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Her lip trembled from emotion. Despite the sweetness and truth of his words, somehow him falling for her and their time together wasn’t enough to overcome whatever was keeping them apart.
“The problem is when I’m near you, when I touch you … I lose my mind.” He smiled softly, but it was there and gone quick. “I keep excusing my weakness, letting down my guard with you, and I can’t. I cannot do this with you any longer.”
“What do you mean?”
He released the necklace and stepped back. “My path is set. You aren’t part of the plan.” He met her eyes again, but this time his gaze was almost cold. The Bionic Man.
“Not part of the plan?” she repeated. “What plan?”
“My life has a higher purpose. ‘Protect, serve, fight for the innocent, others before self, and never let your guard down.’” He said the words like a mantra. “I made an oath when I turned eighteen to spend my life protecting others and to never let down my emotional barriers and get into a relationship that would only hurt me and my love in the long run. I promised my dad on his death bed. I’m so sorry, Chalisa. I never wanted to toy with your emotions. If I was any other man …”
Her heart thumped slowly inside her constricted chest. She could hardly draw a breath.
“But you’re not,” she whispered.
He shook his head.
There was something final and painful in his eyes. She’d seen this several times when his eyes shuttered. He didn’t think of himself as a soldier who could go home at night to his wife and family. He thought he had to be strong and never let a woman into his heart. A promise to his dad on his deathbed was not something Aiden would take lightly.
Her sister Reagan had promised their dad on his deathbed that she would take care of their mom because she’d dealt with depression. It was part of the reason she and Kingston had such a rough path to being happy and together. When their mom found out, she had been angry that their dad had extracted such a promise and had relieved Reagan of it.
“Is your mom …” She had a sliver of hope that his mom could be appealed to, relieve him of the deathbed promise, whatever that promise might be.
“Murdered when I was five.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” The words were too formal. “Your dad?”
“Died of cancer two years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, love.”
They studied each other. Chalisa had the sinking feeling that all hope was lost. Aiden, the man of her every dream, was right here, but because of an oath to protect and serve and his deathbed promise to his father, they’d never be together.
Aiden cocked an eyebrow and flashed his patented smirk. “Well, love. We’d best get some dinner. Big day for us tomorrow.” He offered his elbow.
“Yes.” She slid her hand through the crook of his elbow. Just touching him affected her, but she had to steel her heart, just as he seemed to be doing.
“Do you want to change your dress?”
“I don’t really care.” She felt numb, disjointed. She wanted to fall into bed and shut the world out, not face a dining room full of curious friends and family and cameras.
“All right. Chin up, love. We’ll get through this.”
He escorted her out of the bathroom and down the hall to the dining room. Chalisa pasted her own smile on. Aiden was strong enough to get through anything, but she didn’t feel strong at all. They weren’t a ‘we.’ They would never be a ‘we.’
She thought she’d hurt the past three months. But knowing that she was special to Aiden, the only woman who’d ever gotten through his armor, he’d fallen for her, and she’d stolen his heart just as he’d stolen hers only made her hurt even deeper.
She knew Aiden well enough to know … he’d never go back on his promise.
His future path was set.
Her future had never looked so bleak and lonely.
Chapter
Eight
