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“I get that now,” he replied. “I was stupid.”
My lips curled into a small smile. “I was an idiot, too. But I’m glad you’re here now.”
“And I’m rich now, too,” he joked.
“Do you really think I care about that?” I asked. “I mean, it’s nice that you don’t have to struggle, and that you’re finally going to have your own business. But money doesn’t mean that much to me, Aiden. It never has.”
“For me, having the money is still new. But it does mean that I can make sure you and Maya always have everything you want and need.”
He sat up and reached for something on the side table. “Which reminds me that I got you something.”
“You already gave me this trip, Aiden, you don’t need to buy me things—”
“I wanted you to have it. When I was browsing down at the shops, I had to buy it. It reminds me of you.”
My hand trembled as I took the oblong box. “What is it?”
He grinned. “Open it. It’s not really a big deal.”
I shot him a skeptical glance. Everything nice Aiden did for me was a big deal. Maybe he didn’t recognize that, but nobody had ever cared enough about me to think of giving me a gift. The only one I’d ever gotten was his mother’s necklace, and that piece of jewelry meant everything to me.
Carefully, I pulled the top off the box, and I knew immediately why he’d purchased the contents.
I carefully lifted the delicate bracelet from its nest of soft cotton and rubbed it with my fingers.
“It matches the necklace,” I said in an awed tone.
“Not exactly,” he corrected. “There are differences, but they could be a set. It’s meant to be on your wrist. I knew it the moment I saw it.”
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I said in a breathy voice.
The bracelet had the same vintage look as the necklace did, and every stone was like a duplicate of the one on the only piece of jewelry I had.
Even now, when I was sitting around naked, I could still feel the cool gold of the delicate chain against my skin. I rarely took the gift Aiden had given me off my body. It had been like a talisman to remind me that life wasn’t always as bad as it had been with the organized-crime family.
The necklace had seen me through some pretty hard times.
“I’ve never seen someone more beautiful than you are. The bracelet belongs on your wrist. Just like the necklace should always be next to your skin,” Aiden said gruffly.
He was staring directly at me.
And I felt like something had finally shifted inside me.
His gift was always going to remind me that even when we weren’t together, he was thinking of me, wondering what I’d like or dislike.
It would make me feel like there was never going to be a time when Aiden wasn’t thinking about me and our child.
I released a small sigh.
Aiden was the best man I’d ever known, which was probably why I’d fallen head over heels in love with him all over again.
Or maybe I’d never stopped loving him.
“I love it so much,” I said as I handed it to him to put on my wrist. “Thank you.”
He secured the clip in record time, considering how big his fingers were and how delicate the catch had to be.
He nodded when he was done. “It was definitely made for you.”
I looked at the bracelet, and then I did something I hadn’t done in many, many years.
A single tear dropped onto my cheek.
And then another.
I made no attempt to blink them back or stop them. There was no ceasing it this time.
Before I knew it, I was being held against Aiden’s shoulder.
The man I was in love with had forced me into the world of feeling my emotions again.
For the first time in a long time, I cried.
CHAPTER 23
AIDEN
I wasn’t sure whether I should be alarmed or glad that Skye had finally lost it and gotten in touch with her emotions.
All I could do was hold her tightly while she bawled like the entire world was ending.
I wanted her to feel alive again, to feel like it was okay to emotionally express herself.
But I sure as hell didn’t like the fact that she was crying.
It broke my goddamn heart.
Even though I knew it wasn’t sorrow she was feeling.
“Everything will be okay, baby. I promise,” I vowed to her.
“I know,” she said tearfully. “I’m not sad. I’m happy. Sometimes you’re just so sweet.”
I flinched because what guy wanted to be considered sweet, really?
Honestly, I’d much rather be her stud.
Picking up the bracelet had been an impulse. It matched the necklace that she already had so well that she just had to have it. And it wasn’t like I was the least bit short on funds.
For me, the bracelet had been a trinket and nothing more. It reminded me of the necklace, and I had hoped it would make her smile.
But holy shit! I had never expected all hell to break loose over it.
To make her stop crying, I said, “I’m an asshole, too, sometimes. Remember?”
She made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob as she pulled back and met my eyes.
And then she smiled, and looked at me like I could fly.
I thanked whatever instinct had led me to that bracelet and given Skye back to me. Hell, I’d even be sweet if that’s really what she wanted. Or I’d at least try.
I gently swiped the tears from her cheeks. “Okay?” I asked.
She nodded vigorously. “Definitely okay.”
I got my buck-naked ass off the bed, moved all the trays and plates to the dresser, and then pulled her underneath the covers with me.
All I really wanted was to hold her, and make her realize that there was never going to be a day when I wasn’t going to be around for her from now on.
Now that the dam had broken on her emotions, I needed her to know they were safe with me.
Skye and Maya were my whole damn world, and somehow I wanted her to feel that.
“You’re always going to be safe with me, Skye,” I said in a husky voice I nearly didn’t recognize as I pulled her soft body against mine.
I was determined to make up for every single day she suffered at the hands of a madman because my brother had screwed things up for both of us.
“I know that,” she said in a sleepy voice. “I won’t promise you that I’ll never have an episode or flashbacks. But it’s never because of you.”
“I’m not exactly a snowflake, baby,” I answered. “I can take whatever happens. I just want you to feel like you’re safe.”
“I do. Best feeling in the world,” she murmured. “I guess when you go years feeling scared, you appreciate not having to look over your shoulder in case somebody wants to kill you.”
“Were you still doing that? Even after it was all over and everyone was in prison?” I questioned.
She buried her face in my chest. “Sometimes I do. But not so much anymore. Old habits are hard to break. It’s like my inability to let myself cry or let anybody know what I’m feeling. Any weakness was always used against me, Aiden. It’s hard to shuck that defense mechanism, even when I don’t need it anymore.”
