daniel, who stood there looking smug.
"WHAT'S UP IS SOMEONE DIDN'T SET THE
ALARM. WHAT'S UP IS THAT ALL MY STUFF
IS GONE. WHAT'S UP IS I'VE BEEN ROBBED."
Aiden shouted in his face, furious that his precious
apartment had been desecrated. He knew he was being
unreasonable, but an unfamiliar black haze filled his
mind and he couldn't think straight.
"But" Liam began as he looked around. "It can't
be." He'd set the spells himself. And no one could
break them, no Wahjee that was. It didn't feel like
Wahjee, the damage was too random and what was
stolen really wouldn't interest any of the Wahjee.
After all, they could pretty much have what they
wanted if they were inclined that way. No, it had to be
human and he hadn't set any spells against humans.
But he had set the alarm. It was the one thing he made
sure of before he left for school each day.
"Get your shit together and get the fuck out of my
apartment and my life." Aiden's words were so
deadly; they might as well have been bullets.
"Nothing of yours was stolen." His voice was bitter.
The whole time his mouth was moving, he knew he
was wrong, yet he couldn't stop himself from saying
the cruel words.
It was as if everything they'd been through had
been only a figment of Liam's imagination. Tears
ER Bryant 177
sprang to his eyes, but he refused to let Aiden see
them. Instead he walked with dignity into the
bedroom. It was there he saw the ravages of Aiden's
closet. "Fucking asshole." He muttered. "It was just a
few fucking suits. Get your fucking priorities
straight."
He magicked a piece of paper and wrote down
neatly:
5 designer suits + 10 pairs of designer boots or
shoes + sundry electronic shit = one man who loves
you for yourself and not for what you have or who you
are.
He pinned it to the closet door with the gum he
had in his mouth, knowing Aiden would hate that. In
less than three minutes he managed to gather together
things he'd need to survive out of the loft. He
contemplated taking a clean school uniform and then
realized it was unlikely he'd go back there right now.
But he did take Aiden's favorite sweatshirt out of the
laundry basket. He'd worn it the day before at the gym
and it smelled of Aiden in a good, if funky, way.
Aiden refused to look at him when he walked
past. Instead, the man pretended interest in the phone
call he was making to his insurance company. Daniel
on the other hand, gloated. Liam couldn't resist, he
muttered a quick spell of impotence on the other man.
It would only last for a couple of weeks and wear off
gradually, but it would give him something else to
think about.
Taking the stairs down to ground level because he
wanted to delay leaving as long as he could, Liam's
178 Magical Moonlight
mind was reeling with what had happened a few
minutes before. He couldn't believe how quickly his
life could change. It had always been like this. He
shouldn't be surprised. If it wasn't one thing, it was
another.
At the street, Liam looked one way and then the
next. He couldn't decide where he should go. Dakota
was always an option, but his old home was definitely
not an option. He made a quick decision and headed in
the direction of Vanessa's place. He needed to say
goodbye to Shay before he left town. It was really the
only thing he could do. Maybe Aiden needed some
space to find out just what in hell he wanted. Liam
knew what he wanted, he wanted Aiden. But he also
knew that Aiden was going to have to fight for him in
order to appreciate him. It wasn't going to be an easy
battle and the red head hoped they both managed to
survive it.
"Hi." Liam said when Vanessa answered the
door. "I'm going to be away for awhile, and I was
wondering if I could see Shay before I leave."
"Of course you can Liam." Vanessa held the door
open. "He's in his room. It's almost time for him to
wake up from his nap." She looked at the boy curious
and had to ask. "I thought you were staying at
Aiden's."
"I was, but he kicked me out." Liam shrugged.
"His apartment was broken into. He blamed me for
not setting the alarm. I did set it, but he wasn't about
to listen, or to believe me for that matter." He sighed.
"It doesn't matter. I love him, but we do have twelve
ER Bryant 179
years difference in our ages. I think it bugs Aiden
more than it bothers me. I mean right now it seems
like a lot. I'm eighteen. But when I'm twenty eight, it
won't be as bad."
"Interesting theory." Vanessa laughed. "You are
rather young Liam. You have so much ahead of you
before you should even think about settling down with
one man."
"I know, I hear that a lot." Liam's voice was
bitter. "I'll just go up to Shay, I think I hear him
talking."
"He does that a lot." She smiled. "I don't
understand him, but he seems to spend a lot of time in
conversation with his toys."
"He's smart like his dad." Liam said. "I bet Aiden
talked a lot when he was Shay's age. He must have
gotten it out of his system. Now he only talks when
he's at work doing a presentation. He hardly says
anything at home."
"Aiden has always been somewhat taciturn."
Vanessa agreed. "If you don't mind, change Shay's
diaper. I'll get his bottle ready."
"I'll change him." Liam agreed as he took the
stairs two at a time. "Hey Shay." He said, walking in
the door.
The baby was sitting up in the middle of his crib.
"Li." He laughed and held out his arms to be picked
up.
Liam picked him up out of the crib. "Boy, you do
need a change of pants." He laughed. "Shay is all
stinky." He put the boy on his change table and began
180 Magical Moonlight
the process of changing and cleaning him up, talking
to him all the while. "It's like this buddy, I have to go
away for a bit. I'm thinking maybe Toronto. I mean it
isn't far and it's a big city, kind of easy to get lost in."
he wiped Shay up with the baby wipes, powdered him
and slipped him into a clean diaper. "I thought maybe
I'd check out the art scene. I've always liked the
museums there. It's not like I won't graduate or
anything. My grades are in the top five of the school."
