Page 51 of Skylar

There was a beat of silence before Cole said, “Do you wish that she didn’t feel that way?”

“Well, no one wants someone to dislike them, even if they do deserve it,” Aiden told him. “And it would make things easier, for Shiloh’s sake, if we got along.”

“That would be true if you were actually co-parenting, but you’re not. You don’t have to spend time with Shiloh together,” Cole said. “Unless that’s what you want.”

Aiden realized that hedidwant that.

“Dude…” Cole said when he didn’t answer right away. “Don’t tell me you think you have a second chance with Skylar. I hate to tell you that I’m not sure that’s even remotely possible.”

“I understand that.” Unfortunate, but true. “But if we could at least be friends again, I think it would be the best thing all around. It’s not going to be good for Shiloh if she thinks her birth parents hate each other or can’t get along.”

“I wish you the best of luck with that,” Cole said. “Truly I do, but you hurt Skylar pretty badly.”

Aiden slumped forward in his seat. “I am aware of that. I just want to know if there’sanythingI can do to help make it easier for her to get along with me.”

“I have a feeling she’d say you staying away from her would help her get along with you.”

Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but completely understandable. “Don’t suppose you’d care to go to bat for me.”

“You want me to play matchmaker?” Cole asked, skepticism heavy in his voice.

“No. Not a matchmaker. Just maybe help her to see that a friendship between us isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’m not even asking for us to be best friends. Just… friends.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Cole said. “But I make no promises.”

“Any chance you’re going to come home anytime soon?”

“Serenity isn’t home to me anymore, bro,” Cole said.

“You know what I mean. Family is home for us, regardless of where we might actually live.”

“I am kind of curious about everything going on with the family at the moment,” Cole said. “And you’re not the only one trying to get me back to Serenity.”

“Who else?”

“Jay and Will have both told me I should come home for a bit. Maybe get myself tested for Shiloh.”

“That’s an excellent reason for you to come back,” Aiden said.

“Yes, it is,” Cole agreed. “I’ll see.”

Conversation moved—as it often did with them—to basketball. It was the off-season, so Cole wasn’t actively practicing, but he was never one to slack, even then.

It was hard to believe that he’d been playing pro for almost six years already. They’d both ended up with the careers they’d hoped for.

Early on in his teen years, Aiden had thought that he wanted to play pro as well. However, it soon became clear that he could never play at the level Cole did.

Aiden had been good, but Cole had been amazing. So by the time he made it to college, Aiden had known he needed another career path. Which was how he’d ended up in architecture, and he was happy with that.

By the time their call ended, Aiden thought maybe he had a chance of Cole helping him with Skylar.

But he could also help himself by going places where she might be, to see if she could get used to him being around, even in just a peripheral way.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Skylar looked out at the manicured yard and the woods beyond it as she sat on the back deck, her leg propped up on a chair in front of her. It was a lovely warm, sunny day, but the most she could do to enjoy it was to sit outside and stare at the nature that surrounded her parents’ home.

The alternative was to be sitting in her apartment in Vegas. Which wasn’t a bad alternative, necessarily. But her view there certainly wasn’t as nice as the one she was currently enjoying.

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