Page 83 of Almost True
It was easier to joke about them than confront everything between us now, wasn’t it? So I forced a laugh and a small smile. “Who knows.”
He nodded quickly, and the air thinned. The shift that so often happened when we were alone stalled out and instead of that magnetic draw, it was as though one of us had reversed. There was resistance, and instead of launching myself into his arms like I had more than once in my mind, I stayed glued in place, willing him to stay something more.
“Well, uh—”
“I’m just so—”
Those thin smiles drilled home the distance between us all the more. “Sorry, you go ahead,” I offered, waving my hand between us.
“No, please. You go.”
How pathetic that even that gentle reply was like agony to me. His politeness felt like a wall he’d erected, and I had no idea how to mount it. “I was going to say I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for coming. I know it’s been a while.”
I cringed inwardly, wishing I’d said something better. But what was there to say after the time apart and the silence? I’d spend however long it took explaining it, and I hoped what I said in a few minutes would smooth the way.
“Thank you for inviting me. Please, don’t let me keep you.”
I blinked at that, somehow still shocked he was staying so formal and withdrawn when we were standing just feet apart. But why wouldn’t he? I’d done nothing but build up the very wall that now stood between us since I’d left.
“Of course. Thank you. I’ll… I’ll talk with you after, okay?”Please. Please say yes.
He nodded, not looking right at me. “Sure.”
Quinn hooked her arm through mine. “Ready?” she asked, fully ignoring everyone but me.
“Yes,” I said, and with one last glance at Aidan, I went to take my place.
This might backfire spectacularly, but I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try.
CHAPTERFORTY-SIX
Aidan
My heart thudded a slow, heavy beat. It’d finally calmed after the initial rush of adrenaline at being in her house, smelling the scent of her space that was familiar and sent memory crashing through me, and of course, of seeing her. Hearing her voice. Feeling the heat, then the distance between us.
For the second time today, the first time in months, I’d had her within reach. She’d made no move to touch me, and despite every atom in my being crying out to take her in my arms and hug her, kiss her, remind her how much I loved her, I didn’t.
John had drilled the response into me on the way there.“You don’t know what this is, and she’s chosen to freeze you out. So you stay quiet and see what happens before you hang your big heart out there for her to shred again.”Based on all of our discussions thus far, I knew better than to counter his point.
He had a good one. She’d left me guessing and even with her return, hadn’t told me anything of substance. There was also the fact that she’d been in touch with Luca—almost the entire time she’d been in New York. What did that mean? Why was I both a little envious and low-key destroyed over that discovery?
But as though my body was bracing itself to receive whatever news she’d deliver, everything went from high alert, intense, and mentally chaotic to that slow, steady beat right as she stepped in front of the crowd I hadn’t bothered to look closely at.
“Thank you all for coming tonight. I’m sorry for the last-minute nature, but I wanted you to hear this from me first.”
My stomach flipped, then sank.Hear what?
Maddie continued with a small smile. “I’ll be doing an official press conference Monday, but again, I wanted this to come from me, in person, and allow you all to ask any questions you have.”
Her eyes flicked to meet mine, and dread sluiced through me. What questions would this raise for me? What would this announcement, which would later require a press conference, mean?
Somewhere in my gut, I feared it might mean she and some East Coast pedigreed heir named something like Warner Huntington The Third or something equally stiff planned to marry. It made no sense given everything I knew, and yet it was the only thing I could think of that would merit this kind of in-person announcement.
“Come on, just tell us!” Quinn hollered from somewhere, sparking good-natured chuckles through the crowd.
Maddie’s smile sparkled with humor, and a luminescence lit her up. Though wasn’t she always a little like that in my eyes? Even now, even after months apart and nothing but a few texts between us, she drew me in.
“Fine, fine. The big news is, I’m moving to Silverton.” Her gaze found mine again. “Permanently.”
