Chapter Twenty-Two
EMMA
SNOW DAY
“Emma! Daddy! It’s snowing!”
Hadley flew past me in the kitchen and ran straight out the door.
“You don’t have a coat on!” I cried out, grabbing her coat and gloves as I rushed out after her.
“It’s snowing!” Hadley shouted.
Stopping, I was caught by the sight in front of me. One little girl, spinning in a circle, letting the snowflakes fall on her face. The sight moved me to tears. Hadley looked blissfully happy. I wondered if there was ever a time in my life when I’d felt that joyful. That free.
I walked over to her. “Hadley, sweetheart, at least put your coat on.”
She stopped only long enough to slip her coat and gloves on before she started spinning again.
“Do it, Emma! Spin!”
Peeking back toward the door, I smiled and shrugged. Then I leaned my head back and laughed when I felt the snowflakes landing on my face.
Hadley took my hands, and before I knew it, we were spinning and laughing. I’d never felt so carefree in my entire life. It was a moment I knew I’d never forget.
“Emma.”
His voice warmed my chilled body. Hadley dropped my hands and ran to her father while I attempted to keep myself upright when I realized how dizzy I was.
My eyes met Aiden’s. He smiled, and a rush of tingles ran down my neck and back. A wonderful feeling of warmth settled in my stomach.
With a single brow raised on his handsome face, he said, “You’ll catch a cold out here with no coat.”
I wrapped my arms around my body and followed them back into the house. “It’s normally still warm in Texas in early November.”
Aiden chuckled. “I bet. You’re in Colorado now.”
Smiling at him, I nodded.
Aiden cleared his throat before he and Hadley walked through the kitchen and into the family room.
“After church, you can play in the snow. There will be a lot more on the ground by then. Right now, you need to go up and change,” Aiden said to Hadley.
She nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
She took off like a bolt of lightning and raced through the house and up to her room. Aiden looked over and saw me standing there, smiling at the retreating little girl.
“Thank you for coming over for breakfast,” he said, making his way over to me.
I chewed on my lower lip. The crackle in the air was even more obvious now every time we were in the same room.
I leaned against the wall as he stopped within inches of me. The look in his eyes made my lower stomach clench with a delicious desire I longed to ease.
“I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Me either,” I whispered.
His mouth twitched slightly. “Maybe we should make sleeping upstairs in the loft a normal thing.”
I chuckled. “Hadley would be all for that.”
His eyes turned dark. “So would I.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I started to speak, but Aiden kissed me before I could. He leaned his hands on the wall, dipped his head, and kissed me like he needed that connection, that intimacy, to survive.
My mind went blank. Knees weak. Stomach in knots.
The man could kiss. I’d never been kissed with such passion. I could certainly get used to being greeted like this every single morning.
His arm wrapped around my back, and he pulled me flush against his body. I felt exactly how much he wanted me, and a low moan escaped my throat.
The stomps upstairs brought me back to reality. Then Hadley’s steps coming down the stairs brought Aiden back. He took a step away just in time, before Hadley came rushing into the room. I was breathing like I’d ran up the steps and back down myself.
“Emma, will you please put my hair up?” Hadley asked, holding up a hair tie and ribbon that matched her dress.
“Of course, I will,” I managed to say in a normal voice. Even though I felt far from normal. I peeked at Aiden.
He winked, and that nearly sent me into a full-on meltdown. Was it possible to swoon any harder?
Swoon. God, I’d never swooned before. Not even with Ben when we were dating. He’d never made me feel so…wanted.
I focused the best I could on Hadley’s hair and getting it styled. Just as I finished, the doorbell rang.
“That’ll be my folks.”
Hadley rushed by Aiden to the door. It wasn’t normal for me to be here on a Sunday morning, but Aiden had asked me last night to have breakfast with him and Hadley. He had made scrambled eggs for all of us with fresh-squeezed orange juice…and it was simply the best.
“Good morning!” Patty said as she waltzed into the room.
“Morning,” I said, lifting my hand in a wave. If they were surprised to see me here, they didn’t show it.
“Emma and I will be right behind you guys in a few minutes,” Aiden said before finishing off the last of his orange juice.
