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“Good riddance,” he muttered as he punched his pillow and turned over.
But even as the words left his lips, he knew he didn’t mean them.
The time spent with her had been a gift, and he’d do it all over again, in spite of the pain.
**
His first day back, Aiden went to great lengths not to be an asshole to everyone, even though he’d wanted to snap at every fucking moron working at the hospital.
Which, apparently, there was a steady supply of.
He found the smartest place to spend his time after his last patient would be in his office, away from people, catching up on reports. That way, there was much less chance of him biting someone’s head off and getting called into the chief of staff, Parker Preston’s office.
“Knock knock,” came a voice from his doorway. He looked up to find James Rudolf standing at the threshold.
“Hey, James. What’s up?”
His friend walked in and sat down in the chair across from him, then slid a beige linen envelope across the desk. Aiden glanced down to see his name in calligraphy writing, alongside Dakota’s.
Seeing her name next to his felt like a punch to the stomach.
“What’s this?” he asked as he turned it over and slid his index finger under the wax seal.
“My wedding invitation. I know it’s last minute, but I wanted to seal the deal as soon as possible.”
Aiden let out a chuckle. “That’s probably smart.”
He pulled out the invitation and glanced at the date written on it—January sixteenth. He also noticed it was being held at the Dragonfly Inn. He didn’t know if he could bring himself to go there again. At least not this soon.
“Well, a couple of things… Dakota and I broke up, so we wouldn’t be attending together.”
James pulled a pen from his pocket, reached across the desk for the envelope, and proceeded to cross her name off and write, “and Guest.” He had doctor’s penmanship, so his writing was vastly different than the flowing calligraphy.
The symbolism of crossing her name off hurt almost as much as it had seeing it next to his.
“There, problem solved,” James said as he handed him back the envelope.
Aiden took it back without a glance and continued, “And the second thing is I just spent the last week drunk and off work, so I don’t know if I can request another day so soon.”
“Well, the good news is since it’s such short notice, we’re not asking anyone to RSVP. If you can make it, cool. If not, we’ll understand.” James stood but paused before leaving. “But I really hope you can make it. It’d mean a lot to us.”
James had been a good friend; Aiden needed to be there to celebrate with him.
“I’ll try my best.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Aiden
The night of January fifteenth arrived, and Aiden stood in his closet, looking at suits while deciding if he was going to James and Yvette’s reception the following day.
He had to work so he wouldn’t make the wedding ceremony, but he was scheduled to get off early enough that he could still make the reception.
But the thought of being at the Dragonfly again filled his gut with a sense of dread. It was where he and Dakota had their first getaway together. And where they’d ended things. Talk about a dichotomy of memories.
Oh, for Chrissake, Aiden. You really only dated her for three months; man the fuck up. You survived your sixteen-year marriage imploding, this is nothing. Get over it, dude, and be a fucking friend, already.
He pulled the hanger that held his black suit and put it in his garment bag. Then he took the new tie he’d gotten from Kailey at Christmas from his tie rack and placed it in the bag, along with a white dress shirt, black dress socks, and black dress shoes.