"Da."
"I know, I hate to leave him, but he's being kind
of a bitch right now. You'll understand when you're
older. Don't worry; I'll still keep an eye on you and
your dad. I mean I might be gone for a while, but I
won't completely desert you. I am your watcher of the
first order. We're bonded for life Shay." He kissed the
boy on the cheek and picked him up holding him
close. "Your mommy is making you a bottle of
something. Let's go down and see what she has."
"Ba" Shay said and grinned. "No Li" he looked
sad, reaching out to touch Liam's face.
"I'm probably going to stay with my cousin at his
Toronto place or at least somewhere near him. It's not
like I'll be all alone." They'd reached the bottom of
the stairs just as Vanessa was coming from the
kitchen. "Here he is, all sweet smelling and clean." He
handed Shay to his mother. "Later Vanessa. I love you
Shay." He kissed the boy again and then wiped a tear
from the corner of the baby's eye. "Don't cry little
man. I'll always be there for you."
ER Bryant 181
With those words, he disappeared out Vanessa's
front door and managed to pop himself to Toronto and
to land in front of his cousin's condo. Liam had
learned he had an identical one in Victoria. No one
noticed, not Vanessa and not anyone in the big city.
It didn't take long for Aiden to hear about it. He'd
been sitting at his bar attempting to make a list for the
insurance company; Liam's note engraved on his
memory and folded up in his wallet, when Vanessa
and Shay walked in the door. "Not closing the door
anymore?" she asked sweetly, handing her son to his
father.
"Da." Shay beamed. "Li ba"
"What?" Aiden looked around.
"He keeps saying that. I think he's saying that
Liam is gone. Which, no thanks to you, I suppose you
are well aware of. He's gone to Toronto to do gawd
knows what. Aiden, he's only a boy."
"He's an adult, he's eighteen. He can look after
himself." Aiden was taking off the layers of clothing
Vanessa seemed to always have his kid wrapped in.
"You threw him out on the street Aiden. I thought
you were better than that." She took the baby from
him. "It's cold in here."
"So shut the door." Aiden stood up to find some
coffee; Vanessa was giving him a headache.
"Aiden, you have to do something. You have to
bring him back. Seamus misses him, I miss him."
"I'm not his fucking keeper." Aiden muttered.
"He let someone steal all my stuff."
182 Magical Moonlight
"That's a lot of bullshit and you know it. Liam is
very responsible. I really don't believe he left the
apartment unprotected and I think you know it. You're
just using this as an excuse to push him away. He was
good for you Aiden and believe me, I wouldn't say
that about just anyone."
Aiden's next encounter with demands that he find
Liam happened later that night. He and Daniel, Bob
and Evan were at Celebrities before heading to The
Odyssey, when an irate Dakota walked through the
door and up to him, punching him soundly in the arm.
"You shit, you made him leave. He's gone to
Toronto to be a go go dancer. You have to bring him
back."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Aiden
demanded as he rubbed his arm, though he knew full
well what she meant.
"Liam, you have to bring him back." She said
before bursting into tears and wrapping herself around
Aiden.
"Would you stop it? You're getting snot and tears
on my new silk shirt." Aiden clumsily patted her back
as he looked into his friend's eyes, helpless for once.
"Serves the little shit right. He left the apartment
unlocked, Aiden lost all of his stuff." Daniel began,
only to find Dakota in his face, her fist clenched.
"You, you, dickless weasel, you know darn well
Liam didn't leave the apartment unlocked. I bet it was
you. He said you were always over there snooping in
Aiden's stuff. I bet it was you who left the place that
ER Bryant 183
way." She kicked him in the shins and stomped out of
Celebrities, leaving all of them staring after her.
"Is that true Danny, do you go over to my place
when I'm not there?" Aiden asked, his voice so low
that Daniel barely heard him.
"I go there sometimes. But it's not like you think.
I mean I have a key, I know it's for emergencies, but
sometimes things come up and I need a place to rest."
"But you don't have a key, I took it back if you'll
recall. My place isn't that far from yours Danny, why
don't you just go home?" It was obvious to them all
that Aiden was pissed. He knew immediately that
Danny had made copies of his key. It was time to
change the lock.
Evan and Bob looked at each other. "Well, I do
believe I hear the call of The Odyssey." Evan waved
his hands. "Tally ho Bobby." He grabbed his friend by
the arm and pulled him toward the exit.
"Daniel it was you, wasn't it? It was you that left
the door unlocked and you let Liam take the blame."
Aiden had never been quite so angry in his life and
that was saying a great deal. "You were my best
friend. I trusted you Daniel. I trusted you with a key to
my apartment, my home. I trusted you not to lie to me
and I trusted you not to hurt someone I care about."
Aiden turned on his heel, ignoring Daniel's pleas to
wait. In seconds he was out the door, striding down
the crowded street. He needed to think about what he
could do to make things right. To make things right
between him and Liam. Aiden Mac Ruaidhri didn't do
184 Magical Moonlight
apologies and he didn't do regrets. He guessed it was
time he learned how.