That caught the attention of Aiden’s parents. Patty glanced between us and grinned. “Don’t rush. We’re early enough that we may swing through and get a donut.”
Hadley jumped for joy and nearly dragged her grandparents out the door. “Let’s go get a donut!”
The moment the door shut, I started to say something about grabbing my coat, but Aiden’s mouth was already back on mine.
He walked me backward and pressed me against the same wall where we’d stood before.
I melted into the kiss, which wasn’t soft and sweet this time, but hotter and more passionate.
My entire body trembled with such a strong sense of desire, my legs felt moments from giving out.
Then he stopped as quickly as he’d begun, leaning his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry.”
With a smile, I replied, “For what?”
“Kissing you like that. You deserve more than being ravaged.”
I placed my hands on his chest, feeling his muscles flex from my touch. “I rather enjoyed being ravaged.”
He ran his knuckles lightly down the side of my face. “Since the first moment I met you, I’ve been dying to tell you how beautiful you are.”
“Aiden,” I whispered.
“You are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and you’ve made a part of my heart come to life that I never even knew existed before you.”
I swallowed hard and looked down.
“Emma, I’m not saying this because I want something from you. I’m saying it because it’s true. I’m just tired of hiding it.”
“I’m tired of hiding my feelings for you as well.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve never felt like this before.”
Smiling, I said, “I have feelings for you I’ve never experienced before either.”
“Not even with your husband?”
My heart sped up, and I wasn’t sure how much I was ready to tell Aiden about Ben. I knew I wanted to tell him everything, but what would he think of a woman who’d stayed in such a toxic relationship for so long? A woman who’d had the kind of thoughts I’d had about Ben.
“You said you’d fallen out of love with Lisa, but you still cared for her, loved her enough to take care of her through her sickness.”
“Yes, I did.”
I pressed my lips together tightly and took a slow, deep breath before letting it out. “I thought I loved Ben. At least, I was in love with him when we married, but that love quickly turned to something far more powerful and darker.”
His brows drew in as he gave me a befuddled look.
“I hated him, Aiden. With everything in me. There were moments in our marriage when I wished him…gone. It was a very toxic relationship, and when I look back, I…”
My voice cracked and he reached for me. His finger went to my chin, and he gently moved my gaze to meet his.
“You what?”
A single tear slipped free and moved down my cheek. “I prayed he would die. So I could be set free, because I wasn’t strong enough to leave myself. I’m sorry if that makes you think differently of me.”
Aiden cupped my face in his hands and pressed his mouth to mine. The kiss was soft and sweet. “Shh. Don’t say that. Please don’t even think it. I would never judge you for that, Emma.”
A sob slipped free, and I fought to keep control of my emotions. “You don’t know what I did! I lied to my husband for years so I wouldn’t be able to have a child with him. I lived a lie!”
He wiped the tears away and kissed my forehead. “We don’t have to talk about this now, Emma. When you’re ready, I’m here to listen.”
I nodded, and a part of me wanted to open up and tell Aiden right this second. Another part of me wanted to pretend that period of my life never happened. That the only thing that mattered in the world was the two of us, in this moment.
“I do want to tell you everything, Aiden.”
He smiled softly. “Only when you’re ready, okay?”
I nodded. “Soon. I don’t want us starting a relationship with old wounds still open and secrets between us.”
He smiled. “Fair enough. You okay?”
Clearing my throat, I replied, “Yes, I’m sorry.”
He leaned down and kissed me once more. “You have nothing to apologize for, so stop saying sorry, okay? Or I’ll have to keep kissing you to keep you from saying that word.”
“I rather enjoy your kisses,” I said with a chuckle.
“Good, because I like giving them to you.”
Aiden reached for his truck keys and then laced his fingers in mine. “Let’s go before my mother thinks we stayed behind to fool around.”
I chewed on my lip, not ready to admit to him that I wanted to do just that.
I knew Aiden was too much of a gentleman, but a big part of me wanted more than one ravaging kiss.
The need to have his hands on my body threatened to drive me mad.
The intensity was surprising to me. I’d thought I wanted nothing to do with men, at least not for a long while.
For so many years, the idea of Ben touching me had made me sick to my stomach.
