Page 6 of Skylar

That was a stab to the heart, but he had thought he was doing the right thing for both of them back then. He’d told himself that they were too young to be tied to each other.

“So if you’re not here for money, why are you here?” Aiden asked, desperate to move forward in this shocking meeting.

The anger slowly faded from Skylar’s face, but it didn’t disappear entirely from her gaze. “She has cancer.”

“Cancer?” Shock greater than any he’d felt so far in this interaction overwhelmed him. Of all the things he’d expected her to say, that hadn’t been it.

“Yes. My mom called me yesterday to let me know about her diagnosis.”

“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why did you hear it from your mom? Is she her doctor?”

Skylar hesitated a moment before she said, “I’m not raising her. I gave her up for adoption. The adoptive parents… contacted my mom about the diagnosis.”

Aiden stared at Skylar for a long moment, trying to piece everything together. “So you kept the pregnancy but not the baby?”

“Yes. I knew that I wasn’t in the position to be a single mother, so I gave her to people I thought would be wonderful parents for her.”

“So, why are you here today?” Aiden was determined to not let Skylar see how all this was impacting him.

“My mom said they need to test you to see if you’re a match for her for a stem cell transplant.”

She said it like there was no way he’d refuse to be tested, and she was right. He wouldn’t. Mainly because his thoughts wentto his niece, Willow. If she needed something from someone in order to live, he would have moved mountains and not accepted no for an answer.

Aiden could see the determination on Skylar’s face, and he knew she felt the same way.

“Just me?” he asked, wanting to know if his family was going to have to get involved too.

Or rather, if he was going to have to reveal to his mom what had happened with Skylar nine years ago. He hoped he didn’t have to because he really didn’t want to see the look of disappointment that would surely appear on his mom’s face when he told her.

“All of my family are going to be tested because even if I’m not a match, it’s possible one of them might be.”

“So, in other words, you want my family involved in this, too.”

She hesitated for a moment, then said, “Yes.”

Aiden pressed his fingers against his temple, trying to quell the pressure that was building there. This was just too much to deal with on top of the stress of his current project.

“I’ll have to have a conversation with them, then let them know.”

Skylar gave him a disgusted look. “As if your mom wouldn’t help someone in need. Especially a child. Andmoreespecially a child who is biologically her granddaughter.”

Aiden had forgotten how well his mom and Skylar had gotten along. His mom had been very upset when she’d learned that they had broken up.

“I haven’t decided yet how I’ll broach this with her,” he said. “Or if I’ll tell her who it is that needs the match.”

Skylar’s perfectly plucked eyebrows drew together for a moment before smoothing out. “You do you.”

The anger finally disappeared completely from Skylar’s face, but Aiden didn’t think for a minute that it was gone. The placid expression had settled back into place, and while there was no anger showing, there was definitely no happiness there either.

It was so wild to see Skylar again. He’d figured that at some point in his life, their paths would cross, given that her brother was his best friend. However, he’d figured it would be at Cole’s wedding or some other event where Cole was present. And that he’d have time to prepare for the encounter. This scenario had never crossed his mind.

“Let me know what you decide,” Skylar said as she got to her feet. She opened her purse and pulled out a small piece of paper, which she set on his desk. “That’s my number.”

Aiden got to his feet as well. He followed her as she turned and walked toward the closed door of his office.

Tyler looked up as they exited the office, his brows lifted, but he didn’t say anything until Skylar had stepped into the elevator.

“Meeting go okay?” he asked as Aiden stood by his desk, staring at the closed elevator door.

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