Page 67 of Skylar

“Figured you could make good use of that. I ran into some big wig architect and asked him what the best laptop was for someone in his profession. He gave me the info, and there you go.”

“Thanks so much, Cole,” Aiden said. “I really appreciate this.”

“You don’t have one like it already?”

Aiden gave a huff of laughter. “No. I certainly don’t.”

“Hope you can put it to good use.”

“I’m sure I can,” Aiden assured him. “This is really great.”

He didn’t bother to unpack the laptop right then, figuring he’d tackle setting it up another night.

“Have you had much luck with Skylar?” Cole asked as he propped his feet on the coffee table.

“I suppose that depends on your definition of luck.” Aiden also propped his feet on the coffee table. It would drive his mombatty, but he’d chosen a style of furniture that would stand up to such use. “She’s agreed that it would be best if we got along, but I don’t think she wants us to be friends.”

“She can be stubborn,” Cole pointed out.

“Or maybe she’s just trying to protect herself from someone who has hurt her in the past.”

“Yeah. Maybe that too.”

“I think it’s a given that’s why she doesn’t want a friendship,” Aiden said. “And I’m not sure anything will change her mind.”

“Are you going to try?”

“No. I mean, I’m not going to keep bugging her about being friends. I will treat her better than I did before, because that’s the right thing to do.”

“How do you feel about her?” Cole asked.

Aiden narrowed his gaze at his friend. “I don’t hate her or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s not.” Cole crossed his arms as he slumped further back into the couch. “I just remember thinking when the two of you started dating that you’d be the real deal. In it until the end.”

“You didn’t feel that way at first,” Aiden pointed out.

“True. But you were the one that convinced me that it was serious. You said your parents had been childhood sweethearts, and it had worked out for them. I just came to accept that in addition to being my best friend, one day you’d be my brother-in-law.”

“Life doesn’t always work out the way we think it’s going to.”

Aiden felt that was a bit of an understatement when it came to his life. At no point had he thought he’d lose both his dad and his sister while still in his twenties.

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a second chance at something if the opportunity presents itself.”

“But it hasn’t,” Aiden said. “That would mean that both Skylar and I were interested in trying again. And unless she’s been telling you something different, that is definitely not the case.”

“But would you be if she was interested?”

Aiden didn’t have an answer for that. He’d changed. She’d changed. Their current circumstances were challenging.

It would take determination and commitment on both their sides to make something work, and nothing she’d said or done had hinted that she was inclined to make that sort of commitment to a friendship, let alone something more serious.

“I think I’ve learned that you shouldn’t close the door on any possibilities in life,” Aiden said slowly. “However, in this situation, I just don’t see how that could work, given Skylar’s rightful anger with me over how things played out in the past.”

There was a part of Aiden that wanted to say that if it was God’s will, it would work out. But while he knew that Cole would understand what he meant, he probably wouldn’t agree with that approach.

“I wish I’d asked more questions about the situation when the two of you broke up,” Cole said. “Maybe you’d be in a different position now.”

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