Chapter Thirty
Aiden
Lyndsey being so vulnerable with me, finally trusting me with what has been holding her down, has sparked something in me.
There have been many half-truths and secrets between the two of us since we met and I would be a hypocrite to let her tell me her truth and hide my own.
Besides, it might make her feel better to know that this wasn’t a terrible thing to me when we woke up in Vegas.
If it wasn’t for her and Kayla’s relationship, we might have been in this place a lot sooner.
Probably not married, but together. A team.
“When I saw the messages, I thought it was something else,” I tell her. We are alone again now. Cassie and her PI left ten minutes ago. It hurt to hear Lyndsey have to repeat it all again but I hope I was bringing her comfort by holding her close.
“What do you mean?” Her voice is tired from her tears but when she looks up at me her eyes are still bright.
“I thought they were trying to hold the fact that you were in a relationship when we got married over your head.” I try to laugh to lighten the mood, but her face sours immediately, cutting off my chuckle.
“What?” She sounds confused and suddenly I feel uncomfortable. I twitch in my seat under her glare. My palms start to sweat and awareness that everything isn’t what it seems creeps to the surface.
“Your girlfriend? Or ex-girlfriend, I guess,” I speak. Her confusion mirrors mine. She knows I don’t care that she has dated women so I don’t know why she would be acting so shocked.
“I haven’t been in a relationship since before Ellis was pregnant. What are you talking about?” She shakes her head lightly, but the blood drains from my face from the shock. I can hear my heartbeat starting to pound.
“Kayla.” Her name is a whisper, as though my throat is closing around the sounds. I force it out anyway and Lyndsey recoils, pulling out of my arms, jumping to her feet before me.
“How the fuck do you know who Kayla is?” she asks, her voice rising in pitch. She starts to pace but I’m stock-still on the sofa. She stares at me expectantly and I know I have to come clean after months of running from her. I know I have to tell her what happened. No matter how ugly it sounds.
I rock back and forth on my feet as I wait for Lyndsey to come out of Bloom and Blossom.
I have no news on my phone about Ellis collapsing but I think that might be a good thing.
If something was wrong with Ellis or the baby I’m sure Liam would have let us know by now, it’s been hours.
I just need to get Lyndsey to Liam’s so I know she can be surrounded by people, I’m sure little Jack will cheer her up.
He has that effect on everyone. Having her break down into tears in my arms flayed me open.
I felt like I wanted to fix it for her but there is only so much a well-placed joke can do.
It’s times like this I wish I was better with words but, unless I’m giving my teammates instructions, I never know what to say.
I watch Lyndsey go into the back of the shop through the windows when a slim woman comes up beside me, trying to edge into the store.
“Sorry, the shop is closed,” I let her know. The way her eyes snap to mine shocks me. There is a lot of anger there. She glares at me for a second but she doesn’t try to go in.
“Who are you?” she snarls. Her thin lips curl up as her eyes scan me from top to bottom. I’m not used to women looking at me with such hatred. Granted, when women look at me a lot of them just see the captain of the Spears and not Aiden. This woman sees an inconvenience.
“Excuse me?” I ask, royally confused.
“Well, you aren’t Ellis or Lyndsey so… who are you?” Her voice is laced with condescension and I’m taken aback. Her caramel short hair seems wild, like it hasn’t been brushed in a few days, and her make-up is slightly smudged, but I can’t tell if it’s intentional.
“Oh, I’m Aiden. I’m a friend of Lyndsey’s.” I feel like a kid being grilled by a parent.
“Oh, you’re my girlfriend’s friend, are you?” the woman growls, and I’m stunned silent.
“Sorry?” My eyebrows furrow, I’m wondering if I heard her wrong, because I can’t believe what’s coming from her mouth. “Your girlfriend?”
“Yes, I’m Kayla.” She rolls her eyes as if it’s supposed to be obvious, but I’m floundering. I know Lyndsey is bi, I also thought I knew she was single. Apparently I’m wrong. “We were on a break, but we are back together now. So, are we going to have a problem?”
“Oh! No!” I try to keep my shock hidden but I do a terrible job.
I’m not the type of man to try and break up a happy couple.
If Lyndsey had told me I would have stopped flirting.
God, I feel like an idiot. No wonder she asked me to stop pursuing her.
“Like I said, I’m just a friend. I’m giving her a lift somewhere after work, that’s all.
” I choose not to mention Ellis. I’m sure Lyndsey will fill her in when she is ready.
It’s not my place to tell her girlfriend what happened.
Kayla scans through the windows but when she doesn’t see Lyndsey she huffs, turning to me.
“Look, I have to go, but remember your place. Friend.” Her words are filled with poison but she’s right. I’ll remember my place. Lyndsey asked me to be her friend. I’ll be her friend.
Kayla tries to bump my shoulder as she walks away, but because of her shorter stature her shoulder digs against my bicep.
