Page 83 of Skylar

“Yeah, well. It’s all in the past now.”

“Is it though?”

“As far as I’m concerned, it is,” Skylar told him. “I haven’t spent the years since bemoaning the loss of her friendship. I know what I did was wrong, but I don’t think it warranted ending a friendship the way she did. If that’s the type of friend she was, I am better off without her.”

“I know you probably wish Aiden weren’t still in my life, but I’ve been incredibly grateful for his friendship. I’ve needed someone who I know I can trust not to have ulterior motives in their dealings with me. I feel like what we have is genuine.”

“I’m sure it is,” Skylar said. “Aiden seems to have gone back to being the person he once was.”

“I guess I wasn’t the best friend or brother back then.”

“You had a lot going on.” Skylar had wished that she could confide in Cole during that time, but she hadn’t been sure that he’d take her side in things.

“Still, I’m sorry for not being there for you.”

“I forgive you.” Of course, it was far easier to forgive Cole for what had happened back then than it was Aiden.

“Well, let’s try to have fun this afternoon,” Cole said as he pulled up the driveway to the house.

“What are we doing for lunch?” Skylar asked as they made their way to the front door.

“I placed an order at the deli, and we’ll swing by and pick it up before we get Aiden.”

“You’ve been busy,” Skylar said. “When did you do all of this?”

“Yesterday afternoon. I didn’t want to just sit around today.”

“Did you want to ask Annie to join us?”

Cole shrugged. “I did consider it when I saw her at the church, but doubt she’d have accepted.”

“Her brother might have,” Skylar said. “Why don’t you invite Layla and Amelia, and tell them they can bring friends?”

“I might do that. Though that doesn’t mean Annie would come with her brother.”

“True, but you might learn more about her from her brother if you’re truly interested.”

“I’m not sure if I am or not.”

“Well, then I’d suggest you leave her alone,” Skylar said as she headed up the stairs.

“Don’t take too long,” Cole called after her. “We need time to pick up the food before we get Aiden.”

Up in her room, Skylar wondered if she really wanted to go. Did she want to hang out with Aiden even more? Once again doing something they’d done as teenagers? Back then, the family had owned their own boat, so they’d spent a lot of time on the nearby lake.

She’d brought both a two piece and a one piece swimsuit, but she decided on the one piece as she liked it more than the other one. After she put it on, she pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and one sandal.

Staring down at her feet—one booted—she grabbed her phone and shot a text off to Gareth to make sure she could take the boot off to go into the lake. She took it off for showers and baths, but that was slightly different from swimming in the lake.

She quickly French braided her hair, then grabbed a towel from the bathroom to take. It had been a long time since she’d done anything like this, and she found she was looking forward to it, even if Aiden was going to be there.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Aiden slid into the back seat of Cole’s rental car, putting his duffle bag with his towel and a change of clothes onto the seat beside him.

“Should I have grabbed lunch at the house?” Aiden asked. “If yes, can we swing through a drive-thru so I can get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“No worries,” Cole assured him. “I picked up a bunch of stuff from the deli, along with some drinks, chips, and treats I had ready for pickup at the store.”

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