Felicity couldn’t believe it. A billion dollars? Was Aiden kidding? Aiden sat there, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Why wasn’t he answering her? “Did you really sell that thing for a billion dollars?”

“It wasn’t the gadget as much as the technology behind it. The guidance system I created integrates with existing technology in such a way that...” He gave her a sideways glance. “Well, let’s just say it was very valuable to Hathaway Tech Systems.”

Felicity sat there, her head reeling. Aiden had always said what he was working on could set them up for life. She’d never fully understood what that meant. Now, it was beginning to sink in. He was a billionaire. Holy cow.

She studied the look on his face. He was upset she’d brought it up. Why? Surely, he was happy it sold for so much. “You deserve it,” she said.

“What does that mean?”

Why was he getting defensive? “It means, I’m happy for you. You worked long hours on that thing. You deserve the success it brought you.”

“Yeah,” he said. There was a bitter edge to his voice.

“What’s wrong? I’ve made you mad, and I don’t even know what I said.”

He glanced at her, and his gaze softened. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t be upset. It wasn’t your fault.”

“What wasn’t my fault?” She was totally confused now.

“I should’ve told you.” He looked like he wanted to say more, so she waited for him to explain. Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “I was negotiating the sale the day you left.”

Felicity stared at him, the news sinking in. He was supposed to meet her at the courthouse. They were going to elope...but he’d never shown up. “That’s why you didn’t come?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.”

The pain behind his eyes suddenly made sense. He’d done it for her. And she had left him. A lump swelled in her throat. “I didn’t know.”

“You mean, you wouldn’t let me tell you.” The bitterness that tinged his voice made her defensive.

“It wasn’t like that was the first time you’d stood me up.”

“I was working for our—”

“Future. I know.” Felicity rubbed the space between her eyebrows, closing her eyes. “Let’s not talk about this.”

“Right. Because that’s worked so well.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, and he had the decency to look guilty. “Sorry,” he said. “Guess I haven’t worked through all that completely.”

Her own guilt wormed its way into her chest. He wasn’t the only one to blame. She’d been the one to leave and break off all contact. “I’m sorry too.”

He stared straight ahead, his hand clenching the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. “I should have told you about the negotiations. I didn’t realize it would take as long as it did.”

Felicity nodded as more guilt flooded over her. “And I shouldn’t have ignored your phone calls.” She wasn’t willing to admit that leaving had been a bad idea. Aiden spent the entire five years with her breaking dates and making excuses for being late. Him being late for their courthouse elopement had just been the last straw. It wasn’t the real reason she’d left. She’d left because Aiden hadn’t made her a priority in his life.

Aiden took in a deep breath and let it out. “You know, maybe Grams was right.”

“About what?”

“Maybe we did need to talk. I do feel better.”

Felicity felt like garbage, but she pasted on a smile anyway. “Good.”

Aiden slowed his car and turned onto a dirt path. He followed the road until he came to a gravel parking lot situated next to a river. He stopped the car and they got out. A ferry sat in the water by a wooden dock. Aiden walked out on the deck then held his hand out to help her step onto the boat.

She grabbed his hand and immediately regretted it. The same electricity from last night zinged up her arm. The feel of his hand in hers brought back more memories she’d buried, and she quickly let go after stepping down. He seemed flustered as he worked to undo the ropes securing the boat. He’d felt it too. She chastised herself for grabbing onto his hand so quickly.

She snapped a few pictures of the river before Aiden finished preparing the boat. The ferry was clean and looked new. It looked like it held around twenty people; a nice size but not so large to feel impersonal. It had a canopy top to cover them if it rained. There were clouds gathering in the sky, so rain wasn’t out of the question.

Aiden climbed behind the controls. “You’ll get better pictures from up here,” he said, looking back at her.

Felicity stood and slung her backpack over one shoulder. She moved closer to where Aiden would be. “Is this better?” she asked, sitting down.

“Yes.”

She tried to ignore how she could see the muscles in his arms flexing as he worked the controls and steered the boat away from the dock. The last thing she needed to do was start ogling him.

Aiden began telling her about Monkey River, and she relaxed against the seat. There was something about his slight Midwestern accent, the way his voice reminded her of the good times, that was comforting. She allowed herself to enjoy listening to him as she snapped pictures.

The river twisted through the lush jungle. Aiden took the boat at a lazy speed, so she could enjoy the scenery. After a minute, he shut off the engines and pointed. “Look.”

She peered up to where he had indicated. A monkey sat in the tree, silently staring back at her. She raised her camera and snapped a few pictures. A second monkey ran along the tree branch, joining the first. It began picking something out of its neighbor’s hair. Felicity smiled and zoomed in.

“If we keep our eyes peeled, we’ll get to see a lot of different animals today.”

Felicity held back a giggle. “Remember when you took me to the Lincoln Park Zoo?”

Aiden rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched to hide a smile. “You’re not going to bring that up again, are you?”

“It was so funny. You, afraid of a penguin.”

“I thought it was going to peck me or something.”

Felicity laughed, thinking of how Aiden had scrambled to get away from it, and had fallen off the rock he was sitting on. The poor penguin had been more startled than he was.

“Go ahead, laugh,” he said, not trying to hide his smile anymore. “I have dirt on you too, if you remember.”

“Me?” Felicity tried to remember anything embarrassing she’d done at the zoo. “I don’t think so.”

“What about the time we went ice skating?” His face showed his delight as his eyes sparkled at her.

Felicity’s cheeks heated involuntarily. “Oh, my gosh, I told you to never bring that up again.”

He chuckled, the sound rumbling around his chest. “Sorry, it was just too cute.”

Cute. Right. Only the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her. She’d been a senior in high school, and she and Aiden had just started dating. She’d thought ice skating would be fun. Turns out it was humiliating. She’d fallen down and her skates had caught on her jeans pocket, ripping a hole in the seat of her pants. “It was not cute! Those were my favorite jeans.”

“I meant your pink underwear.” He gave her a devilish grin.

Without thinking Felicity jumped up and swatted his shoulder. “You’re so bad.”

Aiden turned the wheel, the boat rocked and Felicity lost her balance. Aiden’s arm shot out and caught her before she fell. She pressed her hand on his chest, her heart going a zillion miles a minute. “Thanks,” she said, her voice sounding breathless.

Aiden didn’t speak. He looked down into her eyes. The moment seemed to stretch out, and she became hyper aware of her body pressed to his. He swallowed and let her go. “Sure.”

Felicity stumbled back to her seat. She turned to look at the river, her fingers trembling. She focused her camera at the trees and snapped some pictures. They weren’t very good. She was shaking. And there really wasn’t anything to take pictures of. She just had to do something to take her mind off the feelings that were swelling in her chest.

They’d had such good times together. She’d stuffed the memories away in her mind. Buried them and not allowed them to surface. But now they were coming back, and so were all the feelings she’d forced herself to forget as well.

Aiden cut the engine. “If you look out the right side over here, you’ll see an egret.” Aiden’s voice was low and husky.

Felicity moved to Aiden’s side of the boat and focused her camera. She took a few shots. “Thanks,” she said, forcing herself to sound nonchalant.

Aiden looked like he wanted to say something, but he just nodded and clenched his teeth. He cranked the engines again, and they made their way down the river.

“Monkey River Village is home to around two hundred people.” He continued his tour script, and Felicity tried to ignore all the crazy things her heart was doing in her chest.

Aiden was a good man. He just threw himself into his work. His work always came first, and she hadn’t been able to accept that. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life as second fiddle. She deserved a man who could put her above everything.

And that’s why she had to start putting up a wall between them. She couldn’t let the old feelings in again. She knew it wouldn’t take much for her to fall back in love with Aiden. He was handsome and charming. And they fit well together. She could already feel herself slipping back. But falling back in love with him would only create more heartache down the road. He was too used to treating her like a doormat.

And she was not willing to spend the rest of her life allowing him to walk all over her.