Page 46 of Skylar

“She looks a lot like you,” Aiden said as he sat down across from her again.

Skylar flicked her gaze in his direction before looking back at Shiloh. “Which means she also looks a lot like Charli. That was why I thought they could get away with not telling people that Shiloh was adopted.”

“Did you really not want Shiloh to know?”

They’d talked about it before, but it was clear that Aiden really had no idea how much she hadn’t wanted that.

“No, I didn’t,” she said. “I didn’t want her to be confused by my presence in her life. Even though they told her she was adopted, I didn’t want her to know I was her birth mom.”

“Was it just for her sake?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, perhaps you didn’t want her to know because it would be easier for you.”

Skylar glared at him, hating that he’d focused in on that. “Her not knowing didn’t mean that I didn’t know. I’d never forget giving birth to her and then giving her away.”

“True. But Shiloh not knowing allowed you to keep your distance from her.”

His words, unfortunately, hit close to home. She hadn’t known how to be around Shiloh and not want to take her into her arms and run away with her. Her emotions had been—and apparently, still were—a mess.

“So you think I didn’t want them to tell her about me because I was selfish?”

“I don’t think that at all,” Aiden said.

Maybe he should, because it was partly true. She’d kept her distance because it was easier for her. Emotionally, she had thought it would be too difficult to be so close to Shiloh. So yes, she’d been selfish in the decision to keep herself apart from Shiloh after the adoption.

She’d been so young—two years younger than Charli had been when she’d had Layla—and she’d feared ruining Shiloh’s life if she tried to raise her on her own. In her mind back then, Charli would be a better mom to Shiloh, and through Blake, Shiloh would also have a father, which she wouldn’t have with Skylar.

Regardless of her motivations for giving Shiloh up, it was clear that she’d made the right decision. Charli and Blake had been better parents to Shiloh than she and Aiden would have ever been, even if they’d stayed together. She was sure of that.

“I know you did what you thought was right,” Aiden said. “And given the circumstances you found yourself in, I can’t blame you for what you did.”

Skylar wanted to be angry at him, but it was getting harder to hold on to the anger she’d had towards him for so long. Shewasn’t sure why, because she didn’t think she could say that she’d forgiven him for how he’d hurt her in the past.

Perhaps it was because she’d been able to vent to him all the hurt and anger she’d carried from what had happened between them.

Aiden sighed. “I’m sorry that my desire to know Shiloh has forced you into a situation you really didn’t want to be in.”

“Three times now you’ve forced me into situations I didn’t want.”

“Three?”

Raising her hand, she lifted her index finger. “First, when you broke up with me. Second, when you told me to get rid of the baby. And third, when you wanted to meet her, when all I wanted from you was a little blood.”

Aiden’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve let you down in a lot of ways, and I’m sorry for that.”

Skylar didn’t want his apologies. Except she kind of did. But what she didn’t want was to talk about the past all over again.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked.

The question had been in her mind since they’d reconnected, and she’d been curious where he was in his personal life. If he did have a girlfriend, did he plan to introduce her to Shiloh?

Skylar didn’t like that idea at all.

“Nope. Ever since my sister passed away, I’ve had other things to focus on.” He hesitated, then said, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

It was weird that not that long ago, she’d had one. It felt like she’d lived a lifetime since the breakup. She hadn’t thought at all about Emmett since the day she’d gotten the call from her mom.

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