Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires, #2)(62)

But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t sad that he’d refused to listen to the truth.

I got up from the table and went to the kitchen for another coffee. I’d been working on the designs for the new restaurant, and my vision was blurry from lack of sleep.

I’d just have to live with being wound up on caffeine.

I had been trying to work since Maya went off to school, but my brain just wasn’t into it.

I knew I was going to have to go talk to Aiden. I couldn’t hang out at Jade’s place forever, no matter how nice it might be.

My best friend’s home wasn’t as big as Aiden’s. It was more of an adorable cottage that was bright with beach themes.

I dropped a pod into her coffeemaker and waited for the finished product.

I’d have to find another apartment, and it would tap my already-dry resources, but I’d figure something out. I always did. Since the restaurant wasn’t active and making money, things would be tight for me and Maya, but it wasn’t like we weren’t used to making do with whatever we could afford.

But I couldn’t afford to not be working to get the restaurant back up and running.

I need to focus.

No matter what happened between Aiden and me, the last thing I wanted was for Maya to lose her father again. She already loved Aiden so much, and she’d be devastated if he just walked out of her life. So I’d get to Aiden’s place shortly, and try to get him to at least commit to maintaining a relationship with Maya until the tests could be redone.

I let out a long sigh as I put cream and sweetener in my coffee. Really, I wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. Pretend that last night had never happened.

I wanted . . . Aiden.

He’d become my place of safety. Not his house. Him. And it had become pure hell to not be able to talk to him when I was feeling down. Or when I was feeling good.

It was torment to not have him near me . . . period.

I tried to blink back the tears that filled my eyes, but my emotions were wide open and exposed now. That psyche trick just didn’t work anymore.

Aiden had opened that door, and I couldn’t close it.

I loved him, and I was completely screwed.

If I was really honest with myself, I’d admit that I’d always loved him. Probably always would. We were connected in a way that just didn’t happen every day.

I knew that because he’d been the only man I’d ever loved. The only guy who could make me feel this damn miserable. The one who could also make me unbelievably happy.

Sweeping at the tears pouring down my face, I tried to be strong. I was going to have to pull myself together for my daughter.

She was really going to need me to be there if her father wasn’t.

I startled when I heard somebody pounding on the door at the back of the house.

Putting my coffee down, I headed in that direction, wondering if I should even answer it.

I was staying in Jade’s house. It was probably a friend or acquaintance of hers. But something drew me to the back entrance, and I pulled the door open anyway.

Aiden!

He was here.

He was real.

My heart was racing as I stared at him like he was some kind of illusion.

He looked like he’d been dragged through the depths of hell, judging by his weary face.

He slammed through the door. “You’re here. Jesus Christ! I only checked here out of desperation.”

“J-Jade said I could use her place if I wanted. And I didn’t really have a place to go,” I explained.

“So your car is in the garage?” he guessed.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been this damn close and I didn’t know it?”

He started to chuckle. And it wasn’t because he was amused. It sounded very much like he was laughing at himself.

“Aiden, what’s wrong with you?” He looked wiped out, and I was getting worried.

“I’ve been all over the city at least three times, Skye, and I’ve called and texted you like crazy,” he growled. “I’ve searched every lodging for your vehicle. It was the only thing I had to figure out where the hell you went. Why did you leave?”

“You were angry,” I said. “And I didn’t want Maya to get upset if you slipped up and said something about the tests. I turned my phone off because Maya will answer it if I’m not right next to her.”

“I was a fucking idiot, Skye. I should have stayed. I should have just talked it out with you. Instead, I ended up bending my brother’s ear for a couple of hours.”

He went to Seth’s.

Not for a minute had I believed he was trolling for another woman, but it was a relief to know he had gone somewhere innocuous.

I pushed on his shoulder. “Sit. I’ll get you some coffee. We need to talk.”

He ran a hand over his face. “I’ve had too much already.”

But he did plop his butt on a chair at the table before he added, “I’ve been looking for you since last night.”

I grabbed my own coffee, got him a bottle of water from the fridge, and sat down across from him. “All night?” I questioned.

No wonder he looked like he hadn’t slept. He’d probably never gotten to bed.

He nodded, his eyes devouring me like I was some kind of rare treasure. “All morning, too. I was afraid something had happened to you. Don’t ever do that shit to me again. I probably deserved it for being an asshole, but you took ten years off my life. Maya okay?”