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“Let them in, Caden,” she calls from the bed.
As they shuffle inside, I again close and lock the door, just in case Lily gets ambitious and ventures upstairs. Aspen sits up and hugs a giant pink throw pillow to her chest.
“Are you okay?” Flint asks, hurrying toward her.
The concern is genuine, but I’m still a little annoyed with him for the way he handled matters downstairs.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry, guys. There should have been a point when I told you about my credit.”
Pike takes the armchair next to the bed, his blue eyes inquisitive as he listens, but I reclaim my spot at her side, stroking her hair comfortingly as Flint perches at the edge of the bed.
“Tell us now,” Flint urges. “How did it come to this? What happened?”
Aspen sucks in air and closes her eyes as if she’s trying to figure out where to start.
“I was engaged once,” she begins. “I think I alluded to that before.”
We all bob our heads in unison.
“His name was Sean, and he was twelve years older, a real charming guy. He had a successful company and swept me off my feet right from the start…”
Flint and I look at one another, suddenly sensing where this is going.
“I never had much money,” she goes on. “I was in school, though, studying to be a teacher. My credit was good, and I worked full-time during college, so I never took out student loans or anything?—”
“Oh, that bastard,” Pike mumbles.
Aspen looks at him sadly. “I didn’t find out he had used my identity until long after I had caught him cheating and left. By then, he had fully disappeared, and I had no way of tracking him down. The police were less than helpful. All I could do was work with the creditors to pay back the outstanding balances in the tens of thousands or file for bankruptcy. I had to drop out of school to pay them back.”
Her last words crack, and she drops her head as fresh tears form in her eyes. “I’ve been drowning for the last five years with no life raft.”
“That’s not true,” I say, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. “We’re your life raft. You should have told us right away.”
“I know that now,” she sniffled. “But you’ve already done so much for me. I’ve paid down a sizeable chunk of my debts with my paychecks already.”
“They’re not your debts,” Pike fumes. “They’re his!”
I kiss her cheek softly. “Pike’s right. You have nothing to be ashamed of. An asshole fucked you over.”
Flint’s hands reach for her bare legs comfortingly. “And you don’t need to worry about any of your debts. I just reached out to my accountant. She’s dealing with every outstanding account as we speak.”
Aspen’s lips form an O of shock. “What? Flint, I’ll pay you back. Every penny. I know it will take time, but?—”
I capture her protests with my lips, silencing her. When I pull away, I stare at her pensively. “I think I speak for all of us when I say you don’t owe us anything, Aspen.”
The relief on her face is tangible, and she cups my neck, drawing me to her, our lips crushing together again. I return her embrace eagerly and exhale inwardly.
For a moment, I’d thought we’d lost her. I’m not willing to let her go anywhere.
CHAPTER 21
Aspen
It’s such a relief to let go of the secret that has been burdening me since I started, even if it came out in the worst possible way. But they have forgiven me, and my gratitude to Caden for making them open their ears and their hearts to me is overwhelming.
My arms snake up to embrace him, pulling him closer, our tongues touching as we melt into one another. Flint’s hands tighten on my bare calf, his fingers creasing into my skin, my conscious vaguely aware of his other hand inching upward as his knee hits the bed. Caden pulls back slightly to study me, and I lick my lips, tasting him.
“Should we keep going?” he asks, and the question hangs over all four of us, causing my eyes to widen. I understand what he’s implying, and I bite on my lower lip.