Everything with Aiden was so completely different.
Aiden silently guided us out of the house and to his truck. I had a feeling he wanted more than a kiss as well, but we both knew we needed to move slowly. I wanted this to work between us, and it would take time for both of us to trust what we were feeling.
Once we reached the church, we’d both relaxed a bit more.
It was obvious we were both struggling with our pasts and the intense feelings we felt for one another.
Aiden was feeling guilty for moving on, for feeling things for me that he’d never felt with Lisa.
And I was scared to death that my past would make Aiden rethink a relationship with me.
Would he want a woman in his daughter’s life who’d stayed with a monster for ten years?
I knew it was ridiculous to think that way, but old fears were hard to get over.
As we walked into the church, an older woman I’d never seen before stepped into our path. “Good morning, Aiden.”
I instantly felt Aiden stiffen next to me. “Good morning, Meg.”
Her eyes moved to me. “The two of you arrived together, so I’m assuming the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?” I asked, looking at Aiden then back to the woman. “I’m sorry, have we met before?” I asked, extending my hand to the stranger.
“No, you haven’t,” Aiden said, in a voice that was distant and cold. He placed his hand on the small of my back and started to walk around the woman, but she stepped closer to me.
“I’ve heard nothing but nice things about you…Emma, is it?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, you are?”
“Meg Walker.”
“Meg here was just leaving, weren’t you?” Aiden said. This time he leveled a look at the woman that made my body tremble. Whoever Meg was, Aiden wasn’t fond of her.
Her face turned cold and devoid of all emotion. “I want to see my granddaughter, Aiden.”
My eyes widened and I snapped my gaze back to the woman as her words made her identity clear. Meg was Lisa’s mother.
“Do not do this here, Meg. You made your choice long ago, and you’ve lost the privilege of seeing Hadley. I suggest you leave now before I call someone to have you removed.”
Her chin lifted, and she attempted to look unaffected by Aiden’s threat. Then she focused back on me. “He’ll get bored with you too, just like he did my poor daughter. He’s not the man you think he is.”
An instinct to defend Aiden hit me hard in the chest, and I started to respond, but Aiden spoke first.
“Meg,” he said, taking a step closer to her. “Leave, right now.”
She shot him a dirty look then rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m going.”
With one more quick look in my direction, she flashed me a nasty smile and then turned and walked out of the church.
Aiden sighed. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I can’t believe she actually showed up at church and tried to make a scene. If we hadn’t come in late, a lot more people would have seen that.”
I took his hand in mine. “It’s fine. Please don’t let her ruin what has started out to be an amazing day.”
With a smile that made my stomach flip, Aiden stared at me. “You’re truly a breath of fresh air, Emma.”
I shrugged. “I try. We better get in before the service starts.”
When Aiden kept a tight grip on my hand and crossed the nave, I tried not to let it show how shocked I was. He was about to make a statement—one I wasn’t sure he was ready to make. I hesitated for a moment, my feet halting, and he looked back at me and winked.
“Aiden, I’m not sure we should…”
My voice faded when he turned back to me and took a step closer. His gaze pierced mine, and I was suddenly filled with something I hadn’t felt since my dad left me all those years ago.
Trust.
I trusted Aiden…and I trusted my heart with him.
“I want people to know how I feel about you, Emma. But if you’re not ready, we can wait.”
My gaze still locked on his, I felt a sense of peace move over me. For the first time in years, I felt like I could breathe fully. “I want them to know too…but shouldn’t we tell Hadley first?”
“After church, while you go to the circle, I’ll talk to her. Then we can talk to her together. Sound good?”
I giggled like a little girl. “It sounds amazing.”
A brilliant smile broke out on Aiden’s face. Then he laced his fingers in mine and we walked into the church together.
Quickly, we made our way to the familiar pew we sat in each Sunday. I didn’t dare look around, but when we slipped into the pew and Hadley jumped up to sit between the two of us, it all felt so right.
I snuck a quick peek at Patty to my left, and she smiled warmly at me. Then she leaned in and whispered, “It’s about time.”
I felt my body relax as I returned her smile—until her grin turned mischievous. “Wait until the circle finds out!”