Chapter 6
Aidan turned his wine glass slowly, watching the light refract through the burgundy depths. “You ever feel like you’re sleepwalking through your own life? Like you’re successful at something you never actually chose?”
“Every day for thirteen years.”
“Ten years ago, I came back from Denver with a business degree and a plan. The garage was practical, profitable, needed. I was good at it—the business side, anyway. Good with customers, good with numbers, good at the performance of being Aidan O’Hara, local boy made good.
” He paused, his eyes finding hers across the candlelight.
“But watching you work, seeing how you approach restoration like it’s sacred—it reminded me there’s a difference between being successful and being alive. ”
“What changed?”
“That racing team offer I turned down eight years ago—I told everyone it was because of Dad’s heart attack, and that was true. But it was also because I was scared. Scared of failing at something that mattered instead of succeeding at something safe.”
“And now?”