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“No,” Viv said after a beat. “Stay and distract me with something. How’s Brad?”
It was dark when her friends finally left, but Viv felt lighter. She got out of bed for the first time in days and took a shower, changing into fresh clothes and stripping the bed so she could put on clean sheets. She already missed the luxury of a live-in staff. She hadn’t thought about making the bed or changing the sheets or putting out fresh towels in weeks.
On her way downstairs, she added her things to the washing machine and set it to run. Tomorrow she’d clean her room, give her hands something to do while she worked out exactly what in the hell she was going to say to her husband when she could face him again.
She didn’t know if she could ever forgive him for lying to her, for manipulating her so well for so long. But she was carrying their child. The entire point of this marriage was growing inside her, and he deserved to be part of that child’s life.
No matter how they ended up, this kid deserved to be loved by both of its parents. Even if seeing Aidan and not being able to have him for the next eighteen years would be excruciating.
ChapterThirty-Two
Aidan sat in Declan’s office underneath Reign, finalizing the renovation plans he’d drafted with Leo and Gavin. They’d taken a second pass at each location to ensure they weren’t missing anything. Spending time with Viv’s brothers had been exhausting.
Aidan wasn’t sure if Viv had told them what happened, but they didn’t seem overly pleased to be in his presence, and they spent the entire day communicating in grunts and pointing fingers. The work was getting done at least, and, for now, that was all Declan cared about. So far his brother hadn’t broached the subject of Viv’s absence or asked what happened.
Maybe he already knew and was still deciding the best way to make Aidan pay for fucking it up so royally. And wasn’t that going to be something to look forward to? Brogan had already told Libby if the way she glared at him in the hallways or over dinner was any indication. He hadn’t seen much of Evie in the last week, but he imagined she’d look at him with equal amounts of disgust and disappointment too.
It didn’t help that every attempt he’d made to try and apologize had been rejected. Not by Viv. He hadn’t seen her since she walked out. The devastated look in her eyes when she dropped the pregnancy test on the table played front and center in his nightmares.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to make it go away until he talked to her, but Sofia was busy guarding the gate. It didn’t matter what time he dropped by her parents’ house; Sofia was always there, ready to snap at him and force him to leave. And he’d tried every time of day he could think of outside of throwing rocks at Viv’s window in the middle of the night.
The last time he’d been by, he only wanted to know if she was okay. Something in his eyes or his voice or his general pitiful demeanor had Sofia softening just enough to tell him that Viv was safe and as well as could be expected. Then she’d slammed the door in his face.
It had only been a week, and he missed her. He hadn’t known it was possible to miss someone that much. She hadn’t sent for any of her things—something he was taking as a slightly positive sign—so the room still smelled like her. He woke up thinking about her, and he went to sleep thinking about her, and he was starting to feel like one of those pathetic, lovesick assholes in movies who couldn’t get their shit together.
“…and then I think we’ll be good to get started.”
Aidan’s head jerked up to look at Declan. “Get started with what?”
Declan gave an aggrieved sigh. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”
Aidan rubbed his fingers over his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not really. No.”
Declan tapped his pen against the desk, and Aidan felt his brother’s eyes boring into the top of his skull from across the room. He braced himself for a lecture. Which is why Declan’s next words were so damn surprising.
“Why don’t you go home?”
“Because we have a ton of work to do.”
“And we’ll have to do it all twice if you’re not paying attention to any of it. Go home.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to yell at me to get it together or punish me for ruining the alliance?”
“You haven’t ruined the alliance yet.” Declan shuffled the papers they’d been going over into a stack. “Falcone is as keen to work together as ever. I imagine he hopes the two of you will sort this out eventually. Which is what I’m also hoping for. I’m sure I could manage to yell at you for something, though. Do you have a preference?”
Aidan snorted and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know what to do if she won’t talk to me.”
“She’ll come around eventually. She’s pissed now, hurt too, but she’s carrying your child, and even I know Viv well enough to know she won’t keep you out of the baby’s life. Give her time.”
“How much time?”
“As much as it takes. Now go home before I really do start yelling.”
Before Declan could change his mind, Aidan shoved off the couch and retreated to Glenmore House. By the look of the driveway, only Brogan and Evie were home, and avoiding them would likely be easy. He’d been on better terms with Brogan the last few days, but it wasn’t perfect, and Evie, well, things would probably always stick a little there.
He’d nearly made it safely to his room when Evie caught him as she left her own. He’d successfully avoided her for the most part since Viv left. He simply didn’t have the energy to get into it with her right now.
“I have something for you if you don’t mind waiting.”
