“How are you, bro?”
Ganin smiled at the man sitting across from him.
Aidan.
Another reason Ganin had never tried to pursue anything concerning Dinan.
Aidan was always laid-back, always pleasant. Unlike Ganin, who wasn’t good at livening up a room. Aidan always knew how to make the people around him feel comfortable, feel safe.
Ever since he’d accepted the arranged marriage between himself and Tara, Ganin had known that sooner or later, he would meet Aidan—and eventually Dinan. What he hadn’t expected was that he would meet Dinan so much sooner than he’d imagined.
“I’m good. I heard you only got to Indonesia a few days ago. Come back for good?”
“Tara told you?” Aidan didn’t let Ganin answer. “You couldn’t have heard it from Dinan, right?”
Ganin’s body tensed at the mention of Dinan’s name, but a moment later, he let out a soft laugh. “Dinan’s my assistant at the office. We’re not close enough for her to tell me about her personal problems.”
Aidan laughed brightly. “I finished my studies in England six months ago. So now I’m back to start working at the company.”
The two men enjoyed a casual conversation at a coffee shop on Saturday morning, asking each other about everything they’d missed in the years since high school. Ganin and Aidan had never truly lost touch until five years ago, when Ganin went to study in Australia. He’d shut down all his social media accounts and even changed his phone number.
“You and Tara—how did that happen? Are you dating?”
“Uncle Arya asked my father to arrange our marriage, and I accepted.”
Aidan studied Ganin for several seconds longer. Something in that answer made it difficult for him to fully believe. “You just accepted?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t think you’re the type to agree to an arranged marriage.”
Ganin chuckled softly. His hand stirred the coffee he’d barely touched all morning. “I’m just going along with what life has prepared for me.”
“That’s the problem.” Aidan nodded slowly. “You’ve never even tried to get what you wanted for yourself.”
Ganin’s smile slowly faded. He knew where this conversation was headed. “Don’t talk about the past.”
Aidan leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or grateful that Ganin was still the same coward he’d been seven years ago. “Aren’t we bound by the past? A past Dinan has never known about.”
That name came up again. This time, Ganin didn’t show any surprise. He merely let out a short breath and turned his gaze toward the window. The street was beginning to fill with passing cars.
There it is! Aidan chuckled at Ganin’s reaction, even as it made him uncomfortable. Ganin could say whatever he wanted, but Aidan knew that the way his body reacted every time Dinan’s name was mentioned wasn’t the reaction of someone who had let go of his past.
“I already told you. I accepted this arranged marriage.”
“But that doesn’t mean you’re done with everything else.”
Ganin looked at him. His gaze was calm, but sharp enough to put an end to the conversation. “Aidan.”
“Okay.” Aidan raised both hands in surrender.
Ganin lowered his head toward his coffee cup again. A long pause passed before Aidan continued, his voice much more serious this time. “Then I hope you keep your word.”
Ganin lifted his head.
“Take care of Tara.”
The two words sounded simple, but there was nothing playful in Aidan’s eyes. “If you’ve accepted her, don’t let her feel like she’s standing beside someone whose heart is still somewhere else.”
Ganin fell silent.
Aidan wasn’t entirely sure whether he was saying that to protect Tara or to protect himself from his own fears. Ever since he’d learned that Ganin worked in the same office as Dinan, a sense of unease had never completely left him.
He knew Dinan. He knew Ganin, too. And that was precisely why Ganin’s return to Dinan’s orbit made him uneasy.
“I’ll take care of her,” Ganin finally replied.