“I love you, too,” I say, curling my fingers into his shirt. “But I meant what I said—I can’t hide in this, Aiden. It’s too precious to me.”
“Then I won’t let you,” he says simply. His fingers trace an invisible pattern on my back, slow, but grounding. “I don’t want to mess this up either. You’re the endgame for me, Chloe. I think you always have been.”
The words settle in my chest.
Like a slight acknowledgment, the lights flicker. Just once.
I compulsively set up an old baby monitor in our room when Phoebe’s cough ramped up, and a sudden barking cough emerges from the bathroom counter.
“I didn’t see you bring that in,” I say, peering around him.
“Didn’t want you worry about her.”
My heart does a slow roll in my chest. “Thank you.”
I’m lying to myself if I say I haven’t already chosen Aiden—every facet of him. But I’m not ready to say that out loud, because that makes it real.
And real is dangerous.
I cringe as she hacks with a ferocity that makes me cringe.
Aiden exhales and presses a kiss to my temple, slow and reverent. “She needs us steady,” he says. “Which means you should stay here, with me.”
I’ve done everything I can for her cough, and he’s right. It’s a miserable waiting game.
But I don’t mention how it makes me feel itchy and wrong, like the first time I snuck into a different movie than the one I bought tickets for with my friends as a teen.
It’s uncomfortable.
I nod, swallowing past the ache in my throat.
He steps back first and offers his hand as an anchor rather than a demand.
“Come on,” he says softly. “Let’s go change into dry clothes and get some sleep. I’ve got an alarm set to check on her again in a couple of hours.”
I lace my fingers with Aiden’s, my body still humming from his words and the actions that backed them up. He leads me to our room, which has decidedly clearer air and a warm glow that helps my chest to keep loosening.
Though kissing Aiden did a pretty decent job of that on its own.
Once we’re both changed, we climb under the covers. He pulls me close, his chest against my back. His arms come around me, and my arms cover his, like we’ve slept like this a million times. His thumb strokes lazy circles at my wrist, almost like a spell to get my body to finally relax.
Phoebe coughs again, much quieter this time.
Like he’s got a sneak peek into my brain, Aiden nudges my neck with his nose. “Practice staying,” he whispers into my hair. “Does she sound like she needs you yet?”
“No,” I whisper back.
“My warrior wife.” He smiles. “I know it’s got to be tough, but you’ve got this.”
“I’m trying,” I murmur, closing my eyes and letting myself feel the moment, to the best of my ability. Aiden’s strong arms holding me, a houseful of people, and love oozing from every corner.
It’s here, whether it’s earned or not.
And for once, that doesn’t send me spiraling.
thirty-nine
AIDEN
