Chapter 28
LILY
Lily should have waited until Aiden answered her calls.
When Mathew left suddenly, she’d been curious. Then River told her that he’d been called into work. There had been an accident, and several patients were being transferred to their local emergency room. The chances were high that Aiden would be called in as well.
To her credit, she didn’t call him for a couple of hours. She didn’t know how long his shift would be, and she didn’t want to distract him at work if he managed to have his phone on him.
But at the same time, she needed him to know they had a conversation to finish.
Why did his phone have to be dead?
The few times she tried calling, it went straight to voicemail, and if she were honest, that only made her nerves climb higher.
That was why she found herself sitting in the dark in front of Aiden’s place. She’d been there for an hour and had nearly given up waiting when she saw headlights approaching.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Aiden.
Parker stopped short when he saw her. His brows furrowed. “You okay?”
She nodded, not sure how much Aiden might have told his brother. Lily might love hearing all the gossip going on in town, but she certainly didn’t like it when her dirty laundry was aired for anyone to hear. Perhaps that was something she needed to work on.
Parker settled beside her, and she gaped at him.
He was dressed nicely—like he’d just been on a date.
She’d never seen him wearing a suit before.
The tie around his neck was pulled loose, and he tugged at it to loosen it further.
He eyed her for a long moment, then sighed. “What did he do this time?”
She barked out a laugh. “What makes you think he’s the one who did something? What if I’m the one to blame?”
He arched a brow at her. “Are you?”
She didn’t answer, merely placed her hands between her knees and stared out at the road.
“That’s what I thought.”
They were quiet again. It was nice—something she hadn’t expected. He didn’t push her. He didn’t demand to know why she was waiting or if she’d tried calling Aiden. He just sat.
Lily turned to face him. “Do you like my sister?”
His whole body tightened. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his skin paled considerably. “I…what…huh?”
She laughed, turning her focus to the dark road again. “Just curious.”
“And?”
“And I’d say that’s a yes.”
Parker snorted out a laugh of disbelief. “I like your sister as much as I like you. How about that?”
Scrunching up her nose, Lily thought about it for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Nope. I don’t buy it.”
He chuckled again. “How about we move this party inside and wait for him there? I assume you tried calling?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I think his phone is dead.”
“Hmm.”
Cutting him a quick look, she frowned. “Hmm? What’s that? What’s hmm?”
He smiled, but not at her directly. “So, are you going to come inside?”
“Pass.”
Parker sighed.
Once again, they were left to their quiet thoughts. She didn’t mind his company. Not when she didn’t feel like he was trying to figure her out. Perhaps that was what he liked as well.
“You know,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “He loves you.”
A knowing smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, I believe he does.”
“You make him really happy. I don’t think I’ve seen him behave like this with anyone. Ever.”
This time she snickered. “You mean keeping secrets from people purely out of self-preservation?”
Parker winced. “Yeah, I suppose so.” He blew out a breath and faced her fully. “It’s not an excuse. I want to preface what I’m going to say next with that. I want you to know I never condoned him keeping anything from you, but perhaps I can help you understand.”
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 something to 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.”
“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.