My eyes widened and I went to say something, but there was nothing to say. I cleared my throat and tried again. “You… didn’t tell them that we broke up?”
He shook his head.
“Why not?”
Aiden groaned and threw his head back against the seat. His hands covered his face to hide his embarrassment, but his flush reached down past his neck.
More than anything, I wished I could lean over and unwrap him and see how far down it went.
“Ugh. It was sostupid. Ma fucking loved you and there I was. I’d already pushed you away, expecting the worst.” The weary sigh he let out made my heart stutter. I hated to think about how he’d been alone during that time, that I couldn’t console him and tell him it was all right. Couldn’t hold him and comfort him.
“It’s only natural.” Or so I assumed.
He shook his head. “Maybe. But even if they had reacted poorly, it wasn’t as though it would have actually changed anything that had happened. I felt like an idiot. And she was so happy to finally see me happy. I didn’t know how to tell her I was an idiot and blew it.”
I reached over and pried the hand closest to me from his face and kept it clasped tightly in mine. Following the urge to comfort him, despite the fact that the events that had transpired had well passed, I brought his hand to my lips and laid a soft, gentle kiss to his knuckles. “You weren’t an idiot. And you didn’t ruin anything.”
Aiden let out a choked sob and I could feel his eyes on me. “How the fuck are you so perfect?”
His words sent a chill through me. I found I couldn’t look at him and kept my eyes focused on the road ahead as we approached his parents’ house. “I’m far from perfect.”
I pulled into the drive, cutting off any response he might have had. His back went ramrod straight as nerves overtook him again.
“It’s fine, little bird. Just breathe.”
He nodded as his gaze met mine and he took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever was to come.
“There you boys are! I was worried about you with the snow!” Ellie was at the door, waving and calling out to us, before we even got out of the car. She bustled over and enveloped Aiden in a warm hug before giving me a quick embrace as well.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Ellie.” I smiled at her as she leaned back and took one of Aiden’s hands in both of hers. It made me happy to see her still be so accepting of him.
Not that I’d had any doubts. She’d told me that morning after he’d run off, that it wasn’t any business of hers what our relationship was like, as long as we were safe and it was consensual—and that he was happy. He just hadn’t given me the opportunity to convince him that she had meant it.
Staring at them, I knew I wanted to protect what they had. No matter the cost.
“You two go on in,” I urged them, shooing them along. “I’ll get all the goodies and bring them along.”
Aiden looked like he was going to argue. He didn’t like not carrying his weight. No matter how many times I told him it was mine to carry, that I was Daddy.
He glanced back at the house, no doubt longing for the warmth. “Are you sure? I can help.”
The chattering of his teeth said otherwise.
I gripped his chin and gave him a quick, chaste kiss—we had an audience, after all. “I can already see you shaking under all those layers, little bird. Now, be a good boy and go on inside.”
The next shiver was for a completely different reason and I gave him a wink as he scowled at me. But he let his mom loop her arm through his and lead him back to the house, so that was all that mattered.
We hadn’t packed that much stuff in the back of the SUV, but it did require two trips. When I came back in with the pans of dessert I’d baked a few days prior, his dad was sitting in the living room.
He stood from his chair and offered me his hand. “Jeff. Happy Thanksgiving.” In his other hand, he held a beer, which he held out and offered. While it wasn’t a brand I usually preferred, I had to admit it wasn’t bad.
Not that I would turn it down either way.
“You too.”
He eyed me as I sat back on the couch, while Aiden and his mom were in the kitchen chatting, waiting for his sister to arrive.
I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but I hoped he didn’t find me lacking.
