Page 63 of Skylar

Given what she’d been thinking about right before he set the ice cream down in front of her, she should probably not indulge. But… “Thank you. I do still like all of this.”

Aiden flashed her a grin that was so familiar that it hurt her heart. “You’re welcome.”

Skylar took a spoonful of the ice cream, making sure to get a little bit of everything. The ice cream was rich and creamy. Obviously, they’d bought the good stuff, unlike what her mom had used to buy them when Skylar was a kid.

“How are you doing, Sky?” Aiden asked after they’d been eating in silence for a couple of minutes.

Frowning at him, she said, “I’m fine.”

One of his brows lifted. “Are you? I’m not asking flippantly. I’m serious. How are you?”

Skylar took another bite of her ice cream before answering. “Let’s see. I hear that the girl I gave birth to has been diagnosed with cancer. Then, in order to help her, I have to contact her birth father, who didn’t treat me very well. And on top of that, Isprained my ankle so I can’t go back to work. So yeah, I’m doing just fine.”

“I wish I could tell you that I’d walk away to make it easier on you, but I can’t.”

“I know that,” she said. “And I wouldn’t expect that you would because it would upset Shiloh.”

“I would like for us to become friends,” he said. “I understand that might be a bit of a stretch at the moment, but I really hope that eventually, we could reach that point.”

Skylar wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Her conversation with Cole had put the thought into her mind, but she hadn’t dwelled on it too much. Part of it was because she didn’t want to think about how she was apparently good enough to be a friend, but hadn’t been good enough to be something more.

“I don’t think it matters if we’re friends or not,” she told him. “Once my ankle is better, I’ll be gone.”

“But surely you’ll be back to see Shiloh,” he said as he lifted another spoonful of ice cream to his mouth.

“Definitely, but I won’t be here for extended stays. Not like this time.”

“I think that being friends would also be beneficial as we relate to Shiloh,” he said. “She would probably pick up on the fact that we’re uncomfortable around each other if we can’t be friends.”

“We don’t have to see her at the same time, so she won’t know how we do or don’t relate to each other.”

Resignation settled over Aiden’s features. “I do understand why you don’t want to be friends. I treated you badly, and I am very sorry for that.”

“Not sorry enough to approach me to apologize,” she said, trying to keep her emotions from her voice. “You could have asked Cole where I was, or you could have asked him for my phone number. If you’d really regretted what you did, you would have found a way to contact me.”

“You’re right.” Aiden stirred his ice cream, keeping his gaze lowered. “I should have apologized before now.”

Skylar waited for him to give excuses for why he hadn’t.

“I was a coward,” he said with a shrug. “I didn’t like being confronted by what I’d done to you. I didn’t like to think about that time.”

Skylar thought he might have used what had happened with his dad and sister to excuse why he hadn’t pursued making amends with her. So for him to admit it was because he was scared to do it surprised her.

Right then, she wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do to bridge the chasm that had grown between them because of what had happened. But she also knew that it would be better if the two of them were on friendly terms, even if they wouldn’t ever be friends the way they once had been.

“I agree that it might be best if we could be around each other without tension,” she finally said. “Let’s just leave the past in the past.”

He tilted his head. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” she said.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t discussed the past. They’d touched on what had happened, and she’d had an epic meltdown about it right in front of him. That was enough for her. She had no desire to have an in-depth conversation about it all.

Though he didn’t look thrilled, he gave a single nod.

If things went the way she planned, any time they spent together would be when others were around. And it wouldn’t be for long periods. So there was really no need to rehash the past more.

She wasn’t sure what her future held, but she’d come to the place of accepting that Aiden was going to be a part of it to varying degrees. Whether she liked it or not.

---