Page 48 of Skylar

Frowning, she looked away. Why would she even think about something like that?

Regardless of how he was now, he’d betrayed her in the past. And he was only back in her life because she’d sought him out for Shiloh’s sake. Not for hers, and certainly not for his.

So there would be no thinking about him like that. None at all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Aiden couldn’t believe that it had worked out for him to spend time with Shiloh. Even though he’d asked Skylar to check with Charli about giving them a break for a couple of hours, he really hadn’t expected her to do it.

But thankfully, she’d spoken to Charli and had shown up herself, even though it had meant spending time with him. And she hadn’t even protested when he’d come bearing the meal he’d remembered as being her favorite from back when they were dating.

As he sat across from her, it became harder and harder to not remember the times they’d sat like that on their numerous dates. They’d often eaten fast food because it was what he could afford at the time on the pay he got from delivering pizzas or from one of the other part-time jobs he’d held.

Her smiles didn’t come as readily, and she didn’t laugh as easily, but she was still just as beautiful as she’d been back then. It surprised him that she didn’t have a boyfriend, because she’d always garnered male attention, even back when they were dating.

But even with all that male attention, she’d never given him any reason to think that he couldn’t trust her. Even after he’d left for college, he hadn’t worried. Unfortunately, he had been nowhere near that trustworthy.

Which was undoubtedly why there was a lot of wariness in her gaze whenever they interacted.

It was his hope that over time, she’d see that she could trust him to be a better man than he’d been nine years ago. He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt Shiloh. Andthough he wished he could play a bigger role in her life, he was going to respect the roles and responsibility Charli and Blake had in Shiloh’s life.

Alongside Skylar’s beauty and wariness was a hardness that might be partly due to becoming an adult and the difficulties that could bring. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that what happened between them and with Shiloh had added to it.

“I think Shiloh is supposed to go home in the next few days, following her last treatment,” Skylar said, her gaze on Shiloh.

“I’m sure she and Charli and Blake are looking forward to that.”

Skylar nodded. “I would imagine so. Although, for me personally, I think I’d find being in the hospital reassuring, to some extent.”

“Yeah. Is there a concern with them being over an hour’s drive from the hospital?”

“I think they might have been more worried if we didn’t have so many medical professionals in the family to help them should something come up.”

“Will they be limiting visitors for her?”

“I don’t know,” Skylar said. “Are you thinking of your mom and Willow?”

“Yes. I know they’d love to meet her, but I don’t want to push.”

“I’m sure Charli understands that,” Skylar said. “And I’m sure that Shiloh would also like to meet them.”

He knew his mom was happy that, after losing two members of their small family, they had added one. Of course, his mom wished the circumstances were different. But at the end of theday, Shiloh was another grandchild for her, and she was thrilled about it.

Charli and Blake ended up coming back before the two hours were up. As soon as they came into the room, they both walked over to Shiloh’s bed. Charli bent to press a kiss to her head.

“How was everything?” Blake asked as they came over to the table. “Did she wake up at all?”

“Yes.” Skylar gave a brief recount of the time they’d been there, including the small amount of food she’d eaten.

“Oh, I’m glad she ate,” Charli said. “Hopefully, her appetite is returning a bit.”

“Aiden brought her some gifts from his mom and Willow,” Skylar said.

“That’s lovely.” Charli took the bag Aiden had picked up and held out to her. “She loves to color and read. Please thank your mom and Willow for us.”

“I’ll pass that on,” Aiden said.

“I know your mom and Willow would like to meet Shiloh,” Charli said. “And Shiloh would definitely like that as well. I’m hoping that once she’s home, we’ll be able to set something up.”

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