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ell that to her racing heart.
“So we’ve figured out how you got in. Now maybe you can tell me why?”
“I want to talk to you about Nick.” For the first time his smile faltered. He leaned back against the handrail, scratching his neck. “I’m sorry about the things I said to you yesterday. It was wrong.” He brought his eyes up to hers. “I was wrong.”
Strange how yesterday already felt like a lifetime ago. “Okay.” She took a deep breath, feeling the air rushing into her lungs. How many times had she imagined seeing Aiden again? How many times had she fantasized that he’d come back to her, whisper words of love in her ear. Take her away from all of this to their happily-ever-after. But he wasn’t here for her at all. He was here to talk about Nick, and she should be grateful for that.
“And I want you to know, whatever Nick needs, I’m happy to pay for it. School, clubs, clothes – you name it, you’ve got it.”
“He doesn’t need anything. I can take care of him.” Her spine stiffened.
He looked around at her bungalow, his eyes narrow. “You mean your parents can.”
“What?” Her head snapped up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He looked shocked at her reaction. “It didn’t mean anything. But if you’re happy to accept their help, why wouldn’t you want mine, too?”
A wave of fury washed through her. He really was like everybody else, assuming she couldn’t make it on her own. “You know what? Yes, I accept some help from them. They let me have this place at a low rent, and they pay for Nick’s medical bills. Apart from that, everything we have is what I’ve worked for. I do whatever it takes to put food on our table and clothes on our backs. So don’t you dare come around here with your assumptions and your prejudice and tell me I should be grateful for anything you have to offer. We’ve survived perfectly fine for the past eight years without you.” She took a breath, her chest aching from the rush of words. “And by the way, as a son of a single mom, I’d have thought you’d have more respect for a woman like me.”
He recoiled, as though she’d slapped him. Even in the moonlight she could see the flush on his cheeks. They were both silent, staring at each other, the air between them loaded with emotions she wasn’t sure she could identify.
“You’re right. It was a stupid thing to say.” He ran a hand through his hair, fingers raking it back. “It was cruel and wrong. You’ve always been independent, even when you were a kid.” He tipped his head to the side, still holding her gaze. “If my mom heard me say something like that, she wouldn’t have let me hear the end of it.”
The thought of Aiden’s mother softened Brooke’s heart. Or maybe it was the lost look in Aiden’s eyes. “You must miss her,” she said softly, her throat feeling tight.
“So much.”
The moonlight shone on his eyes. The residual anger disappeared, replaced by an empathy which made her want to reach out for him, hold him, let him listen to her heartbeat the way he used to. She curled her hands into fists, the metal of her keys digging further into her palm, to stop herself from doing it.
“I’m so sorry she never knew about Nick. It’s one of my biggest regrets. The reason I told you about him – I don’t want to rob you of any more chances.”
“Can I see him?”
“Now?” She frowned. “He’s asleep.”
He shook his head. “No, I mean another day. Does he know who I am?”
“Not yet. I haven’t told him.” She hadn’t told anybody. “I don’t know where to start.”
Aiden’s face softened. “I understand. Maybe I can be a friend? Meeting up at the beach or for coffee. I’d like to get to know him, to spend time with him. I’d like for him to get to know me, too.”
She nodded. “I’d like that, too. But I need to know you’ll take it slowly. I don’t want him getting attached to you, and have you disappear again.” She blew out a mouthful of air. “Let’s see how things go and I’ll tell him the truth when I think he’s ready. Not before.”
Aiden flinched. “I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
She tried to ignore the way he made her heart race. Her chest felt full of emotions. It was important for her that Nick got to know his family, this man who had been such a big part of her life for so long. That was all it was.
“Okay. So when do you want to start?”
“Is tomorrow too early? I thought maybe I could take you both to lunch.”
She leaned back on the door, thinking of the pile of books on her kitchen table, and the papers she still had to mark. Of the laundry and the grocery shopping and maybe even getting some sleep at some point.
“Tomorrow sounds good. Let me know the time and the place and we’ll be there.”
This time there was no half-heartedness to his smile. It was big and it was breath-taking and it lit up his face so much brighter than the moon could. His grin used to make her go weak at the knees whenever she saw it, and it still made her legs shake now. It was making her smile right back at him.
But that was her muscles holding on to old memories. She could handle them, couldn’t she?
