Spring Knight: Young Adult Romance Novella (A Seasons of Change Standalone) by Mia Hoddell Page B

the bowl. She thought talking to Ellie would help, but she was even more confused.
    “Letting anyone in is taking a risk, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. All I’m saying is be careful. You know of Aiden’s reputation so he may hurt you by accident ... he may not to be able to commit. However, what if he does? It’s up to you, Kay. I know you’ve liked him for a while, and he told—” Ellie cut off abruptly, and Kayleigh’s head snapped up in curiosity.
    “What? He told you what?”
    “I don’t know if I should tell you. It might get your hopes up.”
    “I’m not a china doll, Elles. Just tell me.”
    Ellie huffed. “He said that he’s noticed you for a while, but the only reason he never approached you was because he didn’t want to hurt you. He said he wasn’t ready for serious, but might be now.”
    Kayleigh’s heart started to race, her eyes open wide with shock. She thought the words would’ve made her happy, but all she was doing was questioning why her, what made her special, and whether he was really being serious.
    “You think I should go for it?”
    Ellie shrugged, causing Kayleigh to let out a frustrated groan. She loved her friend, but she was being exceedingly unhelpful on purpose.
    “Listen, Aiden’s not a bad guy. When he chooses to care about someone he’s all in. Let him prove it to you, don’t jump in head first and give your heart away.”
    Ellie wasn’t stating anything new, she’d been in Aiden’s presence enough from their friendship, but it was a nice reassurance. Kayleigh was about to say more when Ellie’s phone buzzed. Pulling it from her pocket the bright screen illuminated her face in the dimly lit room as she glanced up guiltily.
    “Do you mind if I go? It’s just Justin has been visiting with his sister and he’s always in a foul mood when he gets back.”
    Kayleigh didn’t understand what Ellie wasn’t telling her in that sentence, but there seemed to be something deeper going on. “Yeah, no worries. I’ll just go to sleep, these rehearsals are killing me.”
    “Thanks.” Ellie leaned over to hug her quickly before she jumped up and was out of the room in a flash. Alone again, Kayleigh pulled a book from her bedside table and curled on to her side, trying not to overanalyse what Ellie had told her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
Standing out in the hallway, Aiden stared at the row of doors. A small sigh escaped his lips as he frowned, wondering what the best approach was: knock on every door? Text Ellie? Ask someone if they knew? His mind went over the possibilities with confusion as one of the doors opened.
    Aiden braced himself. He’d already had one girl come up to him, asking if he was there for her before having to untangle himself from her hold, and it was something he’d rather not repeat. He used to like the attention, but he knew it was the first thing he was going to have to change if he was to win Kayleigh over. The blonde who’d pouted the length of the corridor as she begged him to change his mind held no appeal anyway. His mind was only focused on which room was Kayleigh’s.
    Relief flooded through him when he noticed the brunette stepping through the door was in fact Ellie. She had saved him time and humiliation. Hurrying over to where she was just about to shut the door, Aiden managed to block it with his hand, making sure the lock didn’t click into place.
    Ellie glanced up at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?” She sounded annoyed, her hand still on the handle as she tried to close the door.
    Wedging his foot in the gap, Aiden made sure the task was impossible. “Proving myself, like you said.”
    “Uh ... How does showing up here prove anything?”
    “Just let me in, Elles. Please?”
    “I shouldn’t.”
    “Come on, I’d do it for you in a heartbeat.”
    Ellie rolled her eyes, but was distracted when her phone rang from her pocket. The second she turned to look at the screen and answer it was all he needed.