Chapter Fourteen

“You kept that?” Aiden asks when I set up the star projector he gave me long ago. I placed blankets and pillows on the floor like we used to when we were young, only now I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to snuggle up to him and watch the fake stars shoot across my ceiling. Heavens what was I thinking? We used to do this with every intention of watching the stars, but we always ended up kissing instead.

“Of course, I did. I love it,” I admit, not missing the faint smile that tugs at his lips.

I position it properly and turn it on, then flip the light switch off and lay down, second guessing myself the entire time. He lays beside me, both of us staring at the ceiling in silence for a long while. It’s nice this way. I can let my mind relax and be free without having to force fears and bad thoughts from intruding on my sanity. It’s so quiet, I think maybe Aiden has fallen asleep beside me, but a quick glance toward him proves he’s merely concentrating on the stars.

Finally, he turns his head to face me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I did you wrong, and now you’re paying for it. I tried to do right by you but in the end, I wronged you more than your father did.”

Did he? Truly? No, it was always my father’s fault. I can’t put the blame on Aiden. We were both still too young to realize we could walk away and survive it if we presented as a united front. We could have told my father to shove it and ran together, but we both made mistakes. Now we have to suffer through them.

“I know. I’m sorry too.”

He huffs. “For what?”

“For not chasing you down sooner.”

His hand slips over mine and I let him lace our fingers together.

“I’ll do anything to make it up to you, Birdie, and I’m willing to wait forever for you. I want you as much now as I did then, only now I’m man enough to stand up and fight for you.”

I don’t mean to, but I giggle. All I can think about is the time he got into a fistfight with Conor Marsh when he asked me out right in front of Aiden. Words were exchanged, and before I knew it, Aiden’s hot Irish blood had boiled over and Conor learned a valuable lesson in the meaning of the word no.

“She laughs at my pain,” he says, but his lips are drawn into a smile.

I giggle harder and swat his shoulder. “Remember when you beat up Conor Marsh?”

His deep, glorious laughter joins mine and before I know it, we’re walking down memory lane together. More than an hour passes as we reminisce, taking me back to a time when all I wanted was to move into his house with him and his sweet family. His mother treated me like her own daughter, and his father was more of a man than mine could ever hope to be. My heart pinches and I wish I could see his father one last time, even if it’s only to say goodbye.

When Aiden claims he purposely tripped to get a laugh at graduation, I have to call him on it.

“No, you didn’t. You’re crazy,” I say, laughing at his rendition of what happened. “You tripped and almost fell flat on your face. Don’t pretend it was on purpose.”

“All right, ya got me, love. I stepped on my gown and almost fell, but everyone got a nice laugh over the dance I did trying to catch myself.”

“Oh, you.” I nudge him with my elbow and refocus on the ceiling. A star shoots across it and I follow it with my gaze.

Silence falls between us and for the first time, I don’t feel the need to fill it up with conversation about our past. We’ve been over it all, reminisced until our stomachs ached from laughter. We’ve caught up to present time, and a little nervous energy rattles my stomach. Most women might hate him for what he did, and maybe I should be angry, but I can’t bring myself to feel anything but the same love I felt back then. It isn’t dusty anymore, not like I thought. Maybe that was a lie to protect my heart from being broken, but I get the feeling that I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Aiden is a man who learns from his mistakes and won’t make the same one again.

His fingers brush over mine as we lay side by side, still watching the galaxy pass overhead. He rolls his head to settle beside mine and sighs. I know that sigh. He’s content and happy.

“Birdie?” he whispers, squeezing my hand.

“Hmm?”

“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you sitting like a good little lass in the front row of that math class. That never changed, not even a fraction. I know you’ve been beaten to a bloody pulp inside, but you have to know that I love you and need you more than my next breath. I’ll regret what I did until the day I die.”

We’ve been over this more than once, but the wistful tone to his voice says he can’t believe I’m real and willingly sitting with him. I shift and turn my head to face him. The move brushes our noses against one another and a flood of warmth fills me. Love surges through every part of me from my head to my toes, and I can’t stop the overwhelming sense of home that cradles me in an invisible embrace.

Not just home, but a safe home.

“I know,” I whisper.

“Can you forgive me? Can I make this right between us?” His breath warms my face, offering a sweet calmness I haven’t felt in ages.