She hustles past me, not looking back as she leaves.
A few seconds later the door opens and Lyndsey exits the shop, eyes still downcast. I don’t know how to mention what just happened.
Especially since Kayla is no longer in sight.
Lyndsey doesn’t linger though, as soon as the door is locked and the shutters come down she wanders over to the passenger side of my car.
Now isn’t the time to question her relationship, she has been through enough.
Instead I open the door for her and go back around the front of the car to get in myself.
The drive to Liam’s house is quiet, nothing but the low songs on the radio fill the space.
“What?” Lyndsey’s voice is dangerously low by the time I finish filling her in. Angry and rough, but I know it isn’t directed at me. Well, at least I hope it isn’t. Still, it’s hard to look in her eyes because of the fury looking back at me.
I wish I’d never mentioned anything. Then I’m happy I did. A walking, talking contradiction, because if I hadn’t mentioned it then Lyndsey wouldn’t be so worked up. But if we never had this conversation she would never know the truth. That I never wanted to push her away.
“I’m sorry, I think I’m losing my mind.” She drops back down onto the sofa beside me.
I watch her file through a hundred emotions as I talk. Anger and guilt. I also see her eyes flood with tears when she tells me about how she felt when I kissed her and walked away. No wonder she blocked my number. To her I looked like a giant fuckboy. And she wasn’t wrong.
She has been through a lot today and I can see how much the weight is hurting her but I have to tell her everything. If this is going to work out between us the way I want it to then we need to be more open with each other. Not communicating is what hurt us back then, I won’t let it happen again.
“Wait, why did you think I pulled away from you?” I ask. It hits me now that if she was single the whole time then I all but led her on just to drop her. I need her to tell me how much it hurt so I can make it up to her.
“I thought that me crying on you that day, that being vulnerable with you just turned you off. That’s why I was so confused on New Year’s.” Her skin flushes pink as she talks and a stone settles in my chest.
“Nothing you could do could turn me off, darlin’. You could kick me in the balls and I’d still be crazy about you.” She laughs at that but I mean it. From the first time I met her at Liam and Ellis’ barbeque I have known she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
“Okay, cowboy, that was cute.” She is still laughing but when I pull her against me again, placing a chaste kiss on her smiling lips, she lets out a happy sigh.
“I have to ask. Could it be Kayla blackmailing you?” I can pray it will be this easy but I’m also sure that if Lyndsey suspected her she would have told Cassie when she was here. Still, a man can have hope.
“I thought so at first but the texts are too coherent. Her texts are always just drunk ramblings, plus her family is rich as hell. Ten thousand is a blip to her.” She lets out a bone-deep sigh and I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her tight to my side.
“Jesus.” I laugh, I can’t help it. I do refrain from telling her she has a type for rich people.
That probably wouldn’t make her laugh right now, especially with what she is being called in those disgusting texts, but I do want to make her laugh.
I hate seeing this beat-down version of her.
The Lyndsey I know is filled with fire and sass.
She has been kicked when she was down but she has never let it defeat her. I won’t let it beat her now.
“She comes from some old-money oil family. I just don’t see her being this consistent with it.
” She throws her phone down onto the coffee table, the sound echoes around the room.
I want to get her a new one but when I mentioned it she told me it was no use.
She has already tried so much to remove herself from this nightmare but she tried to do it all alone. Now she has a force behind her.
“I’ll let Cassie know anyway, it’s worth it even if it is just to rule her out.
” I place a light kiss on the crown of her head.
I never want to stop touching her. When I can feel her skin against mine, I know she is safe.
When I kiss her I know she is here with me.
It is selfish but she doesn’t complain as I all but haul her into my lap. Next to me isn’t close enough any more.
“You’re right.” She giggles as she settles her weight on my thighs, but I gasp dramatically at her words.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I need my phone. I need a recording of that. Can you say it again?” I fumble for my phone but Lyndsey just laughs harder, slapping her hand on my chest.
“Oh fuck off, cowboy.” She smiles up at me despite her biting words.
“There’s that smile.” I trace the curve of her bottom lip with my thumb. I want to make her smile like this every day.
We haven’t really discussed what will happen with our marriage now that we are back but I’m not going to ruin the mood by bringing it up now.
The past few days have been heavy for the both of us and I won’t let the blackmailers win by divorcing her now.
I won’t let them believe that they got between us.
At least for now I know I can keep Lyndsey safe by keeping her my wife.
Hopefully by the time I have fixed this she will be ready to accept my love.
Because I do love her. Even with all of this it has not altered my feelings for her.
Quite the opposite: it has made them stronger.
Her strength floors me. If I have my way I can be her soft landing and she will finally start to lean on me as her husband.
I have leaned on her since Pops died but now it is my time to be her rock.
As long as she has my ring on her finger, she will have a support system in me.
Hell, even if she wants a divorce one day I will always only be a call away.
That’s the thing you do for the people you love.