Page 100 of Aiden & Lily

“I’m not.” His voice broke. “I see now that I never should have kept things from you.”

Lily swallowed.

“I should have let you decide for yourself if you wanted to keep seeing me after finding out the truth,” he continued. “I know that now. And I’m sorry.”

Some of the tightness in her chest eased.

Lily took a step toward him and reached for his free hand. She laced her fingers through his. “When I was younger, I was far too trusting. I’d give everyone the benefit of the doubt even when there were warning signs. I had my heart and trust broken over and over. It really hurts to be burned like that. So as I got older, I told myself that I wouldn’t blindly trust anyone. Not ever.” She gave him a pained smile. “But then I met you and I—I can’t explain it. My heart won’t let me toss aside what I feel for you. I’m probably going crazy.”

He squeezed her hand. “You’re not going crazy.” Aiden shook his head. “I should have been upfront with you from the start. I let my fears take hold and…”

“We’ve already gone over the whys, you don’t have to explain anymore. The point of what I’m trying to say is that I still love you. I still want you in my life. And not only that, but I want you to trust me. I want you to feel safe coming to me with anything that’s bothering you. I may not always react the way you hope, but I need you to trust me with the truth anyway. We can work through anything if we just allow ourselves to open that part of our hearts to each other.”

“I like that,” he admitted quietly. “And I do trust you.” He shut his eyes tight and exhaled with what seemed like great effort. “I’m never going to take your trust for granted. I promise you that much.” He peeked at her. “Are you sure you can put your faith in me again? I don’t expect you to trust me as much as you did before.”

Lily considered him, heard the sorrow in his voice. Her empathy for his situation hadn’t wavered. “You’re probably right. It’s going to be a little difficult to get to that stage again, but not impossible. The more honest you are with me, the better things will get.”

Relief washed over him. “I don’t deserve you.”

She placed a hand to his face, her thumb tracing across his cheekbone. “This isn’t about deserving me. It’s about what we choose to do from here.”

He leaned into her touch. “I choose to do whatever it takes for us to stay together. You make me happy, Lily.”

“You make me happy, too,” she whispered back.

“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I want to believe that,” she murmured. “And I think, with time, I will.” She tugged on his hand, and they both lowered to the front step. “You can start by telling me everything about you.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Everything?”

Once again, Lily tightened her fingers around his. She studied their interlocked hands and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. “Everything.”

The silence that stretched between them had become just as comfortable as it had been when she’d sat with Parker. But there was a hum of energy that had been absent when she’d sat with Aiden’s brother. This string of electricity tethered her to the man at her side. It made her feel like she’d finally come home. She’d never felt this connection with anyone before now.

Aiden released a soft sigh and rested his cheek against the top of her head. “Did I ever tell you how I met Reese?”

She smiled, but didn’t move to look up at him. “Obviously not.”

“Obviously.” He chuckled again. There was an ease about him that hadn’t been there in a long while.

She drank it in as she listened to him recount the days of his youth and how Reese had saved him from a couple of bullies when they were only ten years old. This was why she’d come to his place tonight. Not because what he’d done no longer mattered, but because moments like this reminded her why she wanted to try. What they shared was worth protecting, as long as they both treated it that way. Time would tell.

29

AIDEN

A FEW MONTHS LATER

Aiden adjusted the collar of his button-up shirt and stared up at the large imposing house.

Why did it look so much scarier now that he had to go inside to meet with Lily’s father? Yesterday, he couldn’t wait to walk through that door to see the girl of his dreams.

But now?

He rubbed his clammy hands on his pants.

Mathew had been pushing him to get this conversation over with for a week already. Aiden knew he wasn’t going to ask for Lily’s hand without her father’s blessing, so he was ready to get this part done.