I can only muster a small nod. My stomach swoops and my heart swells. I’m so close to having every perfect thing in my life, and all I need is his lips on mine to seal the deal. We can’t go back, can’t pick up where we left off, but maybe we can bridge the gap and move forward.

He closes his eyes and breathes me in but doesn’t close that last centimeter between us. He won’t. My Ace never made the first move back then, and he won’t now. I doubt it’s for the same reason because it seems his confidence now knows no bounds. It’s respect. Patience. Waiting for me to be ready instead of bulldozing into my world, taking command like every other man in my life has done for years.

“Ace?” My voice is so breathy, it’s barely audible.

“Yes, Birdie?”

“Kiss me.”

Aiden buries his hand in my hair and pulls me against his chest, pressing his lips to mine without further convincing. He’s desperate, and it shows in the frantic pace of his kiss. But he’s also cherishing every second of contact between us, holding fast to me as if I am a lifeline and he didn’t know he was drowning until our lips met.

He sits and pulls me up with him, but there’s barely time for air before he lifts me onto the sofa and claims my lips in another fiery kiss. With my back pressed against the sofa cushion, he sits beside me, never letting us part for a moment.

It’s the same as I remember but better somehow. Every hurt and moment of misery I’ve endured since he’s been gone washes away as Aiden Doyle reclaims me as his own. He plants scorching kisses down my neck until his head is buried in my shoulder and the scent of his shampoo invades my senses. Now I’m the one drowning, but I’d rather die in this moment with him than ever take another breath of oxygen without him.

“Ace,” I whisper, pulling him closer. He buries his head deeper into the crook of my neck, but he doesn’t kiss me. Holding fast, his body shudders. “Ace? What is it?”

Aiden pulls back, bracing himself over me. The muscles in his forearms bulge with strength, reminding me he isn’t exactly the same man he was back then. He’s stronger. More determined. And he’s crying. Stray tears slip over his cheeks and disappear into his beard.

“Ace?” My heart pauses as fear seeps in.

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness, Birdie. I don’t deserve this with you.”

I shake my head and pull myself up so he can sit comfortably beside me. “Don’t do that. Don’t doubt me, please.”

“Birdie,” he says, his accent thicker. “Make no mistake. I want you. I’m wrapped around your finger as much now as I was then, more even, but is this what you truly want?”

“It is.” My heart aches at the pain I find in his gaze. Maybe the reason I never hated him was because he hates himself enough for the both of us. Denial, regret, even fear fill his expression as he looks back at me. It’s like a knife slicing my heart. “Ace, I love you. Never stopped, never will stop. I want to be yours.”

“You’ve had a rough evening. I don’t want you saying and doing things you’ll regret later.” He grumbles and shifts on the sofa, reaching for the light on the side table. Once it flickers on, I squint and rush to brush the hair from my face.

Now I’m annoyed. “Listen, I need men to stop making decisions for me, starting with you.” I huff and lean over him, click the lamp back off, and yank him forward. My lips crash onto his again and all of my frustrations seep from my body, through this kiss. Aiden doesn’t hesitate. He buries his hands in my hair, deepening the kiss.

And another light flickers on, this time in the entryway.

“Oh, um…Maybe I should have called first,” April says.

Aiden and I break apart so fast, he almost knocks my lamp onto the floor. I cover my burning cheeks with both hands while he runs his hands through his hair, composing himself.

“Well, glad to see you two worked everything out. That is what I walked in on, yes?” April asks, her cheeks full with a wide smile.

“Shut up,” I say and throw my remote control at her.

She dodges it and chuckles. “Listen, all joking aside, I’m glad you two are working through this, but we have a small problem. After you left, Stephen returned with this.” April lays a stack of papers on the coffee table. “It turns out that old guy, Ivan, is a retired attorney. He wants you to meet him at the tavern in the morning to talk about this.”

“What is it?” I ask, picking it up, my mind still blurry from kissing Aiden.

“The contract between Stephen and your father. It’s more complicated than we thought.” April frowns.

My eyes land on a highlighted line. “He can sue me if I don’t marry him? What?”

Aiden growls but says nothing more.

“Ivan says he can help. We’re supposed to meet him at eight.” April’s gaze shifts to Aiden. “Can you stay on the sofa tonight? I’m a little worried he might show up here again. He was more than angry to find out you left with Aiden.”

Aiden crosses his arms and settles in. “I’m not going anywhere, and tomorrow morning we’re getting her out of that contract if I have to pull every penny I own from savings to do it.”