“Do it. Patient autonomy and all that.” He sat up tall, pushed his shoulders back, and stuck out his hand. “Take some revenge. I’m ready. No matter how bad this hurts, I know it still won’t come close to how I made you feel.”
He was wrong—sowrong—if he thought I could ever be that cruel to him. “I’m not like you. I don’t get any pleasure from hurting people.”
“I got no pleasure from the way I treated you. I still lie awake thinking about it most nights.”
“I’m sure that’s not—”
“Lola, I don’t know how to fix what I did or how to prove to you I’m sorry. My apologies come out wrong. I’m scared to overstep my mark by leaving you gifts you don’t want. I damn well almost bought you a car after the storm—”
“Please don’t!”
Aiden jerked a nod. “I know you wouldn’t want that. You’re going to be strong and do that all on your own. But I need to dosomething. More than anything, I need to feel your pain. So, if you won’t punish me, I’ll do it myself.”
All my protests were met with his swift refusal. I offered the pain relief again as I sterilised the wound. Another offer was made as I showed him the needle that would stitch him up.
Aiden’s answer was always the same:no.
The stubborn beast wanted me to punish him? Fine. So be it.
Aiden flinched when the first prick marked his skin. My jaw clenching, I paused, the needle wobbling in my hand.
Get it over with. You’re good at this!
Careful and steady, with only the slightest tremble rocking the needle and not one sound uttered by Aiden, I got the job done in record time. My glasses slipped down my nose as I examined his hand. A proud smile spread across my face. Six tiny, neat stitches.
“There we go. All better,” I murmured, my index finger absently stroking his hand as my eyes swept a final check over the wound. “You need to be more careful next time, hon.”
My brain screeched to a panicked stop. Did he hear that ridiculous endearment tumble out of my mouth? Gnawing on my bottom lip, I lifted my eyes. Aiden dipped his chin with a smile. Yeah, he’d heard me, alright.
I bolted upright and snatched my hand away. A nervous laugh escaped before I could stop it. “I, um, you know… I call everyonehon.” I waved my hand dismissively. “That didn’t mean anything.”
“Hearing that meant everything to me.”
I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see the heat burning my cheeks and tried to distract myself by weaving a fresh bandage around Aiden’s palm, but he wasn’t having it. His fingers captured mine to stop me, and he leant closer.
“I like your little hands on me,” he murmured.
The tenderness in his voice curled around my heart. I wasn’t sure if it was the smell of his cologne or the memory of when he’d last whispered those words to me in my cottage, but the gentle tug of them threatened to pull me dangerously closer to him.
I snatched my hand away. “You can’t talk to me like that. Not here.”
“Lola, I know nothing will take back what I did. I know that.” His voice lowered when he touched a cautious hand to my elbow. “If I could turn back time, I’d change everything. I’d never leave your house. I’d never act the way I did outside the coffee shopor let Evan say a single word to you. I’d protect you. Trust you. Please, Lola. If you believe nothing else, believe that.”
Aiden always knew pretty words to say. This was no exception. But one promise stood out and screamed for my attention above all the others.
Trust.
My mind latched on to that word and wouldn’t let go. Aiden didn’t trust me. He avoided questions. He talked in riddles and warnings. But was there more to him? Secrets he kept hidden from the world? Secrets like mine?
My voice trembled as I gave him another chance he didn’t deserve. “Tell me where you learned to dress a wound like that.”
Aiden’s spine went straight. He pushed his shoulders back. I’d seen this defence mechanism before. But just when I thought he was going to shut down again, he surprised me by mumbling, “I wasn’t always a cabinetmaker.”
“A paramedic?”
“No.”
“The army?”
