Page 68 of Skylar

Aiden shook his head. “I think Charli and Blake have been better parents than Skylar and I would have been if we’d tried to make things work back then.”

“What do you mean?”

“She told me she was pregnant after we’d been broken up for almost two months. It had been a nasty break up, and by thatpoint, I’m sad to say, I’d already been with a couple of other girls. I’d definitely moved on, and if people would have tried to force us together because of the baby, we would have really struggled. I don’t think that would have been a good environment for Shiloh. Or Skylar, for that matter.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

The reality that Aiden would admit to no one was that he was still drawn to Skylar. He didn’t know if that was just because he knew that she was the mother of his child, or if he was being drawn in by the memory he had of their relationship before it ended.

Maybe he’d feel differently if he’d been the one hurt in the breakup. Which was undoubtedly why Skylar held no fondness for him.

“You need to just steer clear of this topic with Skylar,” Aiden cautioned. “We’re both dealing with a lot right now, given Shiloh’s situation.”

“I understand that,” Cole said. “But while I might not pester Skylar about a relationship with you, I’ll definitely encourage her to consider a friendship.”

The last thing Aiden wanted was for Skylar to become annoyed with him. More than she already was. But at the same time, he couldn’t control what Cole did. Aiden just hoped that Skylar didn’t think he’d put her brother up to it.

Although maybe she wouldn’t believe that he could actually be interested in rekindling anything, given the way he’d dumped her. It was a very complicated situation all around, and thinking about it too much exhausted him.

They stayed up later than Aiden normally did, but he didn’t regret taking the time to chat with his friend in a way that they hadn’t had the opportunity to in quite a while.

Aiden thought Cole might be back on their doorstep in a day or two, but he kind of hoped he was wrong. Selfishly, he wanted Cole to be okay with spending more time with his family because a successful visit now would mean he’d come back to Serenity more.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After a leisurely start to her morning, which included a bath, shaving her legs, and doing a face mask, hunger finally drove Skylar to leave her room and head downstairs. Her ankle was doing better, but Gareth felt she still needed to have it supported. Though she didn’t want to be restrained in using her foot, she knew she needed to err on the side of caution so that she was ready to return to work sooner rather than later.

As she reached the main floor, she heard the rumble of a man’s voice that wasn’t her dad’s coming from the kitchen. Pausing, Skylar listened, convinced that it wasn’t really her brother she was hearing. Why would Cole be in Serenity?

When she walked into the kitchen, she did, in fact, find her brother sitting at the counter talking to her mom and dad. He looked over as she approached and gave her a wide smile as he got to his feet.

“Hey, sis,” he said as he bent down to gather her into a tight hug. “Good to see you.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked as he stepped back from their embrace. “Are you dying?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Funny. Aiden said the same thing when I stopped by to see him last night.”

For a moment, Skylar was reminded of the banter that the three of them had shared back in their teens. “So I guess you’re not?”

He settled back on his stool. “Nope. No death on the horizon for me that I know of.”

“So what brings you to Serenity, then?” she asked as she joined him at the island counter.

“I thought maybe I should come and give my blood to see if it will help my niece.”

“Oh. That’s great.” Skylar hadn’t expected him to show up for that, but she was so grateful that he had.

“Have there been any results yet?” Cole asked as he lifted the mug sitting in front of him.

“Not yet,” her dad said. “But we could hear any day now.”

“So, are they having to wait for treatment until the results are in?”

“No. They want to see the effect of this first round of treatment before deciding if they need to move on to the stem cell transplant,” her mom explained. “We just want everything in place if we get to that point.”

Skylar stared at her brother, taking in the changes she saw in him. Like Aiden, he had filled out over the years. His broad shoulders and muscular build spoke of his athleticism.

She’d watched a lot of his games, but seeing him in person revealed how much he’d changed over the years. His arrival was still a bit of a mystery. Like her, he wasn’t one to come to Serenity without good reason, like a wedding or a holiday. And sometimes, not even then.

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