Page 88 of Aiden & Lily

Lily drew in a shaky breath, dragging in the oxygen she’d deprived herself of.

It felt good to know that Aiden still wanted her. He was struggling, but he knew he’d made a mistake and he’d finally told her the truth. In a way, she could understand why he kept everything from her. But it still didn’t make it right.

“Is there anything else?” she asked.

Aiden shook his head. “No. That’s everything.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.” His voice strengthened. “No more half-truths. You know all of it now. And it feels good to have it all out in the open.”

Lily studied him, trying to decide whether she could trust the answer.

“I took advantage of your trust,” he said. “I know that. And I don’t expect you to forgive me just because I’m sorry or because I love you.”

His throat worked as he swallowed.

“But I am sorry. And if you give me another chance, I’ll spend however long it takes proving I can be honest with you.”

“Lils!” Reese called from the porch.

Both of them turned. Aiden stepped back. The retreat cut through her more sharply than she expected.

“You should go,” he murmured. “This is your party. Your guests are waiting.”

“I don’t care about the party right now.”

“I do.” His voice softened. “I’ve already ruined enough of your birthday.”

Reese called her name again.

Lily glanced toward the house. “One second.”

When she turned back, Aiden was already moving toward the side yard.

“Aiden.”

He stopped.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

His shoulders rose with a slow breath. “Okay.”

She wanted him to turn around. To come back. To prove he would stay even when things were painful. But he didn’t.

Lily bit back a cry of frustration and headed toward the porch. Reese stood at the top of the steps, concern etched across his face.

“Lils—”

Lily held a hand up to stop him. “I’m not in the mood for a talk, Reese.” She didn’t blame Reese for what had happened. His views and her own might have frightened Aiden, but the choice to keep lying had still been his. Anything Reese might say would only make things worse. While her instincts were screaming at her to walk away, she simply couldn’t.

“Lily,” Reese tried again, this time reaching for her hand.

She froze and stared down at their hands. Then she gently eased her hand out of his. “What?”

“We should probably talk…”

Lily clasped her hands together tightly. “I don’t think we should. Not until Aiden and I work out what’s going on. And please don’t follow him.”