Page 110 of Skylar

Looking around, Aiden realized that they’d made it back to the house. He led them up the driveway to the side door, then used the code to unlock it.

“Is there something else you’d like to tell us?” Cathy asked as they filed into the kitchen.

Skylar went to the cupboard and got a glass. “What do you mean?”

“You two seem pretty close,” she said. “Have you decided to give things a second chance?”

Aiden caught Skylar’s wide-eyed glance. “We haven’t discussed that. We’ve just decided that having a friendship between us is probably a good thing, especially for Shiloh’s sake.”

“That is a good decision,” Dan said as he took the glass from Skylar and filled it from the water dispenser, then handed it back to her. “But there’s nothing to say God can’t restore what was broken in the past.”

Skylar wrapped both hands around her glass and took a sip, appearing to want to avoid responding to her dad’s suggestion.

“Charli and Blake have successfully put the past behind them and forged a good, strong relationship,” Cathy said.

“Their circumstances were different,” Skylar told her. “And Charli’s story isn’t necessarily going to be mine.”

“True. But it isn’t necessarilynotgoing to be yours either.”

Aiden appreciated knowing that Cathy and Dan would apparently support them rekindling a relationship. However, it didn’t seem that Skylar felt the same way.

He’d never come out and asked her to consider it, though. Maybe they should have a conversation about it.

But did he want to present her with the opportunity to outright refuse to consider a relationship with him?

Aiden understood why she might not want that. He’d hurt her tremendously in the past. It would require forgiveness on her part, and while it was possible she might forgive him, she would never forget.

She owed him nothing.

He owed her everything.

“Well, I think I’m going to go lay down for a little while,” Cathy said. “Will you join me, darling?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Dan said, bending to kiss her temple. “I enjoyed that walk, but I’d like to put my feet up for a bit.”

Aiden watched them disappear down the hallway that led to the bedrooms, then turned his attention to Skylar. She was leaning back against the counter, her glass pressed to her lips. Her gaze was distant, and Aiden wished he could read her mind.

But since her parents had broached the subject, he thought that maybe he could see what she might be thinking. Although did they need the complication of trying to sort things out between them while the situation with Shiloh was up in the air?

Or would it be a good thing to face what was to come as a couple?

“Can I ask you a hypothetical question?”

Skylar’s brown gaze swung his way, her brow furrowed. “What?”

“So, if I were to…” Aiden’s voice trailed off, then he cleared his throat. “If I were to ask you out on a date, is there a chance you’d say yes?”

Her eyes widened, and she lowered the glass, reaching to the side to put it on the counter. “Why is that a hypothetical question? Are you not brave enough to just outright ask me?”

Her question stung because it was true. He’d stupidly thought that asking the way he had would make it easier to put it aside if she said that she wouldn’t consider saying yes.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He paused, then said, “Do you want to continue this discussion or not?”

She considered his question for what felt like an eternity. “You can ask.”

But there was no guarantee she’d say yes. He could tell that by her expression. Was she waiting for her chance to reject him like he’d rejected her?

If so, he could hardly blame her. Maybe she’d been waiting for this opportunity. And he’d give it to her, even if it meant getting hurt by her response.

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