Wow! Look at that. He went from defensive to accepting his mistake in the space of a sentence.
“You kissed her. You think there’s any coming back from that?”
“Yes.” His jaw is clenched.
He’s angry, not upset, I realize—and that hurts in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
How dare he come here in anger? How dare he stand in front of me like a man who’s only pretending to be sorry, when really, he’s furious with me? For what? For leaving? For not accepting his too-late apology with grace and gratitude? For not making it easy for him to feel better about himself? His audacity burns in my chest like ice.
“Say I kiss a man…say it’s Huxley. I don’t tell you about it, but you find out. You’ll be okay with that?”
“You just spent days with…whoever that guy is.” He jerks his chin in the direction where Katya and Cristiano went.
My heart hurts at his words. He crushed me again. “You think that I was with him likethat?”
The sadness in my voice jerks him out of whatever rage rollercoaster he’s on. “Fuck no! That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean, then?” I demand.
“I….” He shakes his head, swallows, and then looks me in the eye. “It was a dumb thing to say. I was just trying to make a case for you giving me a second chance.”
“By saying I did wrong and you did wrong, so it cancels out?”
He nods. “That was dumber than dumb. I know it. But, baby, I’m not thinking straight. I haven’t since?—”
“Look, Aiden, I’ve spent time thinking about us, and I think you’re better suited to be with someone like Diana. She’ll wear the dumb designer clothes and flash expensive jewelry, and get along with your stuffy and absolutely immoral parents. I don’t want any of it. So…there’s no point, you know?”
He stiffens. “You don’t have to worry about my family.”
“But I do, Aiden. For years, I’ve tried to make nice with them. But I’m done.”
“With them but not me.” There’s a plea in his tone—just a tinge of it. “Give me a?—"
The hell with this!
"You want a second chance?" I cuthim off.
"God, yes!”
"Why?”
He looks thrown, like he didn’t expect me to question it. "Because…I love you."
I toss up my shoulders in a careless shrug. "I love you, too. What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"
A jolt of surprise flashes in his eyes. Every time I swear, it hits him. I like that.
"Mia—"
"If a second chance is what you want," I interrupt, "then prove to me that you deserve it."
He looks panicked. "How…how do I do that?"
I stare at him, dead in the eye. "If I have to tell you, Aiden, then you don’t deserve the damn chance."
Talk about aCatch-22. Joseph Heller would be proud.
I get up and turn my back to him as I walk to my new bedroom. “Lock up as you leave,” I say over my shoulder. “Oh, and HappyFuckingNew Year, Aiden.”
