Page 13 of Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex

“What wasn’t my fault?” She was totally confused now.

“I should’ve told you.” He looked like he wanted to say more, so she waited for him to explain. Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “I was negotiating the sale the day you left.”

Felicity stared at him, the news sinking in. He was supposed to meet her at the courthouse. They were going to elope...but he’d never shown up. “That’s why you didn’t come?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.”

The pain behind his eyes suddenly made sense. He’d done it for her. And she had left him. A lump swelled in her throat. “I didn’t know.”

“You mean, you wouldn’t let me tell you.” The bitterness that tinged his voice made her defensive.

“It wasn’t like that was the first time you’d stood me up.”

“I was working for our—”

“Future. I know.” Felicity rubbed the space between her eyebrows, closing her eyes. “Let’s not talk about this.”

“Right. Because that’s worked so well.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, and he had the decency to look guilty. “Sorry,” he said. “Guess I haven’t worked through all that completely.”

Her own guilt wormed its way into her chest. He wasn’t the only one to blame. She’d been the one to leave and break off all contact. “I’m sorry too.”

He stared straight ahead, his hand clenching the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. “I should have told you about the negotiations. I didn’t realize it would take as long as it did.”

Felicity nodded as more guilt flooded over her. “And I shouldn’t have ignored your phone calls.” She wasn’t willing to admit that leaving had been a bad idea. Aiden spent the entire five years with her breaking dates and making excuses for being late. Him being late for their courthouse elopement had just been the last straw. It wasn’t the real reason she’d left. She’d left because Aiden hadn’t made her a priority in his life.

Aiden took in a deep breath and let it out. “You know, maybe Grams was right.”

“About what?”

“Maybe we did need to talk. I do feel better.”

Felicity felt like garbage, but she pasted on a smile anyway. “Good.”

Aiden slowed his car and turned onto a dirt path. He followed the road until he came to a gravel parking lot situated next to a river. He stopped the car and they got out. A ferry sat in the water by a wooden dock. Aiden walked out on the deck then held his hand out to help her step onto the boat.

She grabbed his hand and immediately regretted it. The same electricity from last night zinged up her arm. The feel of his hand in hers brought back more memories she’d buried, and she quickly let go after stepping down. He seemed flustered as he worked to undo the ropes securing the boat. He’d felt it too. She chastised herself for grabbing onto his hand so quickly.

She snapped a few pictures of the river before Aiden finished preparing the boat. The ferry was clean and looked new. It looked like it held around twenty people; a nice size but not so large to feel impersonal. It had a canopy top to cover them if it rained. There were clouds gathering in the sky, so rain wasn’t out of the question.

Aiden climbed behind the controls. “You’ll get better pictures from up here,” he said, looking back at her.

Felicity stood and slung her backpack over one shoulder. She moved closer to where Aiden would be. “Is this better?” she asked, sitting down.

“Yes.”

She tried to ignore how she could see the muscles in his arms flexing as he worked the controls and steered the boat away from the dock. The last thing she needed to do was start ogling him.

Aiden began telling her about Monkey River, and she relaxed against the seat. There was something about his slight Midwestern accent, the way his voice reminded her of the good times, that was comforting. She allowed herself to enjoy listening to him as she snapped pictures.

The river twisted through the lush jungle. Aiden took the boat at a lazy speed, so she could enjoy the scenery. After a minute, he shut off the engines and pointed. “Look.”

She peered up to where he had indicated. A monkey sat in the tree, silently staring back at her. She raised her camera and snapped a few pictures. A second monkey ran along the tree branch, joining the first. It began picking something out of its neighbor’s hair. Felicity smiled and zoomed in.

“If we keep our eyes peeled, we’ll get to see a lot of different animals today.”

Felicity held back a giggle. “Remember when you took me to the Lincoln Park Zoo?”

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