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“The gelato is probably melted, so maybe staying here would be better,” she said, opening the bag and passing him his coffee and chocolate cake. Placing her coffee in the cup holder, she opened the tiny container and peeked in. “Yeah, I’d say it’s minutes from being totally melted.”
“Why don’t you simply drink it?”
“What?”
“Just drink it. Never mind using a spoon.” He grinned. “Be adventuresome.”
Grace sipped the delicious liquid. That worked—tart and creamy, and delicious.
“Grace, you are so beautiful,” Aidan said, his voice low and husky.
Sitting inside the darkened car, listening to the radio, made everything feel so perfect, so normal. She licked her lips, tasting the lemony sugar, feeling his gaze on her. She knew that look. “Aidan, we can’t. There is so much that isn’t right between us.”
She saw the disappointment on his face, but makeup sex wasn’t going to solve their problems.
“I’m aware of that,” he said. Focusing on his dessert, Aidan finished, then dropped the container in the bag. “Let’s go for a walk along the beach.”
He came around and opened her door, then led her to a path that reached the shoreline. “Grace, you may be angry at me for saying this, but we’re so good together and always have been. I can’t let that slip away without doing everything in my power to prevent it.” His hand held hers in a firm but gentle grip as they moved across the sand, the setting sun sending long, gold cones of light around them.
Despite all that had happened between them, she knew he was speaking from his heart. “Aidan, I’d like that, too.”
He slipped his arm around her shoulders as they moved closer to each other. “I’ve known that since the day I met you—”
She put her fingers on his lips to silence him. “Just listen to me. Being a mother means everything to me, but I never imagined it would happen like this. That you would have a child with someone else. All I ever wanted was to have our baby, to be part of bringing our child into the world, our lives, our home. I wanted the excitement of being pregnant, of giving birth to our baby. That’s not going to happen for me.
“Instead, I am faced with another woman’s child who has come into my life uninvited and unintended. It’s not that I don’t adore her. She’s sweet and bright and a beautiful child. But she’s not mine. I don’t know how to explain this any better than that.”
He pulled her into his arms, his warmth, his embrace a shield from the world. “Grace, if I could turn back time, I’d go back to Spartanburg, the first time, and do it all over with you. I would. I’d include you in everything I said and did back there. But that’s not possible.” He paused, then said slowly, “If it would change how you feel about me, I’m willing to move Emma and Lisa back to Spartanburg while we sort things out between us.”
She wished with all her heart that was possible. “You can’t do that to Emma. She’s been through enough, from losing her mother to losing her home. But don’t you see what’s happening here? You’re looking to make things right without thinking it through or considering the consequences. You’re looking for a quick fix and there isn’t one.”
His expression was bleak as he held her closer, his forehead pressed to hers. “But I can’t live without you. Maybe we can all move to Spartanburg for a few months.”
“You can’t believe that such a move would work. Your business is here. Our lives are here. You wouldn’t be happy living in Spartanburg. Emma is here now, and she has to stay here. You and Lisa are all she has, and together you’ll work through it,” she said, tilting her face to his.
