Page 99 of Aiden & Lily

Lily waved him off. “Honestly, I think I’m already up to speed. Aiden has his own struggles he’s trying to work through. He’s not perfect, but he’s getting there. He’s trying. There’s been improvement, you know?” She squinted at him, the gesture making it easier to fight the emotions threatening to break free. “And I think that matters. Seeing where a person started and how far they’ve come. The Aiden I met isn’t the same man I know today.”

Parker nodded slowly.

“But that doesn’t mean I can pretend this didn’t hurt,” Lily added. “I love him. I understand why he was afraid. But he still made choices that damaged my trust.”

He studied her for a moment, clearly surprised. Then he heaved a heavy breath. “That’s really insightful of you.”

She shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I want in a partner. I’m going to pick my battles and go after what makes me happy. But I also need to know the person I love will be honest with me, even when the truth is difficult. But we’re only human. Sometimes we make choices that seem reasonable in the moment, then regret them later. What matters is whether or not we learn from them.”

“And what have you learned?”

Lily leaned back against the door and stared up at the night sky. “I learned that patience is important when you decide to invite someone else into your life. It helps when you care about that person—to have patience, I mean. But patience doesn’t mean ignoring the things that hurt.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

She watched him take in everything she’d said before she asked, “Do you think you’d ever change your mind about wanting a relationship?”

Parker stared down at his hands in his lap. “I’d love to tell you that I could. But to be honest, I’ve been burned. In my experience, the kind of love and affection you and Aiden share doesn’t come around often. Finding something worth fighting for? That’s rare. Not impossible, but some people never find it.”

“That’s sad,” Lily murmured.

“Perhaps,” he agreed. “Which is why I’ve chosen to chase after something I know I have a shot at getting.”

The smile tugging at his lips told her more than he was probably willing to confess. She had a feeling it had somethingto do with starting a family in a less traditional way. But she kept those thoughts to herself.

He rose to his feet and held out a hand. “Would you like to come in and wait with me?”

She shook her head. “Nah. I’ll stay out here. He has to come home sometime, right? And it’s a beautiful evening.”

His hand dropped to his side. “Suit yourself.”

Not even fifteen minutes later, Aiden strode toward the front door, and Lily scrambled to her feet.

“Lily—” he started when he came to a stop in front of her.

She held up a hand. “I have something to say.”

Why was this so hard? It had been so easy when she’d talked to Parker. Because her heart hadn’t been on the line with him.

She had a feeling she knew how Aiden felt. She didn’t doubt his love for her. What she doubted was whether he could keep fighting for what he wanted when fear told him to run.

She wrung her fingers together, then straightened her shoulders. “Aiden, I love you.”

His eyes flared.

“I don’t want to walk away from what we have. But I can’t pretend nothing changed today.”

He remained still.

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,” she continued. “But you did. You kept something important from me even after I asked whether there was anything else I needed to know.”

Aiden’s face tightened.

“I don’t want a break,” Lily said. “And I don’t want to end things. But I need to know that if we keep going, you won’t keep things from me just because you’re afraid of how I’ll react.”

“I won’t.”

“You can’t just promise that because you think it’s what I need to hear.”