I go to his fridge and grab one of the hard ciders he has in there, and then I step out onto the back deck. It’s a nice night out now, and I think about Aiden sleeping in his car.
He slept in his car all winter.For her.
“So...” Hunter steps out onto the porch in a pair of sweats. “Does this feel a little like déjà vu, or is it just me?” He drops down into the chair next to me. “If I recall, you said something like you can see bullshit a mile away. Or something.”
“Shut up.” I smirk, taking a sip of my drink. Years ago, our situations were switched, and I comforted Hunter because Mark had lied to him. Like Aiden, Mark had been blackmailed into doing something he didn’t want to do. “Turns out love shuts the bullshit meter off.”
“That it does.” He takes a sip of his drink.
Hunter hadn’t been sure he’d ever forgive Mark, but I knew he would. Now here we are, so many years later. It took a bit forme to warm up to Mark, but I know he’s a good guy, and he loves my friend the way he needs.
What if Aiden is exactly what I need?
“I’d ask how you’re holding up, but you’re here with me on a Friday night instead of Aiden.”
Fuck, his name stings. “Koda stopped by earlier.”
“Oh yeah? Still can’t believe he’s your half brother.”
“I can’t believe my father was a sadistic asshole. My mother... My mother was the wife of a mob guy.My mother.” He laughs. I can’t even wrap my head around it. “I want to ask her so many questions.”
“Your mother was a saint. This whole thing seems so weird to me.”
Understatement. My mother had a whole different life before she had me. I don’t even know how they met. What happened? Why did she marry him?
“Where’s Katya?”
“Staying with Kenji and Koda for another week, but she can’t stay there much longer.” While I’m confused about a lot of things, this is one thing I’m certain of. “I’m going to try and get custody of her.” Hunter’s head snaps up. “She’s coming to live with me next week. Koda is going to help me.”
“Are you sure? That’s huge.”
“She’s my sister.” I shrug. In this one thing Aiden and I are the same. “She’s my little sister and she deserves a good life. I talked to Jane. She’s going to help me. She’s our sister.”We have a little sister.“She’s Aiden’s sister too.”
“That’s a huge responsibility.”
“I know, but it’s what I’m doing. I’m going to sell the necklace.” I’ll have more than enough to care for her then. At first I was scared, but I don’t feel that way now. The longer I think about it, the happier it makes me.
My mind is made up.
“You’re busy now with the bakery.”
“I am, thanks to Noah.” I smirk. “I can manage it, though. I’ve managed worse.” I think about Katya baking in my kitchen. “Who knows. Maybe I’ll raise a pastry chef. She’s an amazing little girl and she deserves a good life.”
Hunter’s quiet for a moment, and I brace myself for his question. “Are you going to talk about what you actually came here to talk about?”
My drink pauses at my lips. “I’m so in love with him,” I admit.
Hunter nods slowly. “Been there.”
“I keep running everything back. Every moment. Everything he said and did.” I think about what Koda said. While I know Aiden was in a hard spot, I can’t wrap my mind around the situation. It all seems so impossible.
“I don’t need to point out the similarities.”
“Mark was blackmailed into dating you. I know that hurt, and I don’t want to downplay it, because he lied to you. I know it hurt you. This, though... we could have been killed.”
“That’s not on him, though. That’s on Ivan. And that fucker is dead.”
“I don’t know.” I think about Koda’s words and pair it with the devastation on Aiden’s face. “I don’t know anything.”
