Page 93 of Not As Advertised

“Hi, sweetheart.” There was that name again. Despite my efforts to be strong, I just melted as warmth surged through me with the affection in his voice.

He took a quick look over his shoulder before removing the mask portion of his costume.

“Sorry to ruin the effect. I just don’t want to get arrested or taken into some interrogation room before I get a chance to say what I came to say to you.”

He chuckled. “I finally convinced the MI6 operative you call one of your best friends to tell me where you were. Part of the plea deal I brokered with Indie was that you would call them right away when I arrived. Can you do that before she reneges on my clemency? I’d hate to see what she’s like when someone crosses her on purpose.”

Looking down at my phone, I pressed Indie’s contact number.

“Hey Abs. You okay? Sorry not sorry to interrupt your reunion moment there, but I couldn’t tell you this until I was sure he’d actually shown up. I’m just going to put you on speaker. Emery, say hi. I’m at her studio at the university while she organizes for next term.”

“Hi,” Emery’s voice called in the background.

“I think I can handle it. Why did you want me to call you? Aiden’s here.”

“I know he is, Abs. Listen, as much as I wanted to unleash hellfire on him, he actually stepped up. For the sake of transparency and all the stuff about being a ‘good person’ or whatever, I need to tell you that he met with the Board at Appeal.”

“What?” I watched Aiden as the horror of that idea sunk in.

“Yeah. I snuck into the meeting. The only thing important to him was that you were okay. And he told them they could fuck off if they didn’t like it. Well, it went something like that anyway.Even though I’m allergic to romance, I have to admit, it was pretty amazing. Make sure he tells you about it, okay?”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.” I kept staring at him as I listened.

“I just wanted you to have all the facts. We’re behind you no matter what you decide to do after you hear him out, remember that. But he’s made a pretty good case, so just listen, okay? Emery, say bye.”

“Bye, Abs! See you in a week!” Emery called out.

“I don’t know what’s going on here. But okay, I will.”

I ended the call and tucked my phone back in my bag.

He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, brushing his lips lightly across my knuckles.

“Just hear me out before you say anything, okay?”

I nodded, still in shock from Indie’s revelation. Why would he have risked his job when he was the one to break up with me to save it in the first place?

“I made an unforgivable mistake. But I’m still going to beg you to forgive me, anyway. I want everything with you, Abbie. A whole life together. Until I met you, I’d only been half alive. I clung to the idea of moving up in my career because it was safe, and I was good at it. I’d prided myself on my ability to take care of problems for my mom and sisters, to protect them from all the terrible stuff we saw growing up. I believed that if I could just get to a point where I was financially secure enough, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”

His gaze swept over my face. The hopeful look in his eyes was heartbreakingly sweet. I couldn’t remember a moment where I’d seen Aiden so unguarded.

Before I could figure out what to say in response, he continued.

“Then all of a sudden, I get that call from Claire about Rennie, who is fine, but it was as if some base part of my braintook over, and I stopped seeing anything clearly. I hadn’t been that scared since we lost my stepfather to a drunk driver. Claire’s call just brought all of those fears back, but this time about losing Rennie. Then, Jack’s call about the rumors at the office lit up a blind panic in me. It turned me into the motherfucking moron that broke up with you.”

He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand absently as he chose his next words.

“I knew right away that I had fucked up so badly. But I couldn’t stop myself from making the worst decisions possible in those moments. Since the second I was able to calm down, I’ve been miserable. I’ve never known real happiness until you came into my life, and parts of me just lit up in ways I didn’t understand. Being around you was addictive, and it was like seeing the world in color for the first time. And I handled it poorly at first. Not that I regret anything we’ve ever shared, but I should have talked to Jack when I felt my resolve to stay away from you wavering.”

“Aiden, it was all so new. That’s too much pressure to put on yourself. We hardly knew each other.”

The emotions that I’d been struggling to contain caused tears to run down my cheeks. The sense of relief I felt knowing he regretted his actions had unlocked the floodgates.

Yes, he had hurt me so badly by breaking things off. But could I really say I would have been able to make the best decisions if I’d been feeling the same level of overwhelming emotions as he had?

I knew a thing or two, or a thousand, about big emotions. Sometimes, they get the better of us, no matter how intelligent or in control we seem.

I could offer him the grace of making mistakes.

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