She drew in a long breath as they stared at each other. After several tense moments passed between them, she said, “Okay, I have been thinking of you, missing you, wanting you. And I hated myself for doing so. You’re a weakness I can’t afford to have right now. It’s crazy. I know a lot of guys around campus. But why you? Why do I want the one guy I can’t have?”
Her words softened his ire. She was just as confused and frustrated as he was. “And why do you think you can’t have me?”
She frowned. “You know why, Aidan. Pam and Dillon would be against it. In their eyes, we’re family. And even if you were a guy she would approve of, she would try to convince me not to get involved with you and to stay focused on becoming a doctor.”
“You don’t know for certain that’s how she would feel, Jillian.”
“I do know. When Pam was in college pursuing her dream of becoming an actress, I asked her why she didn’t date. She told me that a woman should never sacrifice her dream for any man.”
“I’m not asking you to sacrifice your dream.”
“No, but you want an involvement during a time when I should be more focused than ever on becoming a doctor.”
“I want to help you, not hinder you,” he stressed again.
“How do you think you can do that?”
At least she was willing to listen. “By using this week to introduce you to study techniques that will help you remember those things you need to remember.”
She nervously licked her tongue across her lips again. “It won’t work. I won’t be able to think straight with you around.”
“I’ll make sure you do. I’m not asking to stay here, Jillian. I’ve already checked into a hotel a mile or so from here. I’ll arrive every morning and we’ll study until evening, taking short breaks in between. Then we’ll grab something to eat and enjoy the evening. Afterward, I’ll bring you back here and then leave. Before going to bed you should review what was covered that day, making sure you get eight hours of sleep.”
She looked at him as if he was crazy. “I can’t take time from studying to enjoy the evening. I’ll need to study morning, noon and night.”
“Not with me helping you. Besides, too much studying will make you burned out, and you don’t want to do that. What good is studying if that happens?”
When she didn’t say anything, he pushed harder. “Try my way for a couple of days and if it doesn’t work, if you feel I’m more of a hindrance than a help, I’ll leave Laramie and let you do things your way.”
As she stared at him, not saying anything, he could feel blood throb through his veins. As usual she looked serious. Beautiful. Tempting. He wanted her. Being around her would be hard and leaving her every night after dinner would be harder. He would want to stay and make love to her all through the night. But that wasn’t possible. No matter how hard it would be, he needed to keep his self-control.
“Okay,” she finally said. “We’ll try it for a couple of days. And if it doesn’t work I intend for you to keep your word about leaving.”
“I will.” He had no intention of leaving because he intended for his plan to work. He had aced the MCAT the first time around, with flying colors. Once he’d gotten his act together as a teenager, he’d discovered he was an excellent test taker, something Adrian was not. Determined not to leave his twin behind, he’d often tutored Adrian, sharing his study tips and techniques with his brother. Aidan had also done the same with Bailey once she was in college. Unfortunately, he’d never gotten the chance to share his techniques with Bane since his cousin hadn’t been interested in anything or anyone but Crystal.