They made a quick shopping trip before heading to the cabin, buying things Lily would need for her stay at Aiden’s place—pajamas, toiletries, a couple of changes of clothes, dog food, and enough groceries so they wouldn’t have to venture out unless they felt like it. Aiden splurged on crystal wineglasses. No more plastic cups.
“I’m glad you’re here, but I wish it were under better circumstances,” Aiden said while searching a drawer for a corkscrew. He’d placed a bottle of Cabernet on the counter in front of Lily along with the new glasses.
“None for me, thanks.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, shoulders deflated. “Really? I know it’s kinda early, but I thought you could use a little something to help you relax.”
She drew in a breath and held her thumb and pointer finger out an inch apart. “Very little.”
Aiden carried their wine into the living room. Lily followed and took a seat on one of the couches. He sat beside her but gave her room.
“By the way, thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d gone into the house myself and found it…that way,” Lily said.
He took her hand and she let him. “I’m glad I was there too. But it might be a good idea to invest in an alarm system.”
Lily looked down at Rex sleeping by her feet. “Or a real guard dog.” She laughed, sipped her wine, then leaned back into the softness of the couch. “I’m not going to let the break-in ruin things.”
He tilted his head and looked at her. “Whadda ya mean?”
She took a long breath, then blew it out slowly. “I’ve never been one of those people who saw value in stuff, you know. Never wanted a big fancy house, never drove a status-symbol car—expensive jewelry is wasted on me. All I value is family.” She barked a laugh. “Funny, isn’t it? I’ve got a ton of money and no one to share it with.” Then with a shrug of her shoulders, she continued, “But, like I said, I’m not going to be upset about what happened. It’s only stuff, material things. It can all be replaced. I’m going to change gears and focus on the good. Life has been hell for months now. My sister murdered, me investigated. Finally, I’m in the clear and I haven’t had time to let that sink in.”
“You’re one of those silver lining kinds of people, and I’ve always been a glass-half-empty guy myself.”
She thought about that for a second. They were opposites. She believed in things unseen, an afterlife, fate, karma. Aiden, on the other hand, was pragmatic and practical, logical and analytical. Despite all he’d done to her, she realized he’d done it without really knowing her, and it was nice, no, more than just nice. It had been comforting and a huge relief to have him with her just now at her house, taking care of everything.
He inched over and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you forgive me?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again and sighed. She wanted to forgive him, but was it wise? Would he hurt her again? And there was something else, if she was honest. She wanted to punish him, wanted him to work a bit before she said the words “I forgive you.”
He leaned forward as if to reveal a secret. “I’m willing to try anything to win back your trust…and your heart, that is, if you’d ever given it to me.” He pursed his lips and his brows knit together as he studied her.
Lily turned her gaze to the floor, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes. She had given him her heart and, she knew, he still possessed it. “I opened up to you. Let myself be vulnerable and said things I’d never told anyone, and then I found out it was your job to pretend to like me. How do you think that makes me feel?” She wasn’t angry, not really, not anymore, but she needed to know he understood how he’d made her feel.
He looked contrite. “From the moment we met, I saw something special in you. I had to keep reminding myself to stay professional, not fall for you. That’s never happened to me before. True, when I first took the job, I thought there was a good chance you were guilty, but that was because Wilkins and Deluca had me convinced. Once I got to know you for myself, I…well, I hoped you were innocent because of how I felt about you, but it didn’t take long before I knew you were.”
He lifted her chin with a finger. “Do you forgive me?” he asked again, emotion coloring his words.
What was it about Aiden O’Rourke that melted her defenses? She did forgive him, but still, pride stood in her way. She sipped her wine, emptying the glass. “Maybe I will have a bit more.”
Aiden went quickly to the kitchen, returned with the bottle, and filled her glass. She took a few more sips, wishing the Cabernet would hurry and work its magic. Maybe if the wine carried her away, she’d let her defenses down.
He was looking at her expectantly, and she was all too aware she hadn’t answered his question. Why was she punishing herself as much as she was him?
“Do you believe in fate?” he asked.
“What?”
“Just answer my question.”
She didn’t hesitate. “You know I do.”
“Well, I never did—not until I met you. Despite the circumstances that brought me here to Higgstown and to you, I believe we were meant to meet.”
Could the universe really be so cruel? Taking people away from her only to replace them with someone else? Why couldn’t she have them all at the same time? “Even though we were brought together through tragedy?”
He nodded. “Kinda sucks but yeah. I think so.”
Lily looked at Aiden and her heart set to beating triple time. Right in front of her was a chance at real happiness, at finding love, maybe even having a family again. The realization knocked the air from her lungs. In that moment she wanted to hug him, to cling to him and to say the words, but she couldn’t.