Page 17 of Make You Stay

What happened? Good question. What, indeed?

“Betsey left New York when I was twelve. According to my dad, she wanted her freedom, and he wouldn’t hold her fast, tethered to a marriage and child that didn’t suit. It was radio silence for almost two years. Then one day, out of the blue, she calls me, wanting to pick up where we left off years earlier. I told her then where she could shove her maternal instincts.”

“Understandable. You were at a very impressionable age. I know how crazy it’s been with Natalie—all the emotional and physical changes happening. I try to be there for her, but she needs a female touch. It must have been hard on your dad, trying to cover both roles.” Aidan moves next to me on the couch, his body a warm beacon in an uncertain world.

“He did the best he could. My father was a truly incredible man, and he adored me. I never once doubted his devotion. But he got sick with cancer when I was sixteen and died right before my eighteenth birthday. He made me promise him on his deathbed that I would reconcile with Betsey. When I was twenty-two, I caved to my father’s request and came down here to visit. This was before she settled in Asheville. Betsey and I hadn’t seen each other in a decade, and she implored me to move here, but I felt no kinship to the woman who shared my bloodline. I was still too angry. It took me another decade to get past the anger. Still, during the last several years, we moved, ever so cautiously, toward a normal relationship. But life was busy for us both, and this Thanksgiving was to be the start of our new normal. I never planned on burying her during my visit.”

Somehow, I manage the entire diatribe, but by the end, the tears are backing up in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, sweets. You deserved better than what life offered you.” Aidan’s hand settles on my leg, giving my knee a gentle squeeze. Without thinking, I bury my head against his chest, letting the tears have their due when his arms wrap around me.

He’s by far the most comfortable place I’ve ever felt, and we pass the next few minutes like that, his hand stroking my hair as he murmurs words of comfort.

I pull back, wiping my face as I bark out a laugh. “I’m sorry. Guess I really needed a hug.”

He thumbs away a few tears, his eyes soft with sympathy. “Don’t be sorry. I’ve been told I give good hugs.”

“You do. Quite possibly the best hugger ever, if I’m honest.” Taking another swallow of wine, I feel its warmth flood my body. “Enough ofmytale of woe. What’s yours?”

“My what?”

“Your story. Why are you single?”

He shifts, considering my question. “I haven’t found the right person. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?”

“Only if it’s the truth. Some men are perfectly content being single, with the occasional romp thrown in. Enid told me you only date single mothers.”

Now he looksreallyuncomfortable. Probably afraid I’m about to light into him, desperate to convince him otherwise. “Yeah. It’s my one rule.”

“Makes sense.”

“Does it?” His head flies up, eyes questioning. “I figured you would scoff at such a rule.”

“Not at all. I have a rule, too. I don’t date men with young kids. Not anymore.”

I expect Aidan to relax, knowing I’m not gunning for a spot in his rotation, but instead, he clears his throat as his foot taps ceaselessly on the floor. “But you like kids.”

“Absolutely. I love them, but I got burned by a single father, and now, I only date men who don’t have children or whose kids are already grown. To be honest, I don’t date much.”

“I don’t, either. Maybe we’re too picky?”

“I think it’s good to be picky. The worst thing in this life is settling for less than what you want.”

He strokes his beard, his gaze focused across the room, and I know he’s trying to gauge the best response. “So, looks like we definitely aren’t dating.”

I shake my head with a smile. Is it forced? Somewhat, but what’s a woman to do? Aidan and I have rules, and those rules keep us firmly in the friend zone. “Looks that way.”

“Does that mean we’re friends?”

I sputter my wine, shooting him a mock glare. “Don’t look so pained at the concept, Aidan. It’s been known to happen before, often with a great deal of success.”

He waits until I’ve set down my glass to lob a throw pillow at me. “Friends. Okay, let’s give it a shot.”

Chapter 5

Aidan

Do you know my rule? The one rule I have about the women I date? Every day I spend with Chloe, it’s becoming harder and harder to abide.

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