Page 154 of Wicked Grumpy Heart Doc

“Not to sound like a broken record, but you are stunning.”

He stepped toward her to get a closer look and breathed in the scent of her perfume, causing his olfactory receptors to go into overdrive.

“Absolutely breathtaking.”

She looked at him with a shy smile. “Thank you. You look really handsome,” then lifted his silver and royal blue tie with tinkling laughter. “We match. It’s like we’re going to prom.”

“God, if only my prom date had been as hot as you.”

“Well, at least you went. I was seven months pregnant when my junior prom rolled around. And the online school I attended my senior year after I had Chloe didn’t have extracurriculars like sports or dances.”

“Well, if it helps, you didn’t miss much. At least from my experience.” He caressed her biceps, careful not to mess up her hair when he leaned closer to look into her eyes. “And I’d much rather be with you tonight at forty-two than when I was a pimply-faced teenager whose dick got hard when the wind blew. I wouldn’t have stood a chance around you.”

That made her throw her head back and laugh.

“I think I would have liked to have known the teenage Aiden.”

He shook his head. “God, no. You wouldn’t have given me the time of day.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” She paused. “Well, at least before I got pregnant. Afterwards, I didn’t give any man who wasn’t my father the time of day.”

“Chloe’s dad burned you pretty bad, huh?”

She huffed out a humorless laugh. “You could say that.” She stared at the wall for a second, as if lost in her thoughts before looking back at him. “You know the worst part? I had visions he was going to desert me—even though I had closed that part of me down, they still kept popping in my head. But instead of heeding them, I ignored them, because I was convinced he loved me and believed him when he said he’d be there to support me and the baby.”

It dawned on Aiden in that moment that he was paying for Chloe’s asshole dad’s sins.

“But you’re not sixteen anymore, Sunshine. And I’m not some loser who doesn’t keep his word and bails on his pregnant, teenage girlfriend.”

“I know you’re not.”

He cocked his head. “Do you? Because that’s not how it feels.”

A tiny tear escaped the corner of her eye, and he felt like a jerk for making her cry.

He pulled a tissue from the box on the table and handed it to her. “I’m sorry, I don’t want you to mess up your makeup. We can talk about this later.”

That seemed to be a running theme between them lately. “We’ll talk about it later.” Although he already knew the probability of them actually addressing the elephant in the room was slim to none.

Maybe that was for the best—for now.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Dakota

Whitney was the most beautiful bride she’d ever seen—she was absolutely radiant when she looked up at her groom. The love between Whitney and Steven shone through to the entire room as they exchanged their vows.

Dakota sent out a silent plea to the Universe that the two always remembered how they felt on this day and that their bond only grew stronger as the years went by.

Zach stood next to Steven as his best man and kept staring at Zoe, who was seated next to Dakota. The entire ceremony, he wore a ridiculous grin on his face.

Dakota sensed the storm clouds looming between the two, though, and sent out another request to the Cosmos that they find a way to be together. They were energetically a good fit.

Then there was the beautiful man on the other side of her.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she was relieved to find he wasn’t wearing the black suit and red tie from her vision. But the sense of dread still consumed her. Especially when she felt his energy when they watched Steven and Whitney pledge their love to each other.

He wanted that for himself.

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