Page 105 of Other Side Of Never
He shook his head and thumbed over his shoulder.“I gotta get back.”
“I won’t tell the boss,” she teased.
“I don’t know,” he teased back.“She’s a bit of a ball-buster.”
She wagged her eyebrows.“A real badass.”
He grinned back at her.
Jerking his chin up at me, his gaze cooling considerably, he said goodbye.
Halfway across the room, he stopped and raked a rough hand through his hair.Whirling around, he pinned me with his gaze and snapped, “What do you even see in him?”
I blinked in surprise.“K-Kian?”I stuttered but quickly gathered my thoughts.I might have only this one opportunity.“He’s kind and caring, hard-working, funny and sweet and wholly devoted to his family.A lot of the same things I see in you.”
“I’m nothing like him,” he snarled.
“He’s a good man, Aaron,” I countered softly.“A man who made a terrible mistake and makes no excuse for it.Sorrow and regret are his constant companions.”I waited a beat, thinking of Gary.“As far as fathers go, you could do a lot worse.”
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and turned away.“He abandoned us.”
“He came back as soon as he found you,” Harley murmured.
I nodded.“He did.He packed up his whole life to be close to you.I think there’s more to your hostility toward him.What else is bothering you?”
“That’s it,” he asserted, but the flicker of panic in his eyes said otherwise.
Poor kid had grown up far too quickly and now he was going to be a father.“What are you worried about, Aaron?”
He spread his arms wide, his face turning red.“Isn’t it obvious?”He slammed a hand to his chest.His voice shook.“He’s in me.”He shook his head.“And I can’t be like him.I just can’t.”
Holding his gaze, I replied firmly, “You’re not going to leave her, Aaron.”
Wide, hazel eyes, identical to the ones I loved, locked onto mine.Fear and guilt reflected in their depths.“There are moments…”
A soft sound of distress sounded in Harley’s throat as she reached out her hands to him.
She didn’t need this stress right now.
“Aaron,” I assured him softly but firmly.“There would be something wrong with you if you weren’t at least a little bit scared.You’re going to be a wonderful partner and a beautiful daddy.I know we’ve all made a big deal about being here for Nadine, but you have to know we’re all here for you, too.You are not alone.”
He held my gaze, eyes wide and glossy.
I sensed a softening in him but then, following a brisk knock, Harley’s front door opened and Hawkley walked in.
His sharp eyes took in the scene all at once.“What’s going on in here?”
Aaron spun on his heel, his eyes shiny.Grabbing his keys off the counter, he snapped, “I’m going for a drive.”
Raising his palms as Aaron approached, Hawkley said, “Whoa, there buddy.What’s going on, Aaron?”
“Get out of my way,” he snarled.
“He can’t drive,” Harley blurted, her face pale.
“He just needs some space,” I murmured.
“Move,” Aaron snapped, his body rigid as he stared down the much larger man.
