Page 105 of Ruthless Temptation

Lily had lain in bed after eating two or three mouthfuls of the Thai takeout and scrolled through her phone. Emma had posted wedding photos on her social media.

She looked so beautiful.

A tear had slid down her cheek, sad that she’d missed the important day, but without regret for flying home to see her dad.

Try as she might, Lily had not been able to look away from the photos of Adian. After all, he was the best man.

God, he was handsome.

She’d nearly reached out and touched the screen before catching herself and realizing how dumb it was.

Then she remembered someone had phoned just as Matt had arrived. That and seeing her father lying in his hospital bed with all the wires and tubes. The machine beeping. Her mother’s tear-stained face.

She went into her missed calls and her eyes widened.

Aidan.

Oh, my God.

She had smiled, seeing his name, but stopped short of replying. She figured he hadn’t left one, and it was just a courtesy call to say goodbye.

If he’d really wanted to, he would have texted.

Before her eyes had closed, Lily decided she’d message Aidan when she was back at the hospital and had caught her breath today.

She would.

Despite the seriousness she was facing in losing her father, Aidan had continued to be on her mind.

She needed closure.

It was time to say goodbye.

The Uber flew through the streets of Chicago, and Lily stared out the window, wondering what he was doing. Sleeping, obviously. It was four a.m. in Maui.

He’d probably drunk too much Macallan and gone skinny dipping in the ocean like he’d threatened to do with her. Sad they never got the chance, Lily pressed her lips together.

But at least she’d been brave and said yes to him, so they’d had a couple of incredibly sexy nights together. She would never regret them.

Aidan was an amazing lover.

He was a force of nature.

Last night when Matt had shown up at the hospital and pulled her into an embrace, she had felt two very conflicting feelings. The hugs were nice, and it was comforting to know her boss cared.

But the stronger and more surprising thought was that she was cheating on Aidan.

So ridiculous.

Lily was a loyal person, but they hadn’t promised each other anything.

Look at me. This is something. You know it is.

She drew in a breath and wondered. What was it? How could it have been anything when he stood back and let his father say those things? When they’d only known each other a few days.

When he hadn’t left a message saying he missed her or even a goodbye.

What could it be when she came from the South Side, and he had never worried about where his next paycheck was coming from?

